Good example of cooperation between a RR museum and library. Such an arrangement will increase public awareness of both organizations.

Sloan

http://northport.patch.com/articles/lir ... useum-cove

More of us NEED to do this.

More often.

Many libraries, local museums, etc. are desperate for any decent excuse to set up an educational exhibit that isn't a commercial tie-in to the next Oprah book selection or local business. Or, for that matter, yet another person's collection of dolls, stamps, etc.

Work with a local library's staff to conjure up any appropriate exhibit, and work to tie it in to books available on the shelves. (You also may want to check that the library HAS books on railroads on the shelves besides Ambrose's "Nothing Like It In the World" and that 40-year-old coffee-table book--and, if necessary, let them have some books or funds to do something about that.)

In 1996 I set up an exhibit in my hometown library to mark the 125th anniversary of the railroad's opening in town. In short order, I pulled together everything from models, employee timetables, public timetables from the 1920s, tickets, lanterns, clippings, photos, original stock certificates and bonds, a crossing sign, plus the loan of display cases. People started "getting" it when I explained to the newspaper reporter that the railroad back then was like the Internet is now--it changed the way people lived, worked, and did business.

Thank you gentlemen, for your observations and kind words.

You are both quite correct. To partner with a library is an outstanding way to extend your organization's reach into a community. It gives you a new venue to attract the attention of folks, (read families), that might not think of visiting a "railroad museum" but regularly visit their local library.

We at RMLI have been very pro-active with outreach programs within our Suffolk County communities. In our efforts we try to promote the partner organization as well as our Museum. This creates strong bonds between the organizations and we find our volunteers can go back and forth and help each other out. Our successes have included the NY Transit Museum, the Historical Societies of Suffolk County, Southold and Sayville, NY, Brookhaven Township Department of Parks and Recreation, the East End Seaport and Maritime Museum, the Long Island Antique Power Association and the Hallockville Farm and Folklife Museum.

Public/private partnerships, although not as plentiful, can also be very beneficial. In January 2010 the RMLI partnered with the Martha Clara Vineyard with a month of weekend shows that featured NRHS Chapters and a number of model train clubs on Long Island. This partnership benefited the non-profit organizations with much needed exposure during the winter and brought people into the vineyard during what is normally a slow month for business. Everyone wins!

We also try to promote our sister and brother rail-related organizations by inviting them to show with us whenever space is available and providing them with free exhibit space at our annual Riverhead Railroad Festival. We also display their brochures and fliers to our patrons and encourage our visitors to attend their shows and open houses. We find many of our Island residents are not aware of the multitude of railroad experiences available to them, we try to educate them.

An interesting aside to this partnering is the favorable light you are put in when applying for funding and making end-of-year statutory reports. The State of New York and the County of Suffolk look for examples of inter-agency partnering when applying for grant funding. The more non-profit organizations that profit from a given government grant the better the chances of award. In New York State the RMLI is provisionally chartered by the State Education Department and required to report each year on our educational efforts. Partnering with other educational institutions during the year makes a very positive statement.

Good luck to all in 2011, Happy New Year,
Don Fisher, President

Railroad Museum of Long Island