Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday that I landed at Heathrow and rode the tube for the first time. This month in this tiny dorm room, surrounded by fellow scholars (including my wife) has been one of the highlights of my life thus far. I have had the pleasure of walking into some of the greatest museums on this Earth. I have studied at what I consider one of the best libraries in the world. I have met people from many countries and made professional connections that will help me in my own career.
I had planned to write some grand, all-encompassing reflection of my research in London, but I simply cannot find the appropriate words. What I can say is that I have never worked so hard for so long on one project as I have on this one. For all of that work, I only have a draft Master’s Thesis to show for it. However, it is one of the best things that I have ever written. I am pleased with my work but I am not satisfied. I know that there are things that I need to add, but I know what they are. I have a very clear focus for my thesis and now it is just a matter of communicating and executing that plan.
Most importantly, I feel that I have begun the transition from student to professional. I have not had this much confidence in what I am doing since I left the classroom. I now feel that I can add public historian to educator in my list of professional abilities. The significance of this cannot be diminished. To know that you are doing what you love and what you are good at is one of the most important things that a person can achieve in life.
Words cannot explain how this experience has helped me. I know that the real work lies ahead, but I am so ready to do it.
The cathartic end of the research phase has begun. I am already on the second of what I am sure will be several drafts for my Master's Thesis Proposal. I am finding that the most difficult part is explaining to people, who have no idea what I am talking about, a subject that I have been immersed in for a month. I know what I mean and my professors know what I mean, but as Dr. Bibbee pointed out, I have to write with the third reader in mind. That means writing for someone who is not as invested or knowledgeable about my project as my first and second readers, as well as the wider public.
I am finding this to be very difficult. How do you see your own blind spots? How do you edit something that you have been looking at for hours? I have found two techniques that have helped me so far. Number one is knowing when to walk away. At some point you have to stop and take a walk or watch TV. Your brain can only handle so much at once. When I find myself at the point of diminishing returns, I find an escape for awhile. The second thing is to have as many eyes as possible look at your work. I currently have four people reading my drafts. Later I plan to have more. This is such a valuable luxury to have. These are people with different backgrounds and points of view that can evaluate my work from many angles. I am fortunate to have this and although it is hard to be critiqued by several people at once, it is a necessary and beneficial growing pain.
I know that this proposal and my thesis will consume a large part of my life for the next ten months, but I am up for the challenge. I know that these experiences are sharpening me and making me the professional that I want to be. Even though it may be tough right now, I know that I will look back on this time as my most formative years.
Now that most of my site visits are complete, I have shifted my focus toward my Master's Thesis Proposal. With this in mind, I headed to the magnificent British Library today. My goal was to add to my bibliography and to find sources that may prove helpful in the future.
For those who are not familiar with the process, the way that the BL works is that you have to order your books in advance. Most books only need to be reserved one hour ahead of time but others require up to two days. You have to have a reader's card, but once you do, you can easily order your books the night before online. I ordered five Wednesday night and picked them up in Humanities 2. These rooms are almost silent and perfect for research. I skimmed through a couple of the books before hitting gold. Two books, Marketing and Public Relations Handbook: For Museums, Galleries, and Heritage Attractions and Forward Planning: A Handbook of Business, Corporate and development Planning for Museums and Galleries kept me busy most of the day.
These books, as the titles suggest, focus on marketing and strategic planning for museums. This may be as boring as watching paint dry to others, but for me it is wonderful. I have had trouble finding information like this in the past. All of the books that I read today were printed in London. It may be that I was simply ignorant of these sources, but nevertheless I have found them. Each of these books describe, in detail, the methods and best practices of strategic and marketing plans. The have provided me with a framework in which to form my thesis around. I knew that I needed a foundation, and now I have found it.
