Press

ALBANY, NY – The president emeritus of the New-York Historical Society will speak at the State Museum on Monday, March 20 about New York State’s powerful and, unique, but largely unheralded role in American history, laying the foundation for a major new exhibition plan involving the State Museum, Archives and Library.

“But it was in New York: American begins in the Empire State” will be the topic of a 7:45 p.m. presentation in the Museum Theater by Kenneth T. Jackson, director of the Herbert H. Lehman Center for the Study of American History, a current Jacques Barzun professor of history at Columbia University and editor-in-chief of The Encyclopedia of New York City. Jackson will argue that events in New York, more than in any other state, have played a dominant role in shaping American history. But, for a variety of reasons, most Americans are not aware of this.

A new initiative in Governor Pataki’s proposed 2006-2007 budget provides $20 million for the public display of the collections of the state Office of Cultural Education (OCE) – the State Museum, Library and Archives. If approved, this plan would allow OCE to chronicle the state’s history in a more comprehensive, visible and tangible way, using state-of-the-art technology. The expanded display would also allow the Museum, Library and Archives to bring to the public exhibit floors many more artifacts currently stored away. Several rare artifacts from these collections will be on display March 20th.

OCE’s goal is to change the popular perception of New York through a “re-imagination” of its exhibition spaces to more accurately reflect the state’s paramount position in American history. Jackson will highlight the topics in which the places and citizens of the state played a dominant role. These would include the first settlement, Native Americans, immigration and diversity, tolerance and human rights, African Americans and civil rights, New York as a battleground, the Civil War, science and industry, visual arts, agriculture, world trade and globalization and the transportation revolution.

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A portion of the funds provided for in the budget proposal also could be used to develop a natural history gallery at the Museum. There also is an additional $20 million proposed that would be used toward the construction of a new climate-controlled OCE Collection and Research Center. The proposal also creates a Cultural Education Trust within the State Education Department to advise the Board of Regents on the expenditure of the funds.

The proposed new state-of-the-art collections center would be a “green” facility that would utilize modern technology to reduce pollution and save energy. It would accommodate all of the Museum’s collections and research laboratories, the State Records Center and parts of the collections of the Library and Archives. The Cultural Education Center (CEC) on Madison Avenue would continue as the primary public service and education space for the three OCE institutions, including the Museum’s exhibition galleries, the Research Library and Archives public spaces and other OCE public and educational program areas.

In 2003 a blue ribbon panel of distinguished experts from the nation’s major cultural institutions visited Albany and concluded that both the State Museum and the State Records Center, located at the Harriman State Office campus, are filled beyond capacity and their irreplaceable collections are threatened by insufficient space and obsolete and substandard storage facilities. The Museum currently stores larger items in its collections in a non-insulated, partially heated, leased warehouse in Rotterdam. It also leases laboratory facilities in North Greenbush. The new facility would ensure that the collections are properly stored in an environment with appropriate temperature and humidity controls.

The State Museum, Library and Archives house historic treasures that reflect over 170 years of collecting and research in the earth sciences, biology and human history and 375 years of documentation by New York’s colonial and state governments. The Museum has 12.5 million specimens and artifacts and the Archives and Library have more than 140 million documents, volumes and manuscripts.

The March 20th event is free but seating is limited. Those wishing to attend should RSVP at (518)

408-1033 by March 15th.

The New York State Museum, Library and Archives are programs of the New York State Department of Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Further information on the Museum can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov. Information on the State Archives is available at www.archives.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 473-9098 and State Library information can be found at www.nysl.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 474-5355.

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