TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
FROM: Travis Sais, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to authorize the Mayfair High School History Club, in collaboration with the Bellflower Heritage Society, to complete a historical digitization project at the Carpenter House Museum, located at 10500 Flora Vista Street, Bellflower, CA 90706.
DATE: February 13, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Last month, the City received a letter from the Mayfair High School History Club (“History Club”) requesting permission to complete a historical digitization project, in collaboration with the Bellflower Heritage Society, of historical records at the Carpenter House Museum (“Museum”).
The Museum contains original turn-of-the century décor, pictures, newspaper articles and furnishings. The project would include scanning the historical museum documents and then uploading the scanned documents to a website designed and managed by the History Club.
Following completion of the project, the History Club is requesting the City hyperlink the newly created webpage to the City’s website. The History Club expects the project to be completed over the course of a few months in the spring of 2023. The letter request from the H istory Club is attached to the staff report for reference.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) If appropriate, authorize the Mayfair High School History Club , in collaboration with the Bellflower Heritage Society, to complete a historical digitization project at the Carpenter House Museum; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
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Staff Report – Carpenter House Museum
February 13, 2023
BACKGROUND
The Carpenter Museum is a historical building located at Caruthers Park, 10500 Flora Vista Street in Bellflower, and is owned by the City and operated by volunteer efforts of the Bellflower Heritage Society. The Museum showcased original turn-of-the century décor, pictures, newspaper articles and furnishings. The Museum was dedicated to sharing the hi story of the City of Bellflower and explores what family life looked like for the Fred B. Carpenter family in 1928.
At the end of 2022, the City was contacted by Mayfair High School History Club member, Christopher Mendoza, regarding his club’s interest in digitizing the historical records located inside the Museum. Mayor Sonny Santa Ines and staff met with Christopher to learn more about the project idea and what the club envisioned. Following discussions with Christopher and a few club representatives, the club submitted a letter requesting to complete a historical digitization project, in collaboration with the Bellflower Heritage Society, of historical records at the Carpenter House Museum. The project would include scanning the historical museum documents and then uploading those documents to a website designed and managed by the History Club. Following completion of the project, the History Club is requesting the City hyperlink the newly created webpage to the City’s website. The History Clu b expects the project to be completed over the course of a few months in the spring of 2023. The History Club noted in its letter that any materials or equipment needed would be paid for and provided by the History Club.
ATTACHMENT
Letter from the Mayfair High School History Club……..…………………………………………. 3
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Letter of Request for Mayfair History Club x Bellflower Heritage Society Historical Digitization Project H EOE/V50 December 17, 2022 JAN 1 0 Bellflower City Council O’TY V 16600 Civic Center Drive, Bellflower, CA 90706 8 a: Greetings, Mayfair High School’s History Club would like to request permission for a historical digitization project in collaboration with the Bellflower Heritage Society. The Carpenter House Museum is currently managed by the Bellflower Heritage Society and contains a historical archive of the City of Bellflower. The museum has been closed to the public for several years, and we would like to make the historical documents available to the public through a digital platform. We believe that providing Bellflower residents with a better understanding of their city’s history will incite community pride and interest. The project would include scanning each of the museum documents and uploading it to a website designed by Mayfair History Club. We would take full responsibility for the construction, design, and maintenance of the site. We would then request for the site to be hyperlinked to a page of the City of Bellflower’s website. This would increase resident accessibility to the digitized museum. Mayfair History Club hopes to complete this project over the course of a few months in the spring of 2023. Any materials or equipment needed will be paid for and provided by Mayfair History Club. We are excited to undertake this project for the residents of Bellflower. Thank you for your valuable time and consideration. Sincerely, Alyssa Kline, Dana Velasquez, Nicole Malunes, Mia Verayo, Danica Belonio, Mario Rodriquez, Derek Dominguez, and Jamie Garvin Mayfair High School History Club Officers and Faculty Advisor -3-