I have a bit more to do before setting off on my 25 year strategic plan, but I am starting to get a real grasp on how it all works. Next week, I have set up two rather interesting interviews. One is with the president of a "Friends Of" group whose museum was closed. I hope to learn about the challenges of keeping a site open and what it is like when it all goes wrong. I also have a meeting with a director at a local house museum who is going to help me understand the nuts and bolts aspects of running a small site on a limited budget.
My reseaerch continues to surprise me and I can not wait to see what
At this stage in my research I have been to so many exhibits and museums that I struggle to name them at at seven in the morning local time. I am beginning to be able to see the very DNA of museums. Even the places that I have gone to for fun have been analyzed in some way. After seeing so much and taking in so many pieces of evidence, it can become overwhelming.
Fortunately, I have learned over the years that at some point you have to take a break. This weekend I was able to fulfill a wish and visit Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. It was a very nerdy and fun day out that happened at just the right time. I was able to forget my work and my project for a bit. Now as a new week begins, I can see things from a fresh perspective. I actually started the week early by traveling out to Boston Manor House on Sunday. However, I could feel that the break had rejuvenated my ability to work and to think clearly.
The next step is a massive offload of information in the next few days. I have to go through notes and reflections that I have already written. I will analyze what information I have and seek to understand what I am missing. I plan to post most of my evaluations on the website during this time and begin to move towards drafting a Master's Thesis Proposal next week. It is insane to think that I have around ten days left here. It has all gone by so quickly. I would like for it to slow down, but at the same time, I can't wait for what is next.
I had planned on Tuesday to visit some smaller house museums, only to find that most of them only open Wednesday to Sunday. This forced me to reevaluate my plan and to look for some books to read at the British Library. I found one titled " Modern Museum Management"by S.P. Gupta and Mohit Srivastava. It was the best guide book for what I am doing here. I rapidly started taking notes. I wanted to copy the entire thing, but I limited myself to the information that applies to what I am doing now. I will, however, be purchasing this book when I get home.
The most helpful thing about the book was that it provided the terms that I need to explain my evaluations. That may not seem like much, but it essentially translated the professional language of museum management for me. I have already developed an evaluation framework based off of the notes that I have taken. It was a happy accident that cleared away some of the clouds for me.
That day also gave me an opportunity to go through the British Library's galleries which I have added to my experience under the project tabs. These were good exhibits to view because the show the differences between permanent and temporary displays. So, in the end, just because the research does not go how you planned it, let it go naturally. Who knows what you might discover?
As I am closing in on a week in London I am finally starting to feel at home. The jet lag is gone and the shock is waning. Now it is time to get to work. My research so far has been a bit limited but not non-existent. I have had the opportunity to do a little research at the British Library and have gone on some group tours of museums. These experience have helped me to become oriented in the city and to know where several resources are. Tonight I have made a plan of attack. I will visit larger museums at the start of each week, simply because the smaller ones are typically closed until Wednesday.
I am excited to begin my evaluations and to see what unfolds. It is a bit of a cold call method in that I plan to go, walk around, and ask questions. I hope to gain insight from my experiences and to find people to talk to. If I am overwhelmed by anything, it is that there are so many good museums to visit. I do not want to miss anything, but at the same time, I can not possibly see it all. I plan to have two evaluations by the time of my next blog. I may even have more, but that is the goal. Every great journey begins with one small step, mine begins tomorrow.
On day two of our London trip, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the famous Tower of London. I took time to enjoy the sights and sounds as well as the wonderful onsite exhibits. It wasn't long before my analytic side began to dissect the presentations before me. There we so many different kinds of exhibits that I began to sit back and watch the foot traffic. More than ten thousand people from all over the world go through this site each day this time of year. I was interested in evaluating which types of exhibits people were drawn to.
There were static exhibits, things such as the crown jewels, clothing, tapestries, weapons, and other artifacts. These exhibits garnered the most foot traffic. Certain objects received more attention but everyone dutifully filed past each exhibit.
