BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – It’s not just grandma’s attic that can get overcrowded. Historical societies across the state are figuring out how to manage their collections.
Cheryl Casey has been a volunteer with the Waterbury Historical Society for 10 years. “Our role is to remind people that history is not distant and dusty.”
There are almost 200 historical societies across Vermont, mostly run by volunteers like Casey. Without the background of museum professionals, it can be hard to keep collections in check.
To help, the Vermont Historical Society is activating its 21st Century Local History Training Program. “We are working with local historical societies and museums around Vermont and making sure that folks are not getting overwhelmed by their collections,” said Hannah Kirkpatrick, who is coordinating the program.
Last summer, the Vermont Historical Society received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to kick off the initiative. “The timing of this program is actually perfect for where we are at as a historical society,” Casey said.
The goal of this program is to help volunteers learn advanced skills in collection management and take better care of the objects within them. “We’re really hoping that this program is a way for Vermont to lead in the country, in helping local organizations, helping the volunteer workforce develop these skills,” Kirkpatrick said.
There will be two cohorts of five organizations that will each run for one year. Throughout 2025, volunteers from the Bixby Library and the Thetford, Brookfield, Waterbury, and Sharon historical societies will be attending meetings and workshops and using what they learn to complete a project involving their collections.
Casey said they hope that, through this program, they’ll be able to better tell the story of the items in their collection. “Our main priority is to understand how we can cull, catalog, organize, and present what we have to our community, to researchers in a way that resonates,” she said.
With the ultimate goal to help communities better connect to their local history. “Historical societies are as much future thinking, as much we are past thinking, because our role, our mission, is to make sure the future knows what came before,” Casey said.