The document discusses Shelburne Museum's plans to upgrade their outdated copper infrastructure network to a new fiber optic network. The museum's director of preservation saw an opportunity to apply for a grant to fund the project. Over time, collaborating with 9 departments and 11 field experts helped refine the plan. While collaboration took significant time and coordination, it ultimately strengthened the network design and ensured it could support the museum's growing needs, including a new education center building.
2. • Shelburne, Vermont
• Founded 1947
• Electra Havermeyer
Webb
• 45 Acres
• 39 Buildings/25 Historic
• 150,000 Works
• Folk Art
• Fine Art
• Furniture
• Textiles
• Firearms
3. Current Infrastructure
• Copper • No Internet/network
• Over 50 years old access
• Inflexible • No remote access to
• Easily damaged systems
• Attractive to • Outdated technology
lightening/rodents • No room for growth
4. Rick Kerschner, Director of Preservation and Conservation, was acutely aware of
the limitations of the old infrastructure. Rick saw the Save America’s Treasures
Grant offered by the National Parks Service/National Trust for Historic
Preservation, as a source of funding to replace this infrastructure. The idea started
with him and grew to include input from most departments at Shelburne Museum.
This clip was released in late 2009 when we were awarded the grant. (Click on
picture for video)
5. Fiber Optic Network
Obvious Benefits as seen by Rick Kerschner
• Ability to upgrade Environmental/Security Systems
– Quicker notification of events
– More information
– Remote access
– Work efficiently
• Flexibility/Growth Potential
– Change office/equipment locations
– Add equipment
• Web Access on Museum Grounds
• VoIP Phone System
6. Fiber Optic Network
Benefits /potential seen by all staff
• Ability to upgrade Environmental & • Web Access on Museum Grounds
Security Systems – Interactive exhibits
- Quicker notification of events – Enhance school programs
- More information – Webcasts of speakers/special
- Remote Access events
– Visitor access
– Quicker update to CM records
• Flexibility/Growth Potential
– Seamless communications
- Change office/equipment locations between Admissions , Membership
- Improve network with backup sites and Finance
- Easily incorporate new buildings • Maintenance/Financial
– As-Builts of buildings for future
• VoIP Phone System work
- Remove limits of digital phone system – Less damage due to
storms/construction
- Easily add more users
– Easier to maintain means less cost
7. Major Collaborators
9 Departments/Staff 11+ Field Experts
• Rick Kerschner (Preservation & • Gould Associates (Engineer)
Conservation/Project Director)
• Vermont Underground Locaters
• Rick Peters (Protection Services)
(Utility locators)
• Rick Schneider (Project Manager)
• Integrity (Cabling Installation)
• Chip Stulen (Director of Buildings)
• Narda Carlson (Technology) • Tech Group (IT Consultants)
• Education • Menard & Sons (Conduit/Boring)
• Finance • Several Security , Environmental
• Development Control, & Telecommunications
• Collections/Curatorial Companies
8. Evolution of a Plan
The more people collaborated, the more change occurred. It affected design – what was
the layout for the network, Should it be a ring or have spokes? What are the needs of
applications on this network? Redundancy vs. latency? Power outages,? How many
strands? Where should the hubs be? How to protect equipment in unheated
buildings? What building need a higher level of security/cameras/protection? What if
we build a new gallery? Where ISN’T access needed? What are the costs of all these
considerations? The more we collaborated, the more the plan for the network changed.
9. Lessons Learned
• Collaboration takes time
• Leader/Coordinator
• Open to input/change
• Requires focus on goal
• Meetings, meetings and more meetings
• Communication: constant and open
10. Cons to Collaboration
• Takes Time
• Conflicting Information
• Unrealistic Expectations
• Can’t Do it All
• Lose Focus
• Meetings, meetings, meetings
11. Benefits of Collaboration
• Stronger plan
• Checks & Balances
• Better research
• Buy-In
• Better planning in current purchases
• AND….
12. Center for Art & Education
It is enabling Shelburne Museum to build the Center for Art and Education. The
16,000-square-foot center will include galleries, an auditorium and classroom space
and will accommodate a year-round calendar of exhibitions and programs for youth
and adult audiences. With the current network, the resources would not be available
to provide phone, security, or any connectivity in this building. With the FO network,
the building will be outfitted in a state of the art manner allowing Shelburne Museum
to go from a seasonal operation to year-round increasing our audience and moving
Editor's Notes
Rick Kerschner, Director of Preservation and Conservation, was acutely aware of the limitations of the old infrastructure. Rick saw the Save America’s Treasures Grant offered by the National Parks Service/National Trust for Historic Preservation,as a source of funding to replace this infrastructure.The idea started with him and grew to include input from most departments at Shelburne Museum. This clip was released in late 2009 when we were awarded the grant.
When Rick considered the grant, the benefits he noted included ability to upgrade systems, remote access for both environmental and security systems,potential for web access within buildings, enhanced telecommunications through a VoIP phone system. All providing necessary flexibility as Shelburne Museum moves forward.
