In 2012, The Panama Canal Museum (Seminole, FL) closed its doors and donated its entire collection to the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. Over 15,000 items headed to Gainesville; from canoes to cups, books to busts and everything between. The collection was renamed the Panama Canal Museum Collection (PCMC) and is now managed as an archival collection in Special & Area Studies Collections (SASC). UF received an IMLS grant to manage this transition from museum to archives, creating a model of integration in the process. For three years the PCMC was managed by project staff working in consultation with UF archivists. In 2015 SASC developed a transition plan for managing the collection after the grant, including a processing plan for a sizable unprocessed backlog. One challenge is estimating processing times for artifacts because the archival community does not share information about object processing rates. Another challenge is a highly engaged, high maintenance community of former Canal Zone residents who had donated most of the Museum collection and who are particularly interested in ongoing exhibitions. SASC hired a museum professional to manage these activities and employs interns from the UF Museum Studies program. This is a terrific opportunity for students who might be able to find work in either museum or archives settings after graduation, but it also raises questions about the future of the professions. This session will present challenges and opportunities of this merger between museum and archives, focusing on the very different viewpoints of the museum, library and archives professionals.
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
Archives as-museum
1. Museum as Archives / Archives as Museum
SFA/SGA Joint Meeting, Savannah, Georgia, October 2016
The Panama Canal Museum Collection at the University of Florida
2. “The Path Between the Seas”
The Panama Canal is a shipping lane, connecting the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
4. Early Days in the Canal Zone
Housing was available for men only. The rough work
and housing conditions meant high turnover rates.
5. The Zone became like any American town, with families, businesses,
schools, churches, & social groups, stabilizing the workforce.
Making a Life in the Canal Zone
6. Transferring Control to Panama
1979 – 1999 Transitional Period
December 31, 1999 Transfer Ceremony
23. Averaged Processing
type average processing times
(minutes per item)
average minimal processing (categorized) 8.07
average full processing (categorized) 21.93
average of all processing (categorized) 19.05
24. Averaged Processing
type average processing times
(minutes per item)
average minimal processing (categorized) 8.07
average full processing (categorized) 21.93
average of all processing (categorized) 19.05
overall average (all data) 19.40
25. Thanks.
all data can be found online
@ stevenduckworth.com/blog
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Maritime Research Center (National Park Service)
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The Ohio State University
Orange County (CA) Archives
University of Florida