Collecting a Community's Local History June 8, 2009

Peter Parker of Inlook Group in Portsmouth, N.H. will talk about how a community can implement a local history project, in particular, setting up a documentation strategy and gathering documents, photographs and artifacts to make them accessible for everyone. Mr. Parker works with government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and academic institutions to help them address and solve problems with Records & Information Management, Archives Management and Historical Collections Management.

Peter Parker encourages a community to cooperate when it comes to collecting its local history. Nor should a "single repository, singlehandedly,
decide what constitutes the “evidence” of life in a particular locality." Cooperation among libraries, historical societies, and (sometimes) the creators of records offers exciting possibilities for ensuring that evidences of life in your community are collected, managed, and made available to the public." He encourages a community to develop a "Documentation Strategy."

Peter J. Parker, with degrees from Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania, taught for several years before becoming Curator, then Director of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, a major research library and museum in Philadelphia. As Curator, he was responsible for a nationally known collection of manuscripts, prints, drawings, photographs, maps, a/v materials, paintings, and artifacts. He supervised reference, conservation, and photoduplication services as well as several large online cataloging and preservation microfilming projects.

As Director, Peter produced HSP's first long-range plan, improved collections and preservation policies and implemented disaster recovery and scheduled maintenance plans. He also secured funding for and supervised the construction of new climate-controlled stacks and collections storage.

Since moving to New Hampshire, Peter has served as an officer of the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association, the New Hampshire Archives Group, and Exeter's American Independence Museum and as a board member of the New England Archivists. He is also a member of the Collections Committee of the New Hampshire Historical Society. His professional and community experiences have convinced him that cooperation, planning, and the creative use of limited resources are vital to the resolution of most problems.

Official Website: http://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org/programs/programs/peter_parker.html