Abstract

One of the museum's important missions is collecting objects and artifacts to store, preserve, and display. Today, however, museums only have a small portion of their objects out on display. Large institutions have the funds to buy and create new spaces to display more of their collections. With small budgets and small spaces, however, smaller institutions do not have this luxury. I wish to find different ways to bring out collections from storage into the public eye to better serve the community. I apply my investigation to a case study of the History Center in Tompkins County, a local history center in Ithaca, NY. The case study is informed by my internship experience there over the past summer and work that will continue throughout the rest of this year. I will be furthering my thoughts by analyzing a digital exhibition about quilting. In addition to incorporating my first-hand experience with the History Center, this thesis will provide recommendations for bringing collections out from storage. These will include online exhibits, social media usage, marketing, and deaccessioning/loans between institutions. The overall goal of this research is an outline of action for how the History Center can bring artifacts out of storage or make them accessible to their audience. This plan can also serve as an outline to other small institutions.

Publication Date

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Undergraduate

Degree Name

Museum Studies (BS)

Advisor

Michael Brown

Advisor/Committee Member

Cindy Kjellander-Cantu

Advisor/Committee Member

Juilee Decker

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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