Book Moments: Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly (post one)

It is quite unusual to claim that a fictional work is of value to historians. Sure, we may read a historical fiction or two but only as a quick dessert following a well prepared full course academic meal. However, Fundraising the Dead is a fun little read that exposes the uninitiated to the world of public history. Using a fictional stand in for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Fundraising follows our heroine, a stressed out development director, on a detective sojourn into the stacks to uncover the mystery of disappearing collection items. BTW, someone cracked open the Registrar's skull making her task slightly more difficult.

On the cover, it is clear that this is a fictional whodunit. Underneath, it provides a wealth of clues as to how Public History operates. Nell, our fundraiser is obsessed with raising money necessary to operate the fictional Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society. Her latest effort is a fundraising gala with several high profile invitees whom, by her estimate, are likely donors and contributors to her organization's mission. The subtext here is clear; that organizations who claim to own the precious history of interest to the public are in fact heavily influenced by the wealthy. The board members have much easier access to the materials and can influence key decision makers. In the story, one of the legacy female board members has easy access to staff and treats the resources as though they were her own private property rather than a publicly accessible property.

Funding, according to the novel, is what drives public history. Any one gift is quickly consumed by the daily operating costs of such an operation. Although lightly staffed, any organization still must deliver professional level salaries. Old historical buildings require constant maintenance and care. Skilled educated people could easily decide to depart for greener pastures requiring an upheaval of operations. When the registrar disappeared, there was an interruption in cataloging and his absence hampered an ongoing investigation into some missing items (hint motive).

What types of people devote their lives to public history? According to the author, those who love the collections, the stories, the resources, and even the settings themselves. Public History allows the historians to be surrounded by history without interruption everyday. The writer can research 24/7 without regard to library hours providing one can find the items they require. Of course, this can lead to misplaced or improperly handled materials, a key factor that drives the story.

Although Public History settinsg have access to technology, a necessary vice when claiming to own litterally thousands of pieces for history, such technology requires money and skill to implement and use properly. Even with a passionate registrar, materials still turns up missing. Procedures can easily be bypassed requiring more time and effort (money) to put better controls into place.

More to come as I finish up the story, but dead bodies asside, it seems so far that Public History is not for the faint of heart.