The Future of Podcasting the Past at the Shiloh
Museum of Ozark History
by Heather Marie Wells, Collections Assistant
The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History is located in the
heart of downtown Springdale, Arkansas, on three wooded acres that include seven historical buildings in addition to the modern
main building. We are a regional museum covering the history of the six Northwest Arkansas Ozark counties: Benton, Carroll,
Boone, Washington, Madison, and Newton. We recently launched our podcast, the first museum podcast in the state of Arkansas.
How it Started: In the past year, the museum
has gone through a strategic planning process led by new director, Allyn Lord. One recurring theme in the brainstorming sessions
was the need for more multimedia features, but as a museum with only 8 full-time and 5 part-time staff members (and a budget
to match), there were limits to what could be done.
One of the younger staff members, and the only staffer
who owned an mp3 player at the time, was particularly interested in podcasts. Podcasts were just starting to become popular,
and since many people were producing them on their own, podcasting seemed to present an easy, affordable way to provide multimedia
options.
With the help of some tech-savvy friends, research
started on what was needed to produce a podcast of our own, including software and hardware concerns, bandwidth issues, potential
topics, publicity, and, of course, cost. The hope was if all the prep work had already been done, that when the board and
director were ready to start looking at options the information would already be available.
As it happened, nature stepped in and sped up the process.
The end of 2005 brought a drought to Northwest Arkansas, and as the water level of Beaver Lake fell, local interest rose in
the history of Monte Ne, a resort town that had been flooded when the lake was built, and which was now visible again for
the first time in nearly 30 years. To address the new interest, our director had scheduled two public presentations on Monte
Ne to the public.
As we were still unsure how well the free recording
and editing software under consideration would work with the museum's sound system, we decided to record one of the Monte
Ne programs as our first podcast. The recording worked fairly well, although there were some technical issues that needed
to be resolved to obtain better audio quality for future recordings. In order to punctuate our first podcast, Jerre Van Hoose,
the mayor of Springdale, graciously agreed to provide an introduction.
Since our trial episode, we have been in the stages
of developing a more formal podcast policy. We have thus far implemented two types of podcasts and identified several areas
of interest for future podcasts.
Lecture Series: We have a great monthly lecture
series, but unfortunately not everyone can make every lecture. Podcasting these programs allows us to reach a wider audience
than would otherwise be able to attend. These projects are not very time-consuming, since they are recorded in one take during
the presentation and little post-production editing is needed. Since we started providing podcasts, patrons at the programs
have started inquiring about online availability for friends who could not attend.
Museum News: The podcast is also a way to share
news about museum activities with the public, thus bypassing the time and space constraints of traditional media. We recently
had Caddo Indian representatives come and reclaim some remains from our collections in accordance with NAGPRA (Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act), and they were gracious enough to agree to provide an interview for our podcast. Although
their visit would not have worked as a public event, podcasting made it accessible to our patrons, and it became a great opportunity
for the public to learn about NAGPRA.
Education: For some schools, especially in rural
areas we serve, the cost, time, and logistics of museum visits can be prohibitive, so we are currently exploring ways the
museum education programs can be expanded to include podcasting. We are also hopeful that these on-line programs can be developed
to appeal to high school and college students, a demographic that is sorely underrepresented at most museums.
Exhibit Supplements: In addition to the audio
tours that are common among museum podcasts, we are exploring ways to provide supplemental audio for temporary exhibits. Ideas
include expanding on aspects of the exhibit topic for which there was insufficient space and highlighting some of the museum's
related collections. One plan under development is providing podcast recordings from our oral history collection to accompany
a hunting exhibit in 2007. We see this as a good way to put our oral histories to use, thus providing some degree of exposure
to a resource that is not well known to the public and local researchers.
Future plans for the standard tour podcasts call for
offering a variety of languages to serve the diverse population of Northwest Arkansas. One major challenge will be finding
a way to create a tour more suitable for the way most mp3 players operate, as opposed to the typical numerical station style
used by most audio tours. A related goal (and challenge) is providing an audio guide to our grounds, without resorting to
scripted pathways and tours "on rails."
Historical Place Tours: We also hope to make
other historical places in the area accessible to the public. We are in the process of assembling a list of local historical
sites for which the public might enjoy walking or driving tours, including cemeteries, heritage trails, historic downtown
areas, and archeological sites that are open to the public.
Making Collections Accessible: We are just beginning
to explore ways we can use podcasting to make more of our physical collections accessible for the public. We have already
found a way to make our oral histories more accessible, and using a podcast with a slide show can help us include artifacts
in an exhibit virtually. But would a podcast virtual exhibit, without an in-gallery exhibit to accompany it, be interesting
to the public?
The Future: At this point, the possible uses
of our podcast appear unlimited. It can be what we make it, and by encouraging us to think outside the box, it is opening
up previously unconsidered avenues for outreach and education. However, as with many museum activities, it is restricted by
our budget and personnel. All of the current podcasts have been produced by a single, part-time staff member on her personal
laptop, using whatever time her main duties allow. The next annual budget provides funds for a new laptop and additional software,
and additional staff members are beginning to express interest in learning how to edit and process audio. Even getting started
would have been impossible, though, without the support of our volunteers and the availability of good quality free audio
tools.
As we work on our 2007 calendar, we have learned to
stop and consider the podcasting opportunities presented by all our planned programs. Needless to say, it's an exciting time! | 
