Collections of Historical Markers and Signage and Public Programming Online at Public History Institutions Such as Museums and Archives

Abstract

Historical designations are communicated to audiences through interpretive signage. Historic markers as signage for outdoor interpretation constitute a body of managed outdoor collections. Implications for museum and archive professionals to represent and manage these collections, in addition to applying practices for acclimatized collections, are incorporated in this article. Beyond its location at a particular geographic location, a marker's information may be disseminated through websites of public history institutions that aim to share information about the historical markers through digitizing records and mapping these through geospatial information systems. This article examines the historical marker applications and databases of public history institutions, many of which are associated with museums and archives, in the United States as a place-based collection, where suggestions by museums and archives professionals can also take part in the committees and applications. Attention is also paid to meeting the needs of diverse audiences through reinterpretation by museums and archives professionals.