Working in a Small Museum

The great (and sometimes aggravating) thing about working in a small museum is this: you never *really* know what you're going to be doing. Oh sure, I've got my list of things to do, but something *always* comes up that I hadn't planned. I thought I'd give you a little peek into my week-- my list of things to do and those things that have just popped up along the way.

To-Do List (actually only about half of my list):
1. Recuerdos exhibit: print photographs, write labels, buy mounting supplies, contact donor about which images we're using

2. Secure a speaker for June's Salon at Wildfire

3. NEH grant: finish narrative, contact consultant to discuss project further

4. Prepare outline for upcoming presentation (which will be at 6:30am!)

5. Look into grant for marketing materials for our Up the Chisholm Trail event

6. Continue research/write for cotton exhibit

7. Find a museum that might want items that a potential donor had acquired (they're not related to Williamson County, so we cannot take them)

8. Update blog


Here's some of what's come up in the mean time this week:
1. Try to find appraiser/auction house for murals

2. Try to find a person or organization that deals with steam trains/engines

3. Review report for historical commission

4. Review and make edits/comments on a grant for another organization

5. Scan and make copies of items from the collection for donor

6. Work the front desk and try to fix the computer (or at least figure out what's wrong, which I did yesterday)

Tomorrow, I have a meeting about a tour of the courthouse for the NTHP Preservation Conference in Austin (this fall) and a conference call about a digitization project with my partner organizations. Saturday is one of those 12 hour days. We've got a members' only parade watching party in the morning, and we're staying open until 8pm for the Red Poppy Festival. Monday, my day off, I will be attending the Austin Museum Partnership executive committee meeting, where I serve as treasurer/membership person.

While it can all be exhausting at times, I can't even imagine working in a larger institution. I'd miss the variety of everything we do.