Museum Studies Blog at Tufts University – Page 141

September 19, 2014

Panel Discussion this Tuesday at the Mary Baker Eddy Library

Student Marie Palladino sent this announcement in. Thanks, Marie! — A Panel Discussion and Presentation — ARCHIVAL ACCESS ONLINE: THE PROMISE, THE PROBLEMS, THE PAYOFF TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 @ 6:30 PM AT THE MARY BAKER EDDY LIBRARY 200 MASSACHUSETTS AVE., BOSTON | MBELIBRARY.ORG A panel …

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by Tegan Kehoe

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September 14, 2014

Behind the velvet rope: Revealing process with museum tours and programs — guest post by instructor Ken Turino

Tufts Instructor Ken Turino passed along this article he published last month on Public History Commons. Public History Commons Editor’s Note: In “What I’ve Learned Along the Way: A Public Historian’s Intellectual Odyssey,” outgoing NCPH President Bob Weyeneth issued a call to action to public historians to …

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by Tegan Kehoe

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September 14, 2014

The deadline for NEMA scholarships is September 19!

Don’t delay – the deadline for scholarships is fast approaching!

NEMA is pleased to offer several scholarship and fellowship opportunities to make the annual conference more financially accessible. Scholarship awards support travel, lodging, and three-day registration for individual members of NEMA and employees of NEMA institutional members.

The deadline for all scholarship programs is September 19, 2014.

Only one application is necessary to apply for all scholarships and fellowships. Note: Individual opportunities have slightly differing requirements in the essay portion of the application.

You will be notified of the final award decisions in early October. In the event that your application is unsuccessful, you may still register at the early-bird rate at any time before conference.

Click here for complete details including a scholarship application form.

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by Tegan Kehoe

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September 10, 2014

DATE CHANGE: Young professionals event at Old North Church October 1

Erin Wederbrook Yuskaitis passed this along. Thanks, Erin! The NEW DATE of this event is October 1. Do you live in Boston but have never visited the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail? Do you want to learn more about this nationally significant historic …

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by Tegan Kehoe

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August 11, 2014

The Tufts Museum Studies blog is seeking new contributors!

The Tufts Museum Studies blog is always open to new contributors, but as the new school year rolls around, we are actively recruiting. The blog is authored and managed by current students — alumni and experienced museum professionals are welcome to contribute guest posts. Students, …

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by Tegan Kehoe

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August 5, 2014

The Wider World: How Do You Keep Up?

On my first day at Tufts, when all of the new students were sitting in the sweltering heat in the Gantcher Center, one of the speakers of our matriculation ceremony said to us, “From this point forward, you are behind.” He explained that in academia, there will always be more journal articles we need to read, lectures we need to attend, and so on, and that’s okay, and it will be that way our whole careers. He cautioned us not to get too far behind, but reminded us it is not a sign of failure if we are behind.

Optimistic words.

I find that in the parts of my Tufts life and professional life that aren’t part of “academia,” this may be even more true. Museums are constantly changing, and museum professionals are constantly trying new things and studying what works and what doesn’t. How do you keep up? Well, I’m not an expert, but I am someone with a bit of practice at trying to keep up, so here are my tips.

Decide what you definitely don’t need to spend time reading. In my opinion, a blog post published on LinkedIn is more likely than not a reach for internet clout on the part of the author, rather than a real contribution to a discussion. That just goes for the blog posts, however; LinkedIn discussion forums can be valuable.

Use social media to your advantage. I am going to scroll down my Facebook feed a couple times a day anyway, so it’s a good way to keep up with what’s happening at museums I care about and museum organizations that are doing cool work. Personally, I frequently find twitter overwhelming because there’s just so much there, but I follow all my favorite museums, NEMA, Museums Re:Blog, and others on Facebook, and then I get the short version of the news as it’s happening.

Keep track of blogs and other feeds with a feed aggregator (rest in peace, Google Reader). My current favorite is “The Old Reader.” It has the features I like, such as toggling between “show all” and “show unread,” and the option to mark something as read just by scrolling past it. It also has the option of using Spritz, a third-party speed-reading tool that I enjoy using occasionally. “Spritzing” mixes up my reading routine and helps me stay focused rather than letting my mind wander while I skim articles. The makers of Spritz also offer a bookmarklet so you can use their tool on any website; I have found it easier to use on some sites than others.

Whether it’s news in the field or something you’re reading for a class, it’s always a good idea to pay attention to how you are reading. Simple learning tricks such as reading the table of contents first, and reviewing chapters or sections that are less important to you by reading the first and last few paragraphs, can go a long way to sorting through the massive amounts of information out there. I strongly recommend the modern classic How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren for an in-depth treatment of these and other strategies.

This post is geared towards keeping up with information by reading, partly because a large portion of media related to our fields is print-based, but also partly because I’m a fairly visual learner, and I’m much less likely to listen to a podcast or watch a video than I am to read a blog post. If you have tips for the audio-inclined, or any other thoughts on how you keep up, I encourage you to share them in the comments.

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by Tegan Kehoe

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