Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts in History

Department

History

First Reader/Committee Chair

Long, Thomas. (Ph.D., Dr.)

Abstract

Museums and archives alike, provide a public service to anyone who holds a yearning of knowledge. This public service can help aid this thirst for knowledge, art, and fulfillment of the many characteristics that make us human. People from all walks of life can attend a museum, or archive. Whether in a military museum, or an archive the mission remains the same. Historical preservation is what is being done behind closed doors. Whether you are looking for a certain document, book, or more information on a certain artifact. It all involves some sort of historical preservation. That being said, its main focus on any front is to convey the stories of the past. In a personal, and yet non-biased direction.

Furthermore, it can vary depending on the methods used to preserve a certain object. The most commonly thought process that I have witnessed when on the topic of preservation would be placing the object in a box and storing it away in a garage. Preservation isn’t a miniscule act of spring cleaning, but a calculated science handled by professionals whose goal is to at all cost, save the

desired artifact. Whether at the March Field Air Museum, or the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center. The goal remains the same, to preserve the physical object, and its legacy. Thankfully with modern technology such as the internet, which provides us with database softwares that makes the task easier than, say, 50 years ago. This makes preservation a lot smoother, and more efficient. Digital preservation allows the collections personnel, or archivist the ability to create a digital footprint of what is being collected. This ensures that no artifact, or document is lost, within the confines of an ever-growing collection. Thus creates an easier method of finding what needs to be found.

Digital preservation is what is mostly explained within this project. The physical act of preservation in regards to protecting an artifact from weathering, or deterioration is also prevalent in this project. Which is the bulk of work in a museum, or archive setting. It is a task long overlooked, and deserves great respect. In addition, its main focus is public history, and historical preservation. Which work in unison, has long since been delved into being practical, rather than theoretical. Its grasp on the community is physical. Physical such as an artifact, or like an old document, hiding secrets of the past. The importance of public history has long been ignored in the realm of scholarship.

Lastly, the work shown in this project is what has been accumulated over a year of service to historical preservation. Both in the March Field Air Musuem and the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center. Of course there will be no theoretical takes on anything that I have done. As I said before, public history takes the practical route when in discussion of any historical idea. In addition, this project will also showcase the importance of events such as the Dragonfly Gala. Wherein non-profit organizations such as the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, rely on for funding.

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