TILLAMOOK, Ore. – This month the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum began a large-scale inventory project to digitize records and catalogue its entire object collection. The Object Reconciliation and Accountability Project will improve recordkeeping and inform museum staff on best object care and storage. It will also address the rehousing needs of thousands of TCPM artifacts from the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center to a yet-undetermined location. The project will take several years to complete and funding is being pursued from various revenue streams, including the first grant supporter of the project: Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation.
“The Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation is grateful to have been invited by the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum to support the Object Reconciliation and Accountability Project with a community grant” said Brendan Butler VP, Community Development Officer for Oregon. “Building thriving communities starts with remembering and telling the stories of those who came before and most critical is that all voices are included. We look forward to seeing this project grow.”
The project is being spearheaded by TCPM’s Collections Manager/Assistant Director, Peyton Tracy, who is already hard at work digitizing records. “We don’t know exactly how many objects are in storage—that’s part of the problem—but we think there are upwards of 55,000. This is a huge undertaking.”
The project is comprised of three phases: digitizing collections records, inventory of all storage spaces, and resolving discrepancies between the records and the objects/rehoming at-risk artifacts.
Tracy added “This project is necessary because at the moment we don’t have a comprehensive grasp on what we have in our holdings and what stories they may be able to tell about our community and region’s history. Our collection is exceptionally large for a museum of our size, in part due to the dedicated support of our community. We want to be able to preserve it to the highest standards and make use of it to share our collective history with the public.”
Though museum staff are working diligently, help is still needed to index and inventory the collections. Anyone interested in volunteering for the current phase, data entry, is encouraged to reach out by email at exhibits@tcpm.org or by phone at 503-842-4553.
“At the end of this project, our collection will be more accessible than ever before. We’ll be able to access our collections more readily and make better use of them in exhibits, programs, and research,” said Tracy. “All of the possibilities that come out of this endeavor are so compelling and thrilling, it makes the hard work worth it!”
About the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum
Founded in 1935 by Tillamook Oregon pioneers, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum offers 19 display areas that focus on the history of the North Oregon Coast. The museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the Cultural Heritage of the