Next were the interactive exhibits. These were things such as armored helmets that you placed your face into in order to view a battle scene from the eyes of a knight. Other exhibits featured weapons, including a simulated bow and arrow that you actually drew (or tried to anyways) and fired. These exhibits were also very popular. However, because they took time for each person to experience, many people simply did not wait around to experience it for themselves. This fact significantly lowered the number of people who viewed these exhibits.
Lastly, were the audio visual exhibits. These were projections and videos that brought several historic events to life. One animated a medieval tapestry that depicted the coronation of a king. Other videos showed the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. These exhibits gained everyone's attention. Groups would stop, stand together, and silently view each presentation. While these exhibits caught everyone's attention, the viewers were inactive and passive while viewing.
All of this evidence made me consider what makes a successful exhibit. Is it one that gets the most attention or is it the one that captures the viewers imagination and draws them in? The answer is obvious, but given the above mentioned issues with interactive exhibits, how do we ensure that everyone gets in on the fun? The answer would be a combination of the group experience of audio visual presentations with the addition of the interactive experience. The execution of this would depend on the site and the subject matter. I always go back to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. as a site that gets this combination right. By simply giving the viewers a card with a profile of a real Holocaust victim, it makes every exhibit personal and interactive. You can look at a pile of shoes and get a sense of what you would have felt like if you were there. The subject matter of the Holocaust lends itself better to this sort of interactive experience better than a site like the Rosenbaum House, but there must be a way to adapt some of these ideas into any site.
These are all beginning thoughts on the proper administration and presentation of house museums, but after viewing all of these exhibits and others at the Museum of London, my mind is alight with ideas. This is a theme that I will return to several times throughout my research process. I plan to go to every museum that I can and evaluate each along these lines. On Friday we will have our first opportunity to research at the British Library. I have reserved some books about the foundations and operation of the National Trust. This research will be a bit less exciting to the casual reader but I am very excited to have this opportunity. Until next time.
Well, I have survived my first full day in London. After traveling for several hours we landed at what my body was telling me was 4 a.m. the day after we started at 10 a.m. on Monday. In reality it was 10 a.m. on Tuesday local time in London. Thankfully I had managed a few winks of sleep during the seven hour flight from Philadelphia, so in a way it tricked my mind into thinking it was the correct time of the morning. After my first trip on the Underground, we made it to the dorms where I had a quick and glorious shower. Three airports worth of grime washed away, we headed downstairs to meet the groups at around 2 p.m.
The trick of the mind about thinking it was morning quickly faded away as we traveled on foot and by underground for the next several hours. A blur of station stops and walking led us to Brunswick for lunch, next to a place to buy temporary phones, an ATM, the British Library for readers cards, the main underground stop (forget the name) to buy an Oyster card (great thing these, you pay for the month and can ride all over the city), and then lastly to a wonderful pub for dinner. Makes me tired just writing it. All that on about three hours sleep in two days after traveling for 13 hours.
Hannah and I made it until around 8 p.m. until we had to part very good company and head back to the dorms. We had to go around to the shops and buy toiletries and some things for the room. At times it felt like we would not make it another block. The blister on my foot was screaming as my wonderful wife's celebrated navigation skills began to fade with weariness. Finally we completed our errands and made it back to the dorms. We went to our separate rooms, yes separate for they are tiny, and slept the sleep of weary world travelers. Unfortunately my brain woke me up around 3 a.m. and wondered why we had been sleeping from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m at night. Oh my!
So far, what I can say is that this city is awe inspiring one minute and then quiet and quaint the next. You can turn one block and enter into a whole new world. I have not even seen one tenth of a percent of it and I am rapidly falling in love with it. The things that Hannah and I love and have to hunt for at home are all around. From the food, to the culture, to the people we have meet so far, it is what we love.
As I sit here, with my window opened to the sounds of the city seven floors below, at 6 a.m. local time (midnight at home) I am full of excitement and anxious to meet the day.
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