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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.25.20 attachment2 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh WI 54901 • 920.236.5799 • oshkoshmuseum.org MEMO TO THE MUSEUM BOARD September 25, 2020 To the Board, The Board meeting for next week is canceled; we will not have an October meeting. The presentation of the Sporting & Recreation exhibition was removed from the agenda and therefore the October meeting would only have been my short monthly report. Given the increase in Covid- 19 cases, Board President Jean Thierman and I thought it prudent to cancel the meeting. This week the team and I spent time reviewing and discussing the design for the Sporting & Recreation exhibition. We have come to the unanimous conclusion that more design work is required, but that cannot be completed, reviewed, and discussed prior to the October 1 Board meeting. In summary, we are of the opinion that areas of Sporting & Recreation remain weak, and we agree the design does not flow and fit together seamlessly, as it should. For that reason, we are asking Split Rock Studios for additional design work and have several meetings scheduled. My hope is that this can all be done before our November meeting, but that is not assured because we have been unable to confirm with Split Rock. One critical outcome of our meeting this week is the understanding that there is not enough time to complete Sporting & Recreation before the June Pow Wow and Titanic, and we cannot have construction taking place during Titanic. Doing the fit-out phase in-house will take at least two months. With Titanic ending in mid-October 2021, Sporting & Recreation is thereby moved to a spring 2022 opening. The exhibition team also talked through the schedules and timeframes for other upcoming exhibition projects. If design work on Deep Roots, Growing City begins in winter 2021 and follow-up capital improvement requests are approved, Deep Roots would become the central project of the Museum’s 100th anniversary in 2024. Because it is a complex exhibition with multiple ties to school curriculum, and has a complicated fit-out phase, Deep Roots necessitates a longer creation period. As a side note, some exhibition construction materials remain in short supply, including high grade acrylic. In other news, with the Archivist listing closed, time was spent reviewing applications. The top six candidates will be interviewed on October 14. This task was demanding because the response was very strong, and because there are many well qualified applicants. I am confident the Archives will be well managed. The grading around the foundation was completed in mid-week. The areas were seeded and will be landscaped in spring. New walks were poured this week and parking lot repairs are next, so in a few weeks the exterior will assume some of its usual appearance. Part of the Garden Club’s flower beds were damaged as a result of repair to electrical lines, and that might be replanted this autumn by Club members. 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh WI 54901 • 920.236.5799 • oshkoshmuseum.org Page Two Finally, Marketing Coordinator Tammy Malewski has scheduled nine cemetery tours and we are gratified by the excellent response; the first tour is Saturday. The tours will be led by trained volunteers rather than staff, are capped at a small size (20), masks are required, no walk-ins, and social distancing is of course obligatory. Tour income will bring the Museum a little closer to our 2020 revenue goal. That ends the week and I hope you have a pleasant weekend. Brad Larson Oshkosh Public Library Highlights September 2020 1. OPL’s take-home kits were a popular off-line learning option for families this summer. Patrons picked up 527 STEAM Kits via curbside service in July and August, including Botany in a Bag, Skittle Chromatography, Catapult Engineering and UV Color Changing Beads. The Children’s Department may also offer take-home kits in conjunction with Wonderlab video programming this winter, allowing kids and families a hands-on experience at home as part of this popular STEAM program. 2. Congratulations to Ruth Percey and Matt Schrottky, who received the STAR Award (Staff Appreciation and Recognition) recently from the City of Oshkosh. Ruth and Matt were recognized for their work to establish curbside service in response to the COVID-19 health emergency. They have rallied staff to keep the service operating smoothly and modify it over time to offer the best service possible to our patrons. Curbside service has allowed OPL to continue offering the materials that our patrons value and has helped to keep those patrons engaged with the library. Congratulations to Ruth and Matt for leading the charge! 3. Staff in the Children’s Department worked with the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh to bring hundreds of books and hands-on learning experiences to children at the club during July and August. Each month library staff assembled collections of 190 books for children ages 6-12, which club staff picked up via OPL’s curbside service. Library staff also delivered 140 STEAM Kits to the club. As the pandemic continues to limit library visits, this service offered access to reading and learning materials that was greatly appreciated by the Boys & Girls Club. 4. Connecting our patrons with library materials continues to be especially important while the public cannot visit the library to browse the collection. Though staff has always offered reading recommendations, the Children’s Department worked with marketing staff to package this service – creating Book Bundles. When families call, staff work with them to determine the types of books their children will enjoy. Since branding the service and promoting it in the library eNewsletter and other outlets, there has been a 25 percent increase in these subject- related requests. 5. OPL is encouraging creativity in our community with two contests and supporting programming. F Stop: Shelter invites teens and adults to submit original photos that reflect their interpretation of shelter. Prizes will be awarded and winning photos will be displayed on the OPL website and social media accounts. Programs led via Zoom by local photographers will offer perspectives on photo composition and storytelling, technique and displaying photos. Camera Casino is a supporting sponsor of F Stop:Shelter. Besides nurturing creativity, this effort will offer a record of daily life during a global pandemic Our Two-Sentence Horror Story Contest asks teens to tell a scary story in just two sentences. Two writing workshops held via Zoom will help to get those creepy compositions on track. Prizes will be awarded and stories shared on OPL’s website. Details for F Stop and the Two Sentence Horror Story Contest are at oshkoshpubliclibrary.org.