44.02(5m)
(5m) Not charge a fee for admission to the museum until construction of the museum is completed. Fees collected from admissions shall be used to support public programming.
44.02(5s)
(5s) Except as provided in
s. 16.84 (2), have responsibility for security at the museum.
44.02(6)
(6) Thoroughly catalog the entire collections of the society for the more convenient reference of all persons who have occasion to consult the collections. The society may loan to libraries, educational institutions and other organizations or to private individuals in good standing items from the collections of the society.
44.02(8)
(8) Bind, except when microfilmed or transferred to optical disks or electronic format, the unbound books, documents, manuscripts, pamphlets, and especially newspaper files in its possession.
44.02(9)
(9) Take an active interest in the preservation and use of the noncurrent public records of historical importance of counties, cities, villages, towns, school districts and other local governmental units and courts.
44.02(10)
(10) Conduct a research center in American history for the benefit of the students and faculty of the university of Wisconsin system as well as for members of the general public and to facilitate the further understanding by the general public of the significance of the American experiment.
44.02(11)
(11) Work with the auxiliaries, affiliates and chapters established under
s. 44.03 in the encouragement, stimulation and development of worthwhile historical projects and undertakings at the county and local level.
44.02(12)
(12) Be the custodian of the official series of the portraits of the governors of Wisconsin under
s. 44.53 (1) (g) and maintain the portraits in proper condition. The society may permit any or all of the portraits to be exhibited in such state buildings for such periods of time as it deems feasible.
44.02(13)
(13) To faithfully expend and apply all money received to the fulfillment of its duties and purposes as directed by law.
44.02(14)
(14) To hold all its present and future property for the state.
44.02(15)
(15) To promote a wider appreciation of the American heritage with particular emphasis on the collection, advancement and dissemination of knowledge of the history of Wisconsin and of the West.
44.02(16)
(16) To collect, embody, arrange and preserve in authentic form, a library of books, pamphlets, maps, charts, manuscripts, papers, paintings, statuary, and other materials illustrative of the history of the state.
44.02(17)
(17) To preserve the memory of its early pioneers, and to obtain and preserve narratives of their exploits, perils, and adventures.
44.02(18)
(18) To exhibit faithfully the antiquities, and the past and present condition, and resources of Wisconsin.
44.02(20)
(20) Have authority to operate, maintain, acquire and develop outdoor historic sites related to the outdoor recreation program under
s. 23.30.
44.02(21)
(21) Serve as the principal historic preservation agency of the state and in that capacity carry out a program of preservation of historic properties as specified under
subch. II of ch. 44.
44.02(22)
(22) Acquire, maintain and operate historic properties representative of this state's rural and urban heritage.
44.02(23)
(23) Identify any archaeological site, including contiguous land necessary to protect the site, in this state that is listed in the national register of historic places in Wisconsin or the state register of historic places and that is not cataloged under
s. 157.70 (2) (a). Any information collected under this subsection the disclosure of which would be likely to result in the disturbance of an archaeological site is not subject to
s. 19.35 (1).
44.02(24)
(24) Promulgate by rule procedures, standards and forms necessary to certify, and shall certify, expenditures for preservation or rehabilitation of historic property for the purposes of
s. 71.07 (9r). These standards shall be substantially similar to the standards used by the secretary of the interior to certify rehabilitations under
26 USC 47 (c) (2).
44.02(25)
(25) In cooperation with and upon request of the board on the U.S.S. Wisconsin, maintain a permanent exhibit at a suitable location in this state relating to the history of the 2 battleships named "Wisconsin".
44.02(26)
(26) With the department of administration, promulgate rules identifying historically significant materials and obtain historically significant surplus materials under
s. 16.72 (5) (c).
44.02(27)
(27) Administer the historical markers program under
s. 44.15.
44.025
44.025
Historical legacy programs. 44.025(1)
(1) The historical society may use funds from the appropriation under
s. 20.245 (4) (t) only for the following purposes:
44.025(1)(a)
(a) Programs of the historical society that increase funding or develop new sources of revenues for the historical society.
44.025(1)(b)
(b) To create and expand historical outreach programs throughout the state related to the activities of the Wisconsin sesquicentennial commission.
44.025(2)(a)(a) The historical society may accept gifts, grants and bequests to be used for the purposes specified in
sub. (1). The historical society shall deposit all moneys received as gifts, grants and bequests in the historical society endowment fund.
