museums
Museum Outreach and Archiving
Organization:
The Inland Northwest Community Access Network VISTA Name:
Elisha Durrant
Program Start:
1/2007
Program End:
1/2009
Project Description:
ONLINE HISTORY PROJECT COORDINATOR: Continue the development and expansion of TINCAN’s online history site – the Inland Northwest Memories Project; Work with neighborhoods and community organizations to utilize historical information for community identity; Train neighborhood and community organizations on gathering oral histories and preserving historical information in digital format; In collaboration with other TINCAN staff, link community and neighborhood history to other TINCAN community development efforts; Work with K-12 schools to promote utilization of the history site in the curriculum; Continue to develop and expand the Inland Northwest Memories volunteer base; Assist the Inland Northwest Memories project in developing and implementing a long-term sustainability plan.
Project Outcome:
Elisha manages the Inland Northwest Memories project, an online history archive funded by Humanities Washington. This includes outreach, training, and writing, as well as fundraising and project development. In addition, she works with staff on other projects as needed.
Elisha trained 20 small community museums in the digitization of their collections. She developed a video on the importance of small museums in preserving community history, which has been shown at a number of sites. Elisha is also conducting a seminar series, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, to familiarize secondary school teachers with the events leading to the passing of women’s suffrage in Washington State. She has drawn in a number of new community partners for this project.
In light of Elisha’s success, we have decided to make her a member of our staff after her second year of service.
Impact Quote:
“Elisha has been invaluable to the growth and vitality of the Inland Northwest Memories project. She has found underwriters that will let us continue collecting veteran’s histories, and constantly discovers new sources of history that would otherwise be lost to the community. These primary source materials, when out online, will help our local schools fulfill the state’s ‘Dig Deep’ initiative that requires that students use primary sources in studying history.”
- Karen Michaelson, supervisor