Financial History 143 Fall 2022 | Page 6

THE TICKER

MUSEUM NEWS

David J . Cowen | President and CEO

Those of you who read this magazine regularly or have attended our Galas in the past few years know that one of our top priorities has been raising funds to digitize our expansive collection . This has been particularly important for our 18th century collection , which is among the finest in the nation and includes hundreds of our nation ’ s founding financial documents . These materials are irreplaceable , and their usefulness as a teaching tool is immeasurable .

To ensure that generations to come have access to these documents , and to enable people around the world to learn from these unique objects , the Museum has partnered with Heritage Werks on a wide-ranging , multi-year project to securely store and digitize the vast majority of our collection so that it may be preserved and shared with audiences globally .

I am excited to report that we completed the first step of this project in September , as we moved the collection from our archival storage facilities in New York and Delaware to Heritage Werks ’ state-of-the-art facility in Georgia . This was an enormous task , as it involved the safe and secure transport of tens of thousands of documents and objects . Our facilities and visitor services teams — led by Managing Director of Business Operations , Visitor Services and Education Linda Rapacki — worked tirelessly to ensure that every item made it securely to its destination outside Atlanta .

Now that the materials have arrived , they are being processed , evaluated and

prioritized for high resolution scanning and meta-tagging . Once they have been scanned , they will also be more accessible for physical exhibitions , both at our Museum and to be shared through traveling and pop-up exhibits and displays . The importance of this moment in the Museum ’ s history cannot be overstated .

So , thank you to all of our trustees , members and supporters who have contributed to this important initiative by donating to our Annual Fund and Galas over the past few years , and to those who have made specific donations to this endeavor . We couldn ’ t have done it without you . For those who would still like to become involved in this project , sponsorship opportunities exist for both corporate and individual donors , particularly as we look to share our digitized collections with the nation and the world . Please reach out to me if you ’ re interested in learning more .

David Cowen shows highlights from the Museum ’ s collection to attendees of the SALT conference in New York City , days before the collection was shipped to Georgia to be digitized .

In September , the Museum moved its collection from an archival storage facility in New York ( left ) to Heritage Werks in Georgia ( right ).

4 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2022 | www . MoAF . org