Phase 4 of Developing Storage and Housing Spaces for Humanities Collections relating to Good Will Orphanage History

FAIN: PG-263396-19

Good Will-Hinckley (Hinckley, ME 04944-0159)
Deborah W. Staber (Project Director: April 2018 to February 2022)

The purchase of shelving and acid-free housing to store the collections of the Good Will-Hinckley Homes, which include over 10,000 archaeological artifacts, 2,400 shelf feet of archives, 4,000 cultural objects, 4,500 art or decorative arts objects, “numerous” natural history materials, and 5,500 historical objects. The latter include items used in the domestic life of orphans, such as farm equipment and looms, illuminating the social history of childcare and orphanages in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Partnering with Maine Archives and Museums, the museum would also engage a conservator to present a collections care workshop on storage methods, designed for regional museum staff.

The goal of the L.C. Bates Museum’s Phase 4: Developing Storage Space and Housing Significant Humanities Collections project is to work with conservator Ron Harvey to improve collection’s care by completing the final phase of the second floor north storage space. The project would purchase shelving and acid free housing to store humanities collections. The project collections are relevant to the national history of childcare and its study as exemplified by Good Will-Hinckley Homes and Maine history. This storage project, a prioritized collections care goal of the Museum’s 2018-22 Strategic Plan, follows the recommendations of our 2008 RE-CAP, 2012 MAP Collections Stewardship and Ron Harvey’s 2000 Collection Survey and 2010 climate monitoring report. Partnering with Maine Archives and Museums, the Museum will engage the conservator to present a collections care workshop. The workshop, designed for regional museum staff, will use the project activities to exemplify storage methods.