Adding a listing to The History List is cut and paste simple. Anyone--staff, interns, volunteers, enthusiastic supporters--can add a listing.     This video shows adding a new event and a new organization to The History List.

To view this video full screen--it will be easier to see details--click on the video and once it starts playing you'll see symbols appear in the black bar at the bottom of the video.  Click on the symbol on the right end of the black bar.  It's the "Full screen" symbol to the right of the YouTube logo.

With The History List now open to all organizations, we're focused on spreading the word.

Thanks to several colleagues who are helping do just that through local, state, regional, and national conferences and publications:

• Cathy Stanton, Editor of History@Work from the National Council on Public History, in a blog post on a presentation at the national conference in Milwaukee this April.

• Larry Cebula, Assitant Digital Archivist at the Washington State Digital Archives and an Associate Professor of History at Eastern Washington University, in a blog post following the same presentation at the National Council on Public History's annual conference.

• Phil Katz, Assistant Director for Research at the American Association of Museums, writing in the AAM's Future of Museums blog.

• Dan Yaeger, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association, in a recent member newsletter.

• Susan Nicholl. Executive Director at MetroWest Tourism & Visitors Bureau, at the Regional Cultural Convening earlier today in Framingham, Massachusetts earlier today.

• Deb Friedman, Vice President of Public Program at Old Sturbridge Village and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Living History, Farm, and Agricultural Museums, at the organization's annual conference, Maintaining Relevance in a Digital Age, which begins tomorrow near Dallas.

• Patty Bruttomesso, Local History Coordinator at Mass Humanities, at the Mass History conference, Taking Center Stage: Conflict & Collaboration in the Peopling of Massachusetts, presented by Mass Humanities, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Program in Public History, the Joseph P. Healey Library and the Public History Track at the University of Massachusetts Boston and taking place Monday in Worcester, Massachusetts.

• Robin Zeigler, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions and co-chair of the organization's annual conference, Forum 2012, in Norfolk, Virginia this July.

And thanks to early supporters, including Diane Calvano, who has provided two opportunities (October 2011 and May 2012) to present to the regional Historical Sharing Group she leads, and Gloria Greis, who provided an opportunity to present last December and get feedback at a meeting of The Charles River Group, which she leads.

Is your organization having a meeting or conference in the coming months?  If so, please let your colleagues know that The History List is now open to them--at no cost--to publicize their organization, event, exhibit, or site.  This is a convenient, very graphical one-page handout.

Last night I made a brief presentation on The History List to a group of historical societies that get together and share ideas once a quarter.  (Here's the one-page "How to" designed for staff, interns, and volunteers.)  The group is led by Diane Calvano, who has done a great job creating a forum for historical society board members and volunteers throughout the area.

Last night's meeting was hosted by the Charlton Historical Society and held in Rider Tavern (1799), which the Society owns and has restored over the years.  General Lafayette, entertained at the tavern in 1824, is one of its famous guests.

Rider Tavern, an off-the-beaten-path treasure—Charlton, Massachusetts has a population of around 13,000—is one of the reasons we started The History List: To create a way for organizations such as the Charlton Historical Society to reach beyond their community and let more people know about their events and exhibits, museums and sites.  From the pictures (below) taken last night, I'm sure you can see why Rider Tavern is worth a visit.

Using The History List to promote your organization and events

We opened (quietly) late last week so that other organizations can begin to participate.  This follows a six-month beta that included The Freedom Trail Foundation, Historic New England, the Bostonian Society, the USS Constitution Museum, and several smaller historical societies (including the Marlborough Historical Society in Massachusetts)  and museums (incl. the Smith-Appleby House Museum in Smithfield, RI and the Adirondack Museum in New York) as well as other organizations (incl. the Vine Lake Preservation Trust in Medfield, Massachusetts).

Thanks to Matt, Rob, Samantha, and Jodie for jumping in with both feet from the get-go, listing their events, and providing feedback throughout, and to everyone we talked with who provided suggestions and encouragement.  And to Deb and Ann at Old Sturbridge Village who told us within a few hours of opening that they will list all of Old Sturbridge Village's events.  

Getting started is easy:

Request an account if you don't have one already.  Sign in if you do.  And don't worry, if you've forgotten your password, just click on "Sign in" and you can recover your password.  (See the screenshot to the right.)

Enter information on your current and upcoming events and exhibits—Entering information is cut-and-paste simple, all of the formatting is maintained, and you have essentially unlimited space for a description and for pictures.

And because anyone who has an account and is signed in can add or edit information, organizations have a lot of flexibility with adding and updating their information.  Large organizations can have a summer intern or have a few different staff members enter and update information.

Smaller organizations may wish to ask a volunteer to add the information.  This may even be the right approach for some very large organizations, such as those with a formal "friends" group or a large number of docents who handle events or give tours.

Updated: May 12, 2012: Use this one-pager as a guide.

Enter information about your organization or site—Similar to entering information about your events, entering information about an organization is quick and easy.  And all of the events from the organization will show up automatically at the bottom of the organization's page. 

For the typical smaller organization with ten events, it should take roughly 30 minutes to enter the information about the events and to set up the organization's page.  This means that, once a year, an organization can publicize their events to anyone anywhere for an investment of 30 minutes time.

Questions?  Feedback?  Let us know.