The Pratt Museum, which is governed by The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc., is the recipient of a $11,729.30 Grant-In-Aid from the Alaska State Museum for their “Improving Accessibility: Pratt Museum Collections Go Online” project
The Pratt Museum is embarking on an exciting new project, “Improving Accessibility: Pratt Museum Collections Go Online”, thanks to the generous support of a Grant-In-Aid from the Alaska State Museum. This project aims to make the Museum’s holdings more accessible and inclusive by bringing collections to a wider audience through efficient means.
“We’re so grateful to the Alaska State Museum for their generous funding through the Grant-In-Aid program. Moving our collections online will allow for greater accessibility for our community, for researchers, for students, and for those who are simply curious to see what we have,” said Pratt Museum Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Liv Wisnewski. “These collections are held in the public trust, and it’s so exciting to be able to increase access for those we serve.”
The project involves upgrading the Museum’s desktop collections management software to an online edition, and will provide professional development opportunities for a Museum Studies Graduate Student in an internship capacity. Memphis Despain, who attends the California State University, Long Beach and is in the final semester of their Art History M.A. program was chosen for the internship and arrived in Homer in early February.
“My professor was the one who sent me the opportunity, noting that I met the qualifications. I wanted to be here because the Pratt is a museum that is making an effort to serve its community. A museum as a cultural institution makes a promise to not only collect and preserve its collection, but to educate and offer it back to the public it serves,” said Despain. “The Pratt Museum is making an effort to be more accessible and I admire that; this is an exciting project and I’m glad I can be a part of it!”
About the Alaska State Museum Established in 1900 when an Act of Congress created the Historical Library and Museum for the District of Alaska, the Alaska State Museum seeks to identify, collect, care for, and exhibit Alaska’s material culture and natural history and provide public access to services and collections of the Museum. More information is available at https://museums.alaska.gov/asm/asmhome.html
About the Pratt Museum The mission of the Pratt Museum is to explore and preserve the culture, science, and art of the Kachemak Bay Region. The Museum is open daily from 10am-6pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day and Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-4pm the rest of the year. Visit the Pratt Museum at 3779 Bartlett Street in Homer. Tel (907) 235-8635. More information is available at http://www.prattmuseum.org/.
Contact Whitney Harness, Visitor Services, Store and Communications Manager, tel (907) 435-3328, email wharness@prattmuseum.org
Download a printable PDF of this press release, here.
