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How can I preserve my family treasures? By Susan Braunstein When we were contemplating what kind of programs we could have to celebrate National Historic Preservation month in May I started calling around and discovered we have some amazing archivists in South Dakota. We are tapping into some of that talent by providing a Community Voices program focused on how to take care of the items that have meaning for us. This event scheduled on Thursday, May 6 beginning at 6:30 p.m. brings together Dan Brosz, the curator of collections at the Museum of South Dakota State Historical Society located at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre; Matthew Reitzel, Manuscript Archivist at the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre; Carolyn Weber, assistant director of the Adams Museum & House in Deadwood and Arlette Hansen, the curator and archivist for the Adams Museum. They will each cover a specific type of preservation. Arlette Hansen will discuss textiles, Carolyn Weber will provide insight into the care of photographs, Matthew Reitzel will talk about paper documents and Dan Brosz will cover glass, stone, bone, metal, plastic and wood documents as well as the importance of documenting collections. Hansen graduated with a secondary education degree and a major in English with a history minor and a BA in history. She started volunteering at the Adams Museum and that experience evolved into her current position. Weber received her M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and her main responsibility is the care and management of the archival collections at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center. Brosz has been in his position in Pierre since December, 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Northern State University and a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Reitzel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Northern State University and received a master’s in history from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. We will also have another program, “Preserving and Protecting Heirlooms in the Home,” given by the Minnilusa Pioneer Museum archivist, Carol Saunders. People are invited to come to the downtown library on May 15 between 1 and 3 p.m. and bring the items they want to learn how to take care of and get advice on how to do that. Saunders taught at Central High School in Rapid City for a number of years and went back to college to get an MA in history. For additional archive related information the library’s website has a place called the Knowledge Network with a link entitled Community Memory, http://knowledgenetwork.wikidot.com/your-personal-archives. If you are interested in finding out what an antique is worth in order to decide whether it is worth saving, check out the online resource on the library’s website called Price It! This online resource provides more than 20 million prices on antiques and collectibles, 10 million images and 125 searchable categories. Go to www.rapidcitylibrary.org. and click on “Databases” to try it.
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