ines both its historical relevance and its quality. On average, the museum only displays 10 per- cent or less of its artifacts at one time. The rest of the 30,000 acquired objects are safely stored through a careful process in the museum’s vault.
Preserving the West The vault, located beneath the museum, is
reminiscent of the last scene from “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Rows upon rows of shelves and racks hold treasures untold, like sculptures once belonging to John Wayne and a child’s chair made from a buffalo hip. How an object is stored is dependent on the artifact’s unique needs. Most items are kept in the vault’s closed storage with humidity controls between 45 and 50 percent to stop mold growth. All pieces are placed in a stable position, on an art rack or in a secured cabinet or crate. “The items are so diverse—saddles, sheep shears, branding irons and barbed wire to name a few,” Singleton says. “Each is refl ective of the people who used them and left them behind. We keep all of these so when people want to know where they came from, they can come to the museum.”
In addition to the vault, some historical docu- ments, fi lms and photographs are stored in the archive and remain accessible to scholars, re- searchers and even the general public by appoint- ment through the DRC. The DRC maintains more than 50,000 records
in its library, and according to librarian Karen Spilman, the museum is adding to the total every day.
Spilman, an Oklahoma Electric Cooperative member, is currently archiving the Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection, which is comprised of about 10,000 books as well as over 4,000 dime novels, pulp magazines and weeklies. She’s been organizing this collection for 10 years and has made some fascinating finds, like a William H. Cody signed copy of a book on Buffalo Bill the day it was released. “When we fi nd things like that we freak out,”
Spilman says with a laugh. “We get excited be- cause we know how important the information will be to scholars and researchers.” The public is welcome to use the DRC’s re- sources, books, magazines and photographic collections. Visitors can fi rst use the fi nding aids
Temporary Exhibits
✓ The Cowboy Returns: Photographs by Bank and John Langmore, February 5 - May 8, 2016
✓ Riding the Whirlwind: Weather in the West, February 5 - May 8, 2016
✓ Native American Bolo Ties: Vintage and Contemporary Artistry, February 5 - May 8, 2016
✓ Philip R. Goodwin: America’s Sporting and Wildlife Artist, February 19 - May 8, 2016
found on the NCWHM website which have many of the collections listed to help narrow the search.
Every day is a new experience in the archival world for Kera Newby and Holly Hasenfratz, mu- seum archivists, who get glimpses into worlds of the past through both personal and published records. The two are charged with creating orga- nization systems for each unique collection. “It’s a balance between curiosity and care,”
Newby, digital and manuscript archivist, says. The DRC deals mostly with physical collec-
tions but is now getting more digital material. This brings a host of new challenges, including ensuring how future generations will have the correct programs to view these items. The archi- vists are also pushing for current artists to be mindful of the digital content they create. “It’s so easy to create, it is equally easy to get rid of,” Hasenfratz, digital and institutional archi- vist, says. “An artist may take a picture on their cellphone to paint later and delete it from their phone. Those fi les could be very meaningful to scholars in the future.”
Beyond historians, the museum staff also
sources the DRC materials often to create exhib- its for museumgoers to enjoy.
“The thing to remember is western history never stops; it goes on even today.” - Karen Spilman, librarian
FEBRUARY 2016 25
Bringing the Past to Life
There are two types of exhibits: permanent and temporary. Permanent exhibits are typically on display for fi ve to 10 years. Temporary exhibits are available for about six months. Quantity, research and accuracy are a few of the many factors that go into an exhibit display. Curators will compile artifacts into a display or will acquire a traveling display from another museum. Melissa Owens, registrar and exhibits coordi-
nator, will conduct a special series of tasks for every item that comes into the museum’s possession.
“Ethically it’s taking care of the things that are entrusted to museums,” Owens says. “Secondly it becomes a risk management issue. We assume the same high standard of care for every item that comes into our collections.”
Owens works with lenders, donors and contrac- tors to ensure risks are mitigated while the item is on display. She covers many details including storage specifi cations, lighting and security stan- dards and sourcing proper credits. “Being in Oklahoma, one of the questions I get asked often is, ‘What if a tornado destroys the museum?’ We have a disaster response plan that is proactive, but when it comes right down to it, there’s not much you can do to prevent tornado damage,” Owens says. The museum has extensive insurance covering
each piece should a disaster occur. But the wild- ness of Oklahoma’s weather also makes the mu- seum’s location a fi tting place to represent the past and current West. Oklahoma has some of the toughest weather conditions, but the state also lays claim to diverse landscapes from the Great Salt Plains to the wooded forests in the southeast. It’s the beautiful gateway to the West that has called people over and over again. “The thing to remember is western history nev- er stops; it goes on even today,” Spilman says. “It doesn’t have to be something that happened in the 1800s, it could be something that happened 20 years ago. It continues on, and so do we.” To fi nd your West, visit the museum at www.
nationalcowboymuseum.org.
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