As members of Boothbay Region Historical Society (BRHS) met to review a recent assessment from outside experts, they were asked to write down words to describe their organization. Even though Executive Director Aimée Keithan had only been working with them a few weeks, she penned something that stood out: “dedicated.”

The theme wasn't lost on the assessors, either.

“My first impression is how engaged this board and these volunteers are that we have met and how dedicated they are to the institution,” said Barbara Moore during her visit in October. “It's often the case that you meet dedicated people associated with institutions like this, but not in the quantity that we have here. It's really fantastic.”

Moore was one of two assessors who came to the museum as part of the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program. They conducted a two-day site visit to examine collections, their care and the museum building. According to the Society, BRHS was one of 44 institutions chosen for the 2023 CAP program.

Keithan, who started as the society’s first executive director in December, said the report shows BRHS is open to expert guidance and the recent assessment is a roadmap to build a strategic plan.

“Nobody was really surprised by their results, which is a good thing because it means that they've been assessing things correctly along the way,” she said. “What it was really helpful for was to see it in black and white, to put it in priority order in terms of what we should work on.”

Keithan said the report suggested how the museum can better use its space. Currently, collections and exhibits are dispersed, but the report recommended consolidating them into controlled environments. This could prevent damage from factors like humidity. It also recommended occasionally rotating them out. “This will be a really fantastic opportunity for us to rediscover what's in our collections and give some of the things that have been out for a while a bit of a break and put them into a more enclosed environment,” she said.

However, she said the report said the museum was already housing its materials securely and just needed to strengthen those efforts. During the assessment, the expert even said they were going above and beyond.

“What we've discovered here is that they're being more careful than they need to be,” said Moore. “They're keeping the blinds mainly closed, even in rooms that have materials that are not very light sensitive. So, they're almost overdoing it, bending over backwards, and we're going to loosen it up a little bit for them.”

The efforts tie into the museum’s digitization project, according to Keithan. The project aims to put documents and photographs in a searchable online database which will help preserve them from the day-to-day wear of handling and make them more accessible for researchers. Digitizing is also part of BRHS’ emergency planning, and Keithan said BRHS is working with safety experts to update its emergency plans and help protect the collections, staff and building from disaster.

Like many of its peers, the museum is a piece of history. Margaret Gaertner, the CAP building assessor, said it has layers and fascinating details as she highlighted 1870s cabinetry features and “fabulous” 1920s lighting fixtures. She said the museum is ahead of many similar ones, because it has heat and is open year-round.

However, Keithan said the assessment recommended some updates. This gives the society a chance to ask how the building can better serve the Society’s mission and visitors. She said the Society already made some quick fixes and is looking toward more involved projects, including room renovations and updating IT and other infrastructure. One project will be to improve accessibility, which she said is a big undertaking for the old building, but important for community involvement.

During the meeting, “community” was another theme almost all members wrote down. Keithan said the organization wants to be more involved and, because the biggest hurdle to future projects is funding, that will include reaching out to an already supportive community for help. However, she wants BRHS to be an asset, too.

“Part of reaching out and being a benefit to the community is reaching out and saying, ‘How can we help you? And also, how can you help us?’" she said. “We want their input into what we become and what we are, but that's also going to mean we need a little bit of help as well. So, it's a real relationship with the community.”