As he started talking with other staff members more benefits became apparent. Protection Services & Many others: improved work flows through remote access of systems.For Collections Management & Curatorial: network access would enable easier tracking of object movement, efficient exhibit design incorporating interactive pieces. Preservation and Conservation colleagues would benefit from being able to file on the spot condition reports. Staff handling special events and rental of Museum spaces could now offer a higher level of telecommunications and high speed web access making the location more desirable for business meetings and private functions.Admissions & store staff could communicate in real time with Development and Finance. For Education it meant more interactive exhibits, interaction with school groups before/during/after visits through web apps, better communication with exhibit guides, webcasts of speakers/classes. Buildings/Grounds: Up to date as-builts and schematics, better communications during work hours, less repairs to old equipment/cabling. Less ‘miracle work’. Remote Access to systems.IT: Ability to have server/back-up equipment in multiple places, more options in ways to provide service, ability to provide and monitor services remotely, less individual networks to monitor. Less time on the phone system maintenance, less fear of lightening storms. Finance: A more secure network with less maintenance costs that also provides more potential income through rental events.
The more people collaborated, the more change occurred. It affected design – what was the layout for the FO network, Should it be a ring? Should it have spokes? What are the needs of the various applications to be run on this network? How do we provide for redundancy and reduce latency? How do we provide for power outages, for system damage? How many strands should be pulled and utilized? Where should the hubs be? What about unheated buildings (of which we have many), How do we protect the equipment in those spots? What buildings are apt to be used for events needing high speed access? What building need a higher level of security/cameras/protection? Where might future growth occur? What if we buy a neighboring building? What if we build a new gallery? Where ISN’T access needed? What are the costs of all these considerations? Are they in our budget?!?! Of course, knowing technology changes quickly, we want to leave room for change. Hard to predict into the future. The more we collaborated, the more the plan for the FO Networked Changed – here’s a peek at how the plans changed over an 18 month period.
At this point, the conduit is in the ground and we are ready to pull the fiber. That will occur in the spring, with the installation of hardware in the buildings to occur in early summer. We hope to have the network fully lit by this time next year. Collaboration Takes time: a two year grant is going be a 5 year project. Rick started planning working on the grant in 2008 and the project will finish in 2012. Leader/Coordinator: Keeps the details organized. Rick S. went back and checked every fact and questioned every detail. Open to Change: Listening to the input from others in the organization – means being willing to change your plans or thoughts.Focus: Open to input, but remember the purpose of the grant.Meetings – never end.Communication: So pertinent information comes to the forefront, people feel included and buy-in – communicating to staff, vendors, visitors – safety first.
Takes Time: Every new idea means a trip back to the drawing board. Bring in the third person and find a new consideration – ie: keeping the current network up while the new one is being put in during trenching and installation of conduit. How do we do that?Conflicting information: every expert had a different suggestion. We had to do our research and ask continual questions. Rick S, heading the work, checks and double checks the facts continually. Unrealistic expectations: Potential vs Reality –Folks can confuse potential with Reality. The FO network will give us the potential to have wireless access for visitors – Reality: that was not the purpose of this grant and the money will have to come from another source. This is where communication is incredibly important to keep expectations realisitic.Cant do it all: Want to improve video surveillance in galleries. There is limited funds for that and we won’t be able to do it all at onceLose Focus: see the two above – got to keep going back to the purpose.Meetings meetingsmeetings : Nuff said.
Plan is stronger:. It is going to be done right the first time. Pot holes avoided - Remember the question of how to keep our current network running – an expert had the answer: boring technology.Checks and balances: decisions were well thought out and researched. Every avenue was explored. (Is this the best way for us? Other options? wireless/mesh/radio)Questions were welcomed and often altered decisions. Hence the consideration of the problems with trenching and spending a bit of extra money on boring. Better Research: more questions led to more research. Those of us involved in the plan daily are much better educated than we were before we started. Choices become more obviousBuy-in: the more people included, the more supportive they were of the plan, the work involved Better planning: Before folks looked at purchases with an eye to “how do I solve my problem” Now the purchases tend to be: can we reuse this WAP/Switch/ once the fiber is in? Can we make do until the fiber is in? Instead of rushing to institute single ideas in individual exhibits, these are being viewed for campus wide use once the FO are in. Looking at small projects in light of the big picture. Cost effective spending. More conversations yield more ideasAND….
It is enabling Shelburne Museum to realize a goal in the building of the Center for Art and Education that will for the first time, open the museum year-round. The 16,000-square-foot center will include galleries, an auditorium and classroom space and will accommodate a year-round calendar of exhibitions and programs for youth and adult audiences. Without the FO network, the resources would not be available to provide phones, internet access, and climate controls to this building in a adequate way. With the FO network, the building will be outfitted in a State of the Art manner allowing Shelburne museum to go from a seasonal operation to year-round increasing our audience and moving Shelburne Museum into the future.
