From Open Storage to Study Center: Developing The Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture at The New-York Historical Society by Margaret K. Hofer and Ellen Paul Denker After five years of planning, cataloging, conserving, organizing, interpreting, moving, and installing, the Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture opened at the New-York Historical Society opened its doors to the public in November 2000. The Center makes available 40,000 significant objects from the Society's collection for study by the general public and scholars alike through open display and computer database. Paintings, sculpture, furniture, tools for home and trade, Tiffany lamps, textiles, metals, ceramics and glass have joined the Society's Library and Print Room in the facility at Central Park West and 77th Street, allowing the entirety of the Society's collections to be accessible under one roof. In addition, a great deal of attention has been lavished on interpretive tools for visitors, including mini exhibits, audio tours, hand-held collection perspectives, and a highlights guide book. Margaret Hofer and Ellen Denker, both graduates of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, worked diligently on key aspects of this project. As a curator for the collection, Margi guided cataloging of the collection (using Willoughby's Multi-MIMSY and a custom-designed public interface), selection of objects for display, and conservation. As the curatorial member of the American History Workshop, Ellen developed the interpretive tools. In addition, both were directly involved in the development and use of a bar-code inventory system which tracked every object while the collection was being moved and installed. This same bar-code technology will soon be tested for use in object identification by visitors to the Luce Center. The practice of creating open storage areas for museum collections is not new. However, the development of a comprehensive system of visitor and scholar accessibility through interpretive tools and a computer database and the application of bar-code technology to streamline the process provide a significant new model for future projects to create collection study centers in history museums. Margi and Ellen will discuss the project's development and evaluate the success of the center after its opening. Program Summary: After five years of planning, cataloging, conserving, organizing, interpreting, moving, and installing, the Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture opened at the New-York Historical Society in November 2000. The Center makes available 40,000 significant objects from the Society's collection for study by the general public and scholars alike through open display and computer database. The practice of creating open storage areas for museum collections is not new. However, the development of a comprehensive system of visitor and scholar accessibility through interpretive tools and a computer database and the application of bar-code technology to streamline the process provide a significant new model for future projects to create collection study centers in history museums. Back to conference agenda