Anoka County Historical Society

OUR MISSION IS TO GATHER, PRESERVE AND SHARE THE STORIES OF ALL THE PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE PART OF ANOKA COUNTY. VALUES STATEMENT: THE ANOKA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS AN INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTABLE FOR PRESENTING AND CELEBRATING BOTH THE TOLD AND UNTOLD STORIES OF ANOKA COUNTY. WE INVITE PEOPLE TO JOIN US ON THIS JOURNEY TO IGNITE CURIOSITY ABOUT THE PAST AND TO UNDERSTAND OUR SHARED EXPERIENCES.

THE ANOKA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY GATHERS COMMUNITY STORIES TO CREATE A COMMON MEMORY OF ANOKA COUNTY'S EXPERIENCES. OFTEN, THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH RESIDENTS BRINGING IN FAMILY ITEMS UNSOLICITED AND SHARING THE STORY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ITEMS. SOMETIMES, THOSE ITEMS AND STORIES FEEL ENGAGING ENOUGH TO WARRANT AN ORAL HISTORY RECORDING, PODCAST EPISODE, NEWSLETTER ARTICLE, OR EXHIBIT. SOMETIMES, ACHS SEEKS INFORMATION AND COLLECTION ITEMS BASED ON AN INDENTIFIED VOID IN THE ARTIFACT DATABASE-- SUCH IS THE CASE WITH THE VETERANS VOICE PROJECT, FOCUSED ON THE MOST RECENT VETERANS SERVING FROM THE GULF WAR TO THE PRESENT, THE MANUFACTURING PROJECT COMING UP IN A FEW YEARS, OR ECHOES OF BRAVERY, A CALL FOR THE STORIES OF VIETNAM ERA FAMILIES. ACHS GATHERS ADDITIONAL STORIES DURING PROGRAMS, AS PARTICIPANTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND FAMILY HISTORY. WE COLLECT SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AND COMMENTS.

PRESERVING THIS MATERIAL MEANS CORRECTLY STORING COLLECTIONS ITEMS IN A BOX, ON A TUBE, OR HANGING IN A FIREPROOF LOCKER. IT ALSO MEANS DIGITIZING DOCUMENTS AND MAPS, TAKING INVENTORY OF ARTICLES OF CLOTHING FOR DAMAGE, PHOTOGRAPHING 3D ITEMS FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES, AND MAINTAINING A FACILITY ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO PRESERVATION. GETTING PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS REQUIRES PROGRAMMING LIKE BEHIND-THE-SCENES TOURS AND THE ADOPT-AN-ARTIFACT PROGRAM. THESE ALLOW THE PUBLIC, MEMBERS, AND FRIENDS TO SEE HOW THE ACCESSIONING PROCESS OCCURS, UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERING SYSTEM, AND FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO THE ITEMS ACHS HOLDS FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD. THE ROBUST VOLUNTEER PROGRAM AT ACHS ALLOWS PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND SKILLS TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESERVING LOCAL HISTORY. WHETHER IT'S SCANNING IMAGES, FILING, OR DATA ENTRY, OUR VOLUNTEERS BRING A SENSE OF COMMUNAL ACCOMPLISHMENT TO THE MUSEUM WHILE GIVING STAFF A CHANCE TO MENTOR AND GUIDE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PUBLIC HISTORY.

SINCE 2020, WE HAVE FOCUSED ON PROGRAM AND COLLECTION ACCESSIBILITY TO HELP RESEARCHERS AND THE GENERALLY CURIOUS OUTSIDE OFFICE HOURS. THIS HAS MEANT RECORDING CONVERSATIONS FOR HISTORY 21: THE PODCAST, CONVERTING FILMS AND TAPES TO DIGITAL FORMATS, MAKING DIGITAL IMAGES OF THE ARTIFACTS, AND TRANSCRIBING MANUSCRIPTS. WE CONTINUE TO ADD PORTIONS OF OUR COLLECTION TO THE ONLINE DATABASE, MNCOLLECTIONS, AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR WEBSITE, AND ADD BONUS CONTENT TO HISTORY 21: THE VAULT FOR SUBSCRIBERS. OUR WORK IN 2023 WAS TO SET THE STAGE FOR PRESENTING PROGRAMMING FROM OUR BOOKSHELF AND RECORDING THEM. THIS WILL PROVIDE A LOWER-COST ALTERNATIVE FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY OUR PROGRAMS, ACTING LIKE ON-DEMAND VIEWING SERVICES. SHARING INFORMATION ALSO ENTAILS ADDING AND MAINTAINING CONTENT ON OUR WEBSITE, ANOKACOUNTYHISTORY.ORG. IN ADDITION TO THE PODCAST, CALENDAR, AND DIGITAL PROGRAMS, THIS ALSO MEANS CREATING ONLINE EXHIBITS, BLOGS, AND LINKS TO NEWS CLIPS. VIEWS ON OUR WEBSITE REACHED 40,000 PEOPLE IN 2023. THE COLLECTION OF ACHS IS ALSO SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC THROUGH FULFILLING RESEARCH REQUESTS, WHICH TOTALLED 622 IN 2023. SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PROVIDED A MECHANISM TO SHARE THE JOYS OF OUR COLELCITON WITH TEH PUBLIC IN AN INTERACTIE AND DAILY WAY. WE HAVE GROWN OUR FACEBOOK PRESENCE TO 6,500 FOLLOWERS, WIHT MOST POSTS ACHIEVING 20,000 IMPRESSIONS. PHYSICAL EXHIBITS CONTINUE TO BE A MAINSTAY OF THE MUSUEM WORLD AND ACHS IS NO EXCEPTION. WE MAINTAIN A 3,000 SQUARE FOOT EXHIBIT HALL PLUS OFF-SITE SPACES INCLUDING THE CENTERVILLE CITY HALL, LIBRARY CASES, AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN LINWOOD.