February 2009 Update

Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is very pleased to announce that Lynn MacEachern has been hired by the Wolfville Historical Society for 6 weeks in order to continue the Passage data cleaning work. They want to reassure the partners that there is enough money in the current SDI year to accommodate this without jeopardizing other areas of work.

CHIN Meetings
Every February CHIN & CCI host meetings in Ottawa in order to stay in touch with the heritage community, and determine how to better meet the needs of their members and clients. Invitees include Executive Directors and either special project, technical or training coordinators from provincial museum associations, as well as government and other staff who have province-wide mandates or scopes to their work. This was the 5th year that Passage staff have attended these meetings and reported on our activities.

The follow-up report can be found on the blog in two sections: proceedings of the CHIN meetings, and a report on what’s going on in other provinces and territories.

Data Cleaning
Several sites have not responded to our call for data cleaning. We cannot stress enough that this is a limited, one-time offer. It is absolutely imperative that people send us their database when it is requested. As mentioned above, Lynn will be around until the end of March to complete this work. We cannot afford to fall behind schedule because we are waiting for people to answer phone and/or email messages. If you have not received this service yet, please keep an eye on your inbox or give us a call so Lynn can start working on your database.

Artefacts Canada Tally
February was a very good month for uploading. 10,586 records were uploaded to Artefacts Canada, giving us a grand total of 58,831 records online!

Here are the current regional standings:
Southwest: 23,507
Northeast: 16,755
Central: 12,527
Cape Breton: 6,042

Congratulations to the Central region for uploading the most records this month. They definitely blew away the competition by more than doubling their former tally.

Remember that your records need to be online by the summer, so if you haven’t uploaded yet, give us a call and we will help you with this.

Staff Report
Here’s an account of how Karin and Lynn have spent their time this month.

Monthly Breakdown: Karin____Lynn
Email____________22.61%___4.82%
Phone ____________8.65%___1.67%
Meetings _________24.98%___5.57%
Travel ____________7.69%___3.34%
Reports __________15.22%___0.00%
Database Work ______2.33%__81.08%
Administrative _____16.65%___3.15%
System Maintenance __1.87%___0.37%


Blog Polls
Just a reminder to everyone to vote in the latest poll. This question will play a key role in determining how to proceed in future activities, and so it is very important that everyone responds. To find the poll, scroll to the bottom of the page.

Ask a Librarian
The Halifax Public Library would like to remind everyone of their “Ask a Librarian” service. If you need help finding out about a company, organization, event, or other aspect of Nova Scotia’s past, you can visit the library’s website and ask for assistance. While they can’t guarantee success, they’ll look through their resources and get back to you with whatever information they uncover.

Passage in the Community
While site visits aren’t normally conducted during the winter, staff do try to attend partners’ special events when possible. Karin and Lynn were privileged to attend a reception in honour of the Year of Aviation in Nova Scotia, hosted by the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum. In attendance were MLA Percy Paris, Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield and former Snowbirds Commander Dan Dempsey, as well as three of the original Golden Hawks aerobatic team pilots. Many RCAF and other veterans were also present, and it was evident that they thoroughly enjoyed seeing old friends and reliving their flying days. Attendees enjoyed talks by the aforementioned special guests, as well as archived footage of the Golden Hawks, and a chance to visit the museum and hear stories from the veterans.

If anyone else has an upcoming special event, we would love to help you celebrate the work that you are doing in your community.

Recognition
Last but certainly not least, I am sorry to inform everyone that after 22 years working in the museum world, Penny Lighthall is moving on. Penny has worked at the Nova Scotia Museum, Wallace & Area Museum, and for the past 11 years has been at the Colchester Historical Society Museum in Truro. She served twice on the FNSH board of directors, and has attended and hosted numerous workshops and professional development opportunities. Penny also played a key role in the creation of Passage, being one of the original “Power of 17” museum partners, and has continued to be a very strong supporter of Passage over the years.

Penny, you will be greatly missed. We wish you all the best as you pursue new and exciting opportunities.