44.025(2)(b)
(b) The historical society shall transfer moneys from the appropriation account under
s. 20.245 (4) (s) to the historical society endowment fund to match moneys deposited into the historical society endowment fund under
par. (a) and to match moneys committed or pledged for the purposes specified in
sub. (1).
44.025 History
History: 1997 a. 27.
44.03
44.03
Affiliated societies. 44.03(1)
(1) County or local historical societies without capital stock may be incorporated as affiliates of the historical society, to gather and preserve the books, documents and artifacts relating to the history of their region or locality. No fees shall be charged by any register of deeds for recording nor by the department of financial institutions for filing the articles of organization or its amendments, or for a certificate of incorporation of any such society, but the department of financial institutions shall not accept articles of incorporation under this section unless they are approved by the board of curators of the historical society.
44.03(2)
(2) Statewide, county or other patriotic or historical organizations, or chapters in this state may be incorporated as affiliates of the historical society under
sub. (1) if their purposes and programs are similar to and consonant with those of the historical society and its affiliates, or if already incorporated, the organizations or chapters may apply to the board of curators for affiliation with the historical society. Upon incorporation under this section or acceptance of affiliation by the board of curators the applying organization shall as an affiliate accept the provisions and shall be entitled to all the benefits of this section. Any affiliated society shall be a member and entitled to one vote in any general meeting of the historical society. The board of curators may terminate the affiliation as an affiliate of the historical society under this section of any such organization by formal resolution, a copy of which shall be deposited with the department of financial institutions.
44.03(3)
(3) Every affiliated society shall make a report of its work annually to the historical society that contains the information specified in
s. 181.1622 (1) (a) to
(e), which, in its entirety or in part, may be included in the publications of the historical society, and upon application of any affiliated society the historical society may accept, in behalf of the state, custody of or title to the property, records and collections of the affiliated society or may assist in the disposal thereof. If any affiliated society becomes, in the opinion of the board of curators of the historical society, inactive or defunct, title to such property, records and collections not otherwise provided for in the grants of donors or in the articles of incorporation of the inactive and defunct society, shall vest in the historical society which shall take appropriate action in the public interest for the protection or disposal of such property, records and collections. Preference in disposition shall be given to historical or related organizations in the area or to whatever county or local governmental unit that has aided such affiliate financially.
44.03(4)
(4) The historical society, for the purpose of establishing uniformity in organization and methods of work, may prepare and furnish uniform articles of organization and bylaws to any affiliated society, but the affiliate may adopt additional bylaws.
44.03(5)
(5) The historical society may provide for annual or other meetings of officers or representatives of affiliated societies at times and places to be fixed by its director, or by such officers or representatives, and the proceedings of such meetings, or portions its director selects, may be included in its published reports. Each affiliated society shall receive a copy of each of the publications of the state society on the same terms as those granted to life members of the state society.
44.03(6)
(6) Custody of public records of county, village, town, school district or other governmental units may be accepted by any affiliated society which has been designated a regional depository under
s. 44.10, but title to these records shall remain with the historical society. In the event of the dissolution or incapacity of any affiliated society, it shall be obligatory on the last group of officers and members to notify the director of the historical society that the affiliated society can no longer retain custody of these records and to deliver them to a depository designated by the historical society.
44.04
44.04
School services. 44.04(1)(1) The historical society, as part of its program as an educational institution, shall offer to the schools and teachers in this state all of the following:
44.04(1)(a)
(a) Materials as the society shall prepare or make available to facilitate instruction in the history and civil government of Wisconsin, including curricula, lesson plans, classroom projects, facsimiles of historical materials and other instructional materials for the teaching of state and local history.
44.04(1)(b)
(b) Seminars for teachers, including continuing education programs, in-service training and programs at teacher conventions.
44.04(2)
(2) To accomplish its duties under
sub. (1), the historical society shall do all of the following:
44.04(2)(a)
(a) Prepare, publish, issue, loan or circulate such magazines, books, aids, guides and other publications, such visual aids, special exhibits, and other teaching materials and aids as it, in consultation with the department of public instruction, deems advisable.
44.04(2)(b)
(b) Provide information to schools and teachers regarding the materials and services available from the historical society to assist in the teaching of history.
44.04(2)(c)
(c) Promote cooperation between schools and historical organizations.
44.04(3)
(3) It may make such charges as its board of curators shall establish as just and proper to defray in part the costs of this program.
