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Riley County Historical Museum reports visitor gains in August, completes lighting upgrade and begins storage cleanup
Summary
The museum reported higher-than-average August visitation, completed LED lighting in a temporary storage area and began a long-term collections inventory that the director says may include as many as 20,000 objects; an online archives platform will launch Oct. 1.
The Riley County Historical Museum presented its monthly staff report to commissioners, noting higher-than-average visitation in August, progress on a lighting upgrade, and plans to inventory and clear a crowded temporary storage area.
Museum Director Catherine Hensler told the board that August visitation and program attendance produced about 913 public impressions through visits, events and outreach; the museum’s genealogy and history fair drew just over 200 visitors. Volunteer hours for August exceeded 140 for general volunteers and interns, and the historical society’s board contributed about 99 hours.
Hensler said LED lighting was installed in the museum’s temporary storage space, allowing staff and volunteers to identify more objects stored there; she estimated the space may contain as many as 20,000 objects that will need cataloging, review and either accessioning or deaccessioning. The museum plans to coordinate with the Riley County Historical Society on options; Hensler said the society may hire a contract registrar to assist under museum guidance.
The museum also announced a new online archives platform to publish digitized historic photographs and research materials; staff said the site will be hosted on the historical society’s website and is scheduled to launch Oct. 1. Hensler said the digitized images will be made available at low resolution for broad public use, with higher-resolution or publication permissions available on request.
Why it matters: The lighting and storage work affect preservation, access and the museum’s ability to manage long-term collections. The planned online archive will expand public access for researchers and community members who previously needed appointments to view materials.
Hensler listed upcoming programs — monthly fireside chats, humanities presentations and cemetery-preservation workshops — and said the museum is collaborating on community planning for the national America250 commemoration. The museum is also recruiting interns and continuing modest staff expansion; two fall interns began work in August and one summer intern has continued into the fall.
From the record: "We do have LED lighting now that's been installed in that area. We can actually see what we're working around," Hensler said. The museum will present additional plans for managing the storage backlog to the historical society and the board as work proceeds.
