Mendocino CountyMuseum goes virtual during pandemic
The staff at the Mendocino County Museum has remained busy, despite being unable to physically open their doors to patrons. Museum Curator Karen Mattsondescribedtheprojectsmuseum staff has been working on and virtual offerings they are currently providing the community saying, “We are staying very busy.”
Mattsonsaid thereare always a lot of projects to do at the museum, pandemic or not. The staff recently moved the curator’s library downstairs and established a reference room. Research Librarian, Benjamin MacBean, converted the materials to utilize the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and the museum acquired the Willits Library’s reference collection as well. Mattson said, “Our reference library is growing and looking really nice.”
Another project museum staff is working towards is securing a program called Past Perfect Online. The museumhas been using the program Past Perfect however Mattson said, “One of our goals moving forward during the pandemic is to acquire the online feature, whichwould be on ourwebsite. The community would be able to get our records, up to date and a bunch of photographs.” Reference Books wouldbe searchable through the database so community members could get an idea what they are looking for before they come into the museum reference room. Mattson said, “It’s a really big project but we are really excited.” Theprogramis still in the beginning stages, but the groundwork has been laid.
Aside from working on projects, museumstaff continues to offer services to the community. Currently, the museum welcomes all research requests, and a request form is available online at the museum’s website. Staff recently added a section to the website called ‘Engage’ that showcases a variety of educational materials such as a video on penmanship that was made in house, and an upcoming back to school series that will highlight crafts made in Mendocino County in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They have also added a ‘Then andNow’ section featuring school pho