Museum Village looks back for its future

MONROE — Get ready for a recharged Museum Village to reach out to prospective visitors. The museum — the vision of Roscoe William Smith, a philanthropist, collector and founder of the Orange and Rockland electric company who donated “Museum Village of Old Smith’s Clove” - is beginning to reorganize itself to make it even more appealing to those interested in Americana. Since it opened in 1950, Museum Village in Monroe continues to pursue its vision of educating visitors about their ancestors’ work and life. Through educational programs, hands-on-exhibits and special events, the museum explores and interprets 19th century rural life and offers guests an appreciation for the evolution of industry and technology in America. Since she assumed the role of executive director in February, Warwick resident Kate Mitchell has been busy developing a strategic plan with the museum’s Board of Trustees that she hopes will successfully create “a more directive plan” for museum operations within the next five years. A draft of that strategic plan calls for the museum to be “clearly set on a path toward technologically sophisticated exhibits and displays with popular appeal and will have an extended exhibit schedule” by 2012. William Richards, president of SUNY Orange, assisted the museum by facilitating this planning process. The plan looks for museum operations to utilize technology for both administration and program work, including with additional staff to serve as professional educators, a development professional, a curator, a volunteer coordinator, and an information technology specialist. “We need to develop an infrastructure,” said Mitchell. “We need to create the structure that hasn’t been created thus far, so this is a more directive plan. And, we need to regionalize our own vision of ourselves. This will make a big difference. We have 25,000 school students visiting us each year, coming locally but also from Connecticut, the Bronx and New Jersey, as examples. We need to develop plans that reflect that.” Mitchell added she knows people have many choices on where to spend their time when selecting destinations for regional day trips; higher gas prices also factor into their decision making. She hoped Museum Village would be considered as a place to visit and learn about 19th century life in rural America since the museum owns so many items which reflect what life was like then. Although there are approximately 100,000 artifacts owned by the museum, only three percent of those have been catalogued by computer. Most of those are within the clothing and textile collections, Mitchell said. Part of the five-year strategic plan is to develop a collections management strategy that will document the entire collection so the museum knows exactly what it owns. In fact, the American Association of Museums in Washington, D.C. announced earlier this month that Museum Village was selected to participate in the Museum Assessment Program for Collections Management. This program can be viewed as one step in the work toward achieving American Association of Museums accreditation. Much of this planning work is behind-the-scenes activities, Mitchell explained, and won’t be readily noticed by visitors. “We’re looking to bring more business acumen to the museum,” she added. “There are things we can do better.” Mitchell acknowledged that this is a big change from past practices and “it is possible” that might be unsettling to some staff. But she hoped employees and volunteers would understand the need for change and know it was for the museum’s long-term success. Part of the draft five-year plan also includes a long-term site plan to assess maintenance, electric and emergency needs for the facility. “We have to keep the feel of a 19th century village,” said Mitchell. “But we have to make sure we’re current with all the technological advances available to us.” As an example, in a building where plows are exhibited, ideas exist to install a large screen where videos show visitors exactly how those plows were used. But the infrastructure doesn’t yet exist to be able to do that. Nor do the financial resources. The draft plan also calls for a capital campaign to fund these proposed projects. There’s also a marketing component to the proposed long-term plan focusing on outreach and promotional efforts to increase awareness and interest in visiting the museum by different groups. Because the museum’s collection is so diversified, part of the museum’s strategic priorities include a master interpretive - or program - plan that will identify the major themes. Museum Village will develop in its exhibits, displays, and education programs, explained Mitchell. For example, while visiting the museum, visitors can see a real Mastodon skeleton, step inside a 200-year-old log cabin, dip a candle, watch weavers spin or see a blacksmith in action. They can see how certain types of pottery are made or be part of a Civil War enactment. Tours can be self-guided or with an interpretive guide. “There’s a range of possibilities,” she said. “But we have to look at what we really want to identify ourselves with … making the reasons for being here very clear.” The museum is also looking to assess the interpretative program, where people dress in the role they are representing and explain what people from that era would be doing and how they do it. Mitchell, 45, a graduate of Boston University who holds a master’s degree from Columbia University, previously owned her own business called Yarn Swift in Poughkeepsie, a fiber arts studio that specialized in teaching weaving, spinning, dying, knitting and crocheting. Before that time, she was the director of development for the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Hyde Park. She feels her background give helps her a solid understanding of the museum’s mission and vision and the ability to work with others to move the museum forward. “Museum Village is a really important cultural institution for Orange County,” Mitchell said. “I think that is a role we need to fulfill better. Our strategic plan is a prelude to a revitalized Museum Village. Be patient. You won’t have to wait that long.”