Follow Up

More info on the North Carolina Maritime Museum issue: Squall Lines

PEM Appoints Library Director

According to an article in the Salem News, Sidney Berger, 62, a faculty member at Simmons College and a former curator at the American Antiquarian Society, was selected to be the first Ann C. Pingree director of the Phillips Library. He will begin his new post in June.

The job of library director, which has not existed since before the 1992 merger of the Essex Institute and Peabody Museum, will be a senior-level staff position and "a clear-cut indication of the role and importance of the library," Monroe said.

Decisions about future changes and directions for the Library will be made after Berger takes his new position.

Position: Executive Director Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver Maritime Museum
Type: Full Time
Salary Range: Open
Web: www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com
The Vancouver Maritime Museum is the principal maritime museum on the Pacific Coast of Canada and one of a few major maritime museums on the west coast of North America. It interprets the story of Canada's great Pacific port and is home to the famous RCMP ship, St. Roch. The Museum is well-known for its excellent programs and exhibits, strong membership and corporate support, as well as its family friendly focus and dedicated staff. It is in this exciting and challenging environment that we have a pivotal role for a new
Executive Director - Help chart a new course for this venerable museum.
We are seeking an experienced leader to provide new direction and reinvigorate the day-to-day operations of the museum. You will build on our strengths as the museum moves forward, poised to make a significant contribution to the educational, maritime and tourism communities of the Greater Vancouver area in BC.
With a strong background in operations and change management, combined with an enthusiasm for public institutions, you will be ideal for this role. Experience in the maritime sector is desirable although not essential.
Vancouver is a place in which you can feel at home: it is Canada's gateway to the Pacific and consistently rated as one of the top places to live in the world. With approximately 2.3 million people in the metropolitan area, this growing, multicultural city is proud to be hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Closes 2/9/07
Send letter, resume and salary requirements to:
Application Email: director@vancouvermaritimemuseum.com
Application Address:
Director
Vancouver Maritime Museum
1905 Ogden Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1A3 Posted January 24th

Internships: Martha's Vineyard Museum

Curatorial Intern Edgartown, Massachusetts
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Applications Contact person: Jill Bouck
Application due date: 2007/March 30
Salary range: $9 per hour
Web Address: www.marthasvineyardhistory.org
Curatorial Intern: The curatorial intern will work extensively with the curator and assistant curator on a variety of tasks such as the overall operation of the 18th century Cooke House on the MVM campus, exhibit care and maintenance, environmental monitoring, collection care, security, registration and collection storage. The curatorial intern will lead interpretational tours of the Cooke House as well as campus-wide tours for visitors of all ages and assist in training other interns and volunteers to do the same. The intern will also work with other museum staff, interns and volunteers on a variety of museum-related tasks and ongoing summer education programs. Candidates for this position should have a strong interest or background in museum studies, education and history and enjoy working with the public.
Application Process:
To be considered for an internship position, you will have to submit a complete application package to the MVM by March 30, 2007. This application package includes:
- Martha's Vineyard Museum Intern Information Sheet(see MVM website for form)
- Cover Letter
- Resume
- Two Letters of Recommendation
- Most Current Contact Information (phone number and email)
Upon receiving the application packet, MVM staff will send an email acknowledgement. A telephone interview will be necessary for the finalists.
Please send the completed application packet to:
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Attn: Internship Committee
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA. 02539 Posted January 24th

Internship: Martha's Vineyard Museum

Library/Archive Intern Edgartown, Massachusetts
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Applications Contact person: Keith Gorman
Application due date: 2007 March 30
Salary range: $9 per hour
Web Address: www.marthasvineyardhistory.org
The Library/Archive Intern will work closely with the librarian, library staff and volunteers, and visiting researchers at the Gale Huntington Library. The Library's special collections include 50,000 photographic images, 500 maps, and 550 linear feet of manuscripts, logbooks, diaries, and scrapbooks. The Library maintains a small non-circulating collection of monographs that relate to the Museum's focus on Martha's Vineyard history and culture. It functions as the Vineyard's primary cultural and historical repository. Thus, the Library responds to research and reference queries from around the world. While gaining a solid understanding of the basic operations of a research library, the intern will also learn a number of important archival concepts and skills. Candidates for this position should have a strong interest and background in American history and/or some experience working in a research library setting.
Application Process:
To be considered for an internship position, you will have to submit a complete application package to the MVM by March 30, 2007. This application package includes:
- Martha's Vineyard Museum Intern Information Sheet (see website for form)
- Cover Letter
- Resume
- Two Letters of Recommendation
- Most Current Contact Information (phone number and email)
Upon receiving the application packet, MVM staff will send an email acknowledgement.
A telephone interview will be necessary for the finalists.
Please send the completed application packet to:
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Attn: Internship Committee
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA. 02539 Posted January 24th

