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KelleyBrenneman652-DigitalLibrariesProfLamb11April2016Spark5-Option2:Specialization

AweekagoIstartedayearlongarchivalfellowshipattheAuburnCordDuesenberg(ACD)

MuseuminAuburn,Indiana.Themuseumdisplaysfourtypesofcars:theAuburn,theCord,the

Duesenberg,andotherrareclassiccars.Thismuseumishousedintheoriginalinternational

headquartersofthecompanyandthefactorywerethecarswerebuilt.AsIstartedworkinghereI

quicklyrealizedtheworkinginaspecialoruniversitylibraryandarchiveswaswaydifferentthatworking

inamuseumarchive.Forstartershalfofthearchivecollectionisoutondisplayforthepublicrather

thanbehindlockeddoorsinahumiditycontrolledenvironment.Anotherthingispreservingbig,bulking

objectslikecarstakesacompletelydifferentapproach,and“Thecareneedmostdefinitelyhingeson

whetherthecarisinitsoriginalformorwhetherit’sbeenrestoredandsenttous.”1NowtheACD

Museumisasmallmuseumwithalotofdreamsastohowtheywouldliketopreservetheircarsand

materialsinthearchivesbutnotnecessarilythebudgettomakeithappen.Howeverthereareother,

largercarmuseumsinthecountrythathavethebudgetstopreservethecarsandarchivesintheproper

way.

Eversincehumanbeingsstartedsavingtheirhistoryinmuseumstherehavebeenchallengesas

tohowtogoaboutdoingthat.Whenitcomestoobjectsinthemuseumthiscanleadtoproblems.“Out

ofpracticalpreservationconcerns,archivistsfindthemselvesunabletoretainartifactsinthearchives

andsometimestransferthemtodifferentorganizationaldepartmentsorinstitutions.”2Withthingsthat

asbigascarsthecarshousedintheACDMuseumthechallengescontinuetogrow.Itisveryhardtofind

displaycasesbigenoughtohouseeachcar,andoftenitistooexpensivetobuyacaseforeverysingle

1Bowers,March302016.2Rudolph,25.

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car.TheCorvetteMuseuminBowlingGreen,Kentuckyisonethathassomecarsindisplaycases.

HowevertheStudebakerMuseuminSouthBend,Indianaisonethatjusthasthecarsropedoffsothat

visitorscannotgettoclose.

TheACDMuseumisanotherthatjusthasthecarsropedoff,howevertheyareagroundlevel,sothey

arenotmuchadeterrenttopeople.

“Whenitcomestoclassiccarslikeours,theongoingdebateiswhetheryoupreservethemin

theconditionthattheyareinordoyourestorethemtohowtheywouldhavelookedthedaytheyrolled

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offtheline?”3EversinceIwasaskedthisquestionIhavebeenstewingoveritandtryingtodecide

whereIfallinthedebate.Onetheonehandpreservingthecarintheconditionitisin,evenifitisnot

theprettyform,willgivehintsastothematerialsused,howthecarwasoriginiallysupposedtolook,

andittellsthestoryofthecar.Howeverfullyrestoredcarslookmuchmoreflashyandexcitingina

museumandrestoringthecarcouldjustbeseenhasaddinganotherchaptertothatcar’sstory.“These

cars[unrestoredones]areshownwithapatinathattellsastoryofdecadesorservice,theirfaded

finishes,worseseats,stonechipsandrustspecksverifyingtheirbiographies.Valuedfortheiroriginality

andhistoricalsignificance…theypresentthewizened,character-ladenfacesofsurvivors.”4Insomecases

restorationmakesthemostsense.ForexampletheCorvetteMuseummadeinternationalheadlineson

“February12,2014whenasinkholecollapsedintheSkydomeoftheMuseumintheweehoursofthe

morning.”5Eightcarsfellintothesinkholeandwereallsubjectedtovaryingdegreesofdamage,andon

the“CorvetteCaveInExhibit”saysthisaboutrestoringthecarsthatweredamagedinthisnatural

disaster:

