New Hampshire Historical Society

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage The New Hampshire Historical Society is undertaking a collections documentation effort to increase awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the resources of New Hampshire history among learners of all ages and backgrounds. The society collects, preserves, and interprets the material culture of New Hampshire in support of its mission "to educate a diverse public about the significance of New Hampshire's past and its relationship to our lives today." In the historical Society's long-range plan to fully automate its collections records, the next step is better documentation of the museum collections. The Society's goal is a single, Web-based library and museum catalog for public use. The library collections are now under good bibliographic control, so staff are turning their attention to expanding access to information about the museum collections, beginning with the decorative arts collection. With the addition of special project staff-a cataloger, a data entry technician, and a digital photographer-and with the expertise of 11 decorative arts scholars and consultants, the society expects to catalog 6,655 pieces of furniture, glass, ceramics, pewter, and silver over a two-year period. With advice from a records automation consultant, the society will also develop an institutionwide digitization plan. The society will use this grant to help bring staff and public knowledge of its collections to a more sophisticated and meaningful level.