Moving Collections and Moving On at the Norwalk Historical Society D Laura A. Macaluso Independent Scholar 34 High Street, Milord, CT 06460; email: lauramacaluso@sbcglobal.net Abstract This essay describes the results of a recent collections moving project at a small historical society in Connecticut. While a daunting task for a small board and even smaller professional staff, the effort directed towards the move ended up spilling out into other areas of historic site development, resulting in new ideas and new partnerships across the city. Though the final product was much different than was originally anticipated, the flexibility and enthusiasm of the board members al lowed for plans to evolve out of the initial collections move project, which will sustain the direction of the organization for years to come. Tis special journal topic has ofered me a moment to reflect on a recent move un dertaken by the Norwalk Historical Society, in Norwalk, Connecticut. As a cultural heritage consultant I was brought on to the project afer the Executive Director (and only paid staf member) lef fr another position. The project was grant- fnded, and thus work had to be completed within a one-year time fame. Fortunately, with some fresight, a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, the project to move collections was completed on time. My goal in writing this is to capture a sense of"can-do" that small historical societies, when fced with daunting projects and almost no paid staf, can accomplish many good things. The use of traditional best practices com bined with new ways of enticing much needed volunteer and intern labor is at the heart of this project. Te best practices methods in our feld are well-known and expounded in both digital and live versions: through one-day seminars, site visits, and web mate rials, most of us have access to the basics of what constitutes a standard or accept able level in museum curatorial work. Historic house museums and small historical societies, already fnctioning at the margins (both fscally and professionally) have made great headway in beginning to meet these standards in the past decade, I be lieve, thanks to the burgeoning of resources available through state-wide or region- Collections: A Journalfor Museum and Archives Professionals, Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 201 l, pp. 227-234. Copyright © 201 l AltaMira Press.All rights reserved. 227