“Sometearswereshed,”ishowMuseumExecutiveDirectorWendellStrodedescribedthenewsofeightCorvettesfallingvictimtothesinkhole.Thispanelprovidesphotos,videosandfactsoneachofthecars,aswellasaninteractive“before”modelofeachCorvette.Anilluminatedacryliccaseillustratespreciselywhereeachcarfellintothehole…TherecoveryoftheCorvettesfromthesinkholewasnoeasytask!WhileyoucanseeshortvideoclipsandphotosoftheprocesswithintheCarsAffectedsection,youcangetbehindthecontrolsofacraneatourinteractivegamewithin“TheRecovery.”Guestsofallageswillenjoydigitallyrecoveringalleightcarsandputtingthemsafelyintheirgaragebays….YoureducationaljourneythroughCorvetteCaveInwillleadyoutoourSkydomeWherealleightofthe“sinkholeCorvettes”remainondisplay.SeethetwoCorvettesrestoredbyGeneralMotors,aswellastheothersixcarsthatlookjustastheydidafterbeingrescuedfromthesinkhole.Wehaveonecarlefttorepair–the1962BlackConvertible–whichwillundergorepairinournewMaintenanceandPreservationDepartment.6

3Bowers,March302016.4Heiler.5“CorvetteCaveInExhibit”6“CorvetteCaveInExhibit”

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IncasessuchaswhathappenedattheCorvetterestorationmakessensesincethecars

damagedduetoanunforeseenadvent.HoweverwhenitcomestothecarsattheStudebaker

MuseumortheACDMuseumrestorationisstillupfordebate.

Onesteptowardspreservationthatsomemuseumsaremovingtowardsisdigitizing

collectionsinthemuseums.Howeverthiscanbeachallengeaccordingtothearticle

“ConnectingtoCollectionsinFlorida:CurrentConditionsandCriticalNeedsinLibraries,

Archives,andMuseums.”Thisarticlemakesthefollowingclaim:

Whilethenation’slibraries,archives,andmuseumsfaceanoverwhelmingneedforbasicpreservationandconservation,thelackofcatalogingandaccessibilityofcollectionsposesyetanotherseriouschallengetothenation’scollectingagencies.Nearly25percentoftherespondentsreportedthattheirinstitutionshad25percentorlessoftheircollectionscataloged,whileonly12percentreportedhavingalltheircollectionsavailablethroughcatalogsorotherfindingaids.Withoutaccuratedataoncollectionscontent,itisevenmoredifficulttomakedecisionssuchasprioritizingthelimitedresourcesavailableformaintainingandpreservingartifacts.7

Despiteallofthesechallengesfacinglibrariesandmuseumsthathasnotstoppedsomeplaces

fromstartingmassivedigitizationprojects.Someplacesareevendigitizingthecars!For

exampleTheHenryFordMuseuminDetroit,Michiganisaplacethathasbeendigitizingcars.

Thisisafairlysimpledigitizationwereitisjustahighqualityphotothathasbeenuploadtothe

website,butitisstillastart.

7Jörgensen,Marty,andBraun,456.

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Besidesdigitizingcars,TheHenryFordMuseumhasalsodigitizedothercollectionswithintheirarchives

andhaveputthemonlineforpublicuse.Onecollectionthathasbeendigitizedisacollectionof

materialsthatbelongedtoHenryFordhimself.Someoftheseitemsincludehisemployeebadge,a

weddinginvitationofFordtoClaraBryant,andhisdriver’slicense.

Somemuseumsaredigitizingcollectionsbutifyoulookedontheirwebsiteyouwouldnotevenbe

awareofit.ForexampletheACDArchivepagelookslikethis:

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Howeverthemuseumisintheprocessofdigitizingmanyofitscollectionsinthearchives,focusing

mostlyonthephotossincemanyhavebeendamagedbecausetheywerestoredwiththeirnegative

withwasmadeofnitrate.Thearchivistwouldeventuallyliketomakethecollectionsaccessibleonline,

buthealsobelievesthatthewebsiteneedsamajoroverallbeforethathappens.ACDhasbeenusingthe

programPastPerfecttodigitizecollections,andthisprogramdoeshaveaweb-basedcomponentthat

wouldallowthecollectionstobedisplayedonline,butagainthewebpagedoesneedsomeworkbefore

thathappens.

