COMING SPRING 2020
What happens at a Roadshow event?
Lots of stuff! The first thing that will happen when you attend a Marblehead Memories Roadshow event is that you’ll be greeted with some paperwork! That paperwork is the basis for everything we do throughout the event.
You’ll be asked to fill out two forms: a Contact form, which is all about you; and a Historical Form which is all about the person, event, business, etc. you are remembering. This form asks basic information. It’s okay if you don’t know this stuff, we’ll take whatever you do know! If you want to skip the lines at an event, you can download these forms and fill them out at home.
Once the paperwork is complete, our Welcome Desk volunteer will give you a packet (with some more paperwork), a ticket, and a box for your objects and direct you to an Interview Station.
At the Interview Station you’ll be working with a volunteer to create the online profile for your photo or object. They’ll explain the Memorandum of Digital Rights, which says that you own the objects you’re bringing in and that they are not under copyright. By signing this you also give us permission to scan and/or photograph your objects and add the digital images to the Marblehead Museum's collections and the Museum's online platforms that are freely available for use by the public.
Once that is done, the fun begins. You’ll work with your Interviewer to tell your Marblehead story and the story of the objects. The objects chosen for digitization will go back into the box and be sent for digitization. This is all done right on site so you can keep an eye on them if you want.
However we hope you’ll go check out what else is going on. We always try to have at least one activity happening while you wait. This might be a Marblehead-related film, a conservation specialist who can talk to you about how to preserve your collections, or a genealogist who can help you find more information about your Marblehead family or house. Or you can walk around and hear the great stories of other participants and see the cool things they’ve brought in.
When the digitization is done, one of our volunteers will get your objects back to you and give you a note about how to find your collection online.
In all the process will take anywhere between 1-2 hours depending on how many stories and objects you have. We do our best to get you in and out as quickly as possible, though you are welcome to hang out as long as you like!
What kinds of things are you collecting or looking for?
We are looking for anything related to Marblehead during the 20th century. That could be a photograph, a bundle of letters, or an object. We have had people bring in diplomas, uniform pieces, medals, school photos, advertising memorabilia, etc. There are diaries, postcards, and sports programs. You can read more about what we can and cannot accept HERE.
To us, every photograph, document, and object tells the story of Marblehead and the people who lived here, and they are all important.
How long does it take to participate?
It will depend on how many stories you are sharing and how much stuff you have! If you have a single photo, you can be in and out in under an hour. If you have multiple objects or photos, it’ll take a bit longer!
We appreciate that you are taking your time to be a part of this project so we try to get everyone in and out as quickly as possible. If you’re planning on attending an event, we would recommend setting at least an hour aside. If you have multiple stories or a large number of objects it can easily take more than an hour.
There are a few forms you’ll have to fill out, so if you’d like to save a little time, you can fill one of them out at home and bring it to the event (please note, we will need an History form for each thing you are bringing).
Are you going to keep my things?
No! We are only interested in scanning or photographing your objects. We bring all of our equipment to our events and do the scanning and photography onsite. When we’re done, we return your objects to you.
Now, if you’re interested in donating your Marblehead objects, we would be happy to talk to you about that. You can contact us at info@marbleheadmuseum.org
Will I get a copy of the digital images?
Yes and no. We are not currently providing copies of the images we create for participants to take home from an event. However, the images will all be freely available online and we’ll give you a link before you leave. We can also provide images through a variety of methods for those without internet access or a computer.
Can you tell me how much my collection is worth?
No, that is not something we cannot do. We are not able to provide appraisals or help you find buyers for your collections. We are also unable to make suggestions about how to sell your collections.
What are you doing with the stories and images?
We are adding all of the stories and images we collect to the Marblehead Museum archives and to our Marblehead Memories online collection database.
The Marblehead Museum's archive and online database is available to anyone to use so you can share the images you contribute with friends and family around the world. This also means that students, teachers, and researchers can access and use the resources to learn more about the town during the 20th century now and for years to come.
I have some Marblehead stuff but don’t know who it belonged to, can I still participate?
Yes, as long as your objects meet our submission criteria.
I came to an event but can’t find my stuff online. When will it be available?
We are trying to get everything online as quickly as possible, but it may take a while. We have had a tremendous response to this project, which is fantastic, but it also means we have far more content to process than we anticipated. There is a fair amount of work we have to do on our end to make the photos, letters, and other keepsakes we have digitized searchable. As soon as we have completed that work we’ll let you know where to find your collection.
In the meantime we are trying to use lots of the images we have captured on Facebook and Instagram so keep an eye out! You may see a familiar face or object there!
What if I can’t make it to a Roadshow event? Can I contribute online?
Yes! You can still participate! We have set up a place online where you can tell us your Marblehead stories and send us digital images of your photos or objects so we can get them added to our collections! You’ll find some directions, guidelines, and an online form to help you. It is a pretty easy process, but if you have problems, let us know and we’ll help you out.
We’ll try to respond as quickly as possible to let you know that we’ve received your submission, but if you don’t hear from us, give us a nudge!
Get started with an online submission HERE.