Internship: Wisconsin Maritime Museum

Curatorial Internship, Summer 2007 Manitowoc, WI
Wisconsin Maritime Museum
The Curatorial Intern will focus on exhibits research, production and maintenance; however, responsibilities may also include conservation and collections management work. The intern’s primary projects will relate to work on the Museum’s permanent gallery and upcoming temporary exhibits, and may include identifying and researching potential items for exhibit, coordinating incoming loan items, and script writing. The intern works directly with the Curator or a department head responsible for the project, under the supervision of the Curator. Projects will involve various Museum resources such as ship's plans, photographic, and art archives; film and manuscript collections; three-dimensional artifacts, historic small boat collection; or the Museum's World War II submarine U.S.S. COBIA.
Qualifications: Must have excellent research and writing skills, be self-motivated, and able to work independently with little supervision. Preference will be given to candidates enrolled in history, museum studies or public history programs.
Compensation is $7.50 per hour for up to 320 hours of paid work; start date and work schedule are flexible.
Please send cover letter, resume, and references by February 28, 2007 to: Michelle Hill, Wisconsin Maritime Museum, 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc, WI 54220; or via email to mhill@wisconsinmaritime.org. Posted January 28th

Australian Register of Historic Vessels

The Australian National Maritime Museum launched the nation's first Australian Register of Historic Vessels on February 1.

The initial objective of the online register it to assemble a broad picture of Australia's historic boats and ships - indicating the various types, their numbers, their distribution, the uses they serve and their condition.

At launch, the database contains an initial list of 100 vessels - ranging from an early Australian surfboard and an Indigenous one-person fishing raft to a Murray River paddle steamer, a Newcastle collier and a former Royal Australian Navy destroyer.

Any owner wishing to nominate a vessel for inclusion in the Register will find the assessment criteria, helpful information and a Nomination Form on the Register web pages.

I haven't played around in the database much but from what I've seen it's a very rich source of information on the vessels that are included.

Heads up

I don't have the full story, but it would be irresponsible and counter to the Compass's mission not to mention the latest happening regarding Independence Seaport Museum. It appears that during the month of January the Museum sued past director Johns S. Brown for stealing 2.4 million.

A better summary of the situation is at: the Sea-Fever blog (which I've never noticed before but will now follow)


The following are a few links to some of the stories:

Former Museum Chief Denies Stealing Millions

John S. Brown has 99 Problems

Position Announcement:: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum seeks a proven museum professional to manage the production, installation and maintenance of the Museum's exhibits. As a member of the exhibit development teams, the specialist will participate in exhibit design and planning. Responsibilities also include cost estimation for ongoing maintenance and exhibit fabrication and the annual department budget; graphic design, fabrication and assistance with installation of all Museum signage.

See Job Detail.

One Month Later...

Today being February 1st it seemed a good time to get back to blogging. The reason I've been 'gone' is due to the Holidays, the kids being home for winter break and ... the G. W. Blunt White Library move and inter-Collection Intigration. For those of you not familiar with recent events at the Library what follows is a brief run down.

It all began in February of last year when, as a cost saving measure Mystic Seaport offered veteran employees a buy-out option. Out of 40 some staff members in the Collections Area, 12 took the option leaving each Collection thinly staffed. The Library had only 3 full time employees, Ships Plans 2, Curatorial 5, Photgraphy 3...well you get the idea.

And so it was decided that the best way to move forward was to combine forces, reorganze along functional, rather than collection, lines and move the Library into the vast spaces of the Collections Research Center.

...we are now in the midst of that great move but things have settled down enough, both at work and at home that I feel we can get this blog going again.

What have missed? Well aside from the big happening down at Phili, which I'll cover later, not too much. The biggest omission, I think, was Joe's Follansbees audio book and I'll get that story and link up today (getting an error message on the page now).

Kelly

PS Its good to be back