Despitethedebateaboutpreservationverserestorationthatwasmentionedearlier,

therearestillmanypeoplewhowanttorestoretheirclassiccarsbuttheywanttodoitinaway

thatholdstruetotheoriginalformanddesignofthecar.Becauseofthismanymuseumsare

digitizingblueprints,salemanuals,paintguides,etc.forpublicuse.Havingtheseonlineorina

digitalformattoselltothepublicwillallowpeoplewhoarerestoringthecarstobeascloseto

theoriginalaspossible.

Digitizationisheretostayandmanymuseumsarestartingtoseethebenefitsofhaving

collectionsavailableonline.Digitizingwillalsoplayanimportantroleinthepreservationofmany

museumcollections,notjustonestheyhaveintheirarchives.Inthecaseofcarmuseumsliketheones

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mentionedaboveperseveringthesefeatsofengineeringisnosmalltask.“Topracticeengineeringinthe

fieldofhistoricpreservationortocalloneselfaconservationengineertakesanenormouseffortin

researching,analyzing,re-analyzing,andunderstandingarchaicstructuralsystemsandbuilding

technology,ifoneistokeephistoricbuildingsinservice.”8Thisalsoappliestocarsandotherobjects

withinamuseumthatrequirespecialcare.However,asmuseumsmoveintothefuturetheirnumber

onegoalwillcontinuetobethesame,andthatistopreserveanddisplaypiecesofhistorythattellthe

storyofhumanity.

8TrelstadandSilman,27-28.

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ReferenceListArchivalCollection.TheAuburnCordDuesenbergMuseum

http://www.automobilemuseum.org/#home.html.

ArchivesandEducation.TheStudebakerNationalMuseum.http://www.studebakermuseum.org/Bowers,E.InformalQuestionandAnswerSession.March30,2016.Capell,L..(2010).DigitizationasaPreservationMethodforDamagedAcetateNegatives:ACaseStudy.

TheAmericanArchivist,73(1),235–249.Retrievedfromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/27802723.ClassicCarCollectorTipsforProperPreservationandRestoration.Autos.com.Retrievedfrom

http://www.autos.com/car-buying/classic-car-collector-tips-for-proper-preservation-and-restoration.

DigitalCollections.TheHenryFordMuseum.https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/.

Heiler,Fred.(2012).PreservingClassics,WrinklesandAll.NewYorkTimes.Retrievedfrom

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/automobiles/collectibles/preserving-classics-wrinkles-and-all.html?_r=0.

Jörgensen,C.,Marty,P.F.,&Braun,K..(2012).ConnectingtoCollectionsinFlorida:CurrentConditionsandCriticalNeedsinLibraries,Archives,andMuseums.TheLibraryQuarterly:Information,Community,Policy,82(4),453–476.http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/667437.

Kinney,David.(2009).PreservationClassCars.Hagerty.Retrievedfromhttps://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2009/06/02/preservation-class-cars.

Rudolph,K.(2011).SeparatedatAppraisal:MaintainingtheArchivalBondbetweenArchivesCollections

andMuseumObjects.ArchivalIssues,33(1),25-39.Retrievedfromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/23100471.

SpecialExhibits:CorvetteCave-In:TheSkydomeSinkholeExperience.NationalCorvetteMuseum.http://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/exhibits/corvette-cave-in-exhibit/

Trelstad,D.,&Silman,R..(2009).PreservationEngineering:Past,Present,andFuture.APTBulletin,40(3/4),27–32.Retrievedfromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/40284501.

Wexler,A..(2007).MuseumCultureandtheInequitiesofDisplayandRepresentation.VisualArts

Research,33(1),25–33.Retrievedfromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/20715431.Woodcock,D.G.(2009).AcademicPreparationforPreservationPractice.APTBulletin,40(3/4),43–49.

Retrievedfromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/40284503.