44.05
44.05
American history research center. 44.05(1)
(1) The historical society, in order to promote the wider understanding of the significance of the American heritage, shall encourage research in American history in general, and in the history of Wisconsin and the west particularly, through its American history research center and the other divisions of this agency, and interpret to the public the nature of the said heritage, and the role of state and local history in elucidating and facilitating the understanding of the American democracy, social, political, cultural and economic.
44.05(2)
(2) The society, in pursuit of these goals, may be the beneficiary of bequests in any form, may undertake research projects, make grants-in-aid to students of particular topics germane to the purposes of the center, publicize the American story or parts thereof through publications of various types, exhibits, photographic or microphotographic reproductions, radio, pageantry and such other media as may best lend themselves to its work.
44.06
44.06
Depository of public documents. 44.06(1)
(1) In this section, "state document" has the meaning given in
s. 35.81 (3).
44.06(2)
(2) The director of the historical society shall file with the department of administration, and may revise, lists of state, county, municipal, federal, or other agencies to which state documents shall be distributed in accordance with interstate or international comity, with or without exchange, as provided in
s. 35.86, in order to maintain or enlarge the reference collections of the society and the state. The department of administration shall obtain the state documents so specified from the agencies publishing them, at the expense of the agencies, and shall ship the state documents to the addressees provided by the director. The department of administration shall prepay carriage charges and shall collect the charges from the agencies publishing the state documents being shipped.
44.06(3)
(3) The historical society shall keep available to other state agencies and to citizens of Wisconsin and other states its public document collections under such proper and reasonable regulations as may be deemed advisable.
44.06(4)
(4) The historical society may loan public documents, except those of rare nature, to other state agencies for official use or on interlibrary loan to other reference libraries under such rules and regulations and for such period as may appear desirable.
44.06(5)
(5) The historical society shall prepare a periodic checklist of state documents and shall publish the list in such form and with such notes as to show the scope and purpose of such documents as the society considers advisable.
44.06 History
History: 1991 a. 285.
44.07
44.07
Museum extension service. 44.07(1)
(1) The historical society, in conjunction with its museum program and in order to make its collections and the teaching values of museum materials available on a statewide basis and to stimulate more effective local museum techniques, may operate a museum extension service with or without the cooperation of other museums or its auxiliary societies.
44.07(2)
(2) The said society may for such purpose lend to other museums, public libraries, art galleries, colleges, schools or other responsible institutions or organizations, under such rules and safeguards and for such period as it deems desirable, such items and objects from its collections as are not irreplaceable.
44.07(3)
(3) The society may participate in cooperative or joint exhibits with other museums or auxiliary societies in this program, and may out of the appropriation in
s. 20.245 (1) extend financial assistance not to exceed $1,000 in the aggregate in any year to other museums or auxiliaries where and only where such aid is found necessary to enable such other museums or auxiliaries to participate in this program.
44.07(4)
(4) Transportation charges and other minor costs of such extension exhibits may be charged the exhibitor.
44.07 History
History: 1993 a. 213.
44.08
44.08
Humanities grants. From the appropriation under
s. 20.245 (4) (f), the historical society shall provide funds in the 1989-91 biennium to a nonprofit corporation that supports and conducts public humanities programming, if such funds are matched by federal funds, to make grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions for local and regional heritage projects.
44.08 History
History: 1989 a. 31.
44.09
44.09
District attorney, county, local and court records. 44.09(1)(1) Except as provided in
sub. (2), the proper officer of any county, city, village, town, school district or other local governmental unit or a district attorney may offer, and the historical society may accept for preservation, title to such noncurrent records as in the historical society's judgment are of permanent historical value and that are no longer needed for administrative purposes by the local governmental unit or district attorney. The proper officer of any court may offer, and the historical society may accept for preservation, on order of the judge of the court, title to such records as have been photographed or microphotographed in accordance with
SCR chapter 72, or that have been retained for the period of time provided in
SCR chapter 72, and that are deemed by the historical society to be of permanent historical value.
44.09(2)
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to patient health care records, as defined in
s. 146.81 (4), that are in the custody or control of a local health department, as defined in
s. 250.01 (4).
44.09 History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 136 W (2d) xi (1987);
1991 a. 39,
185,
226,
315;
1993 a. 27;
1997 a. 252.
44.095
44.095
Pilot electronic records program. 44.095(1)(a)
(a) "Electronic record" means any record, as defined under
s. 19.32 (2), that is maintained in an electronic format by a state agency.
44.095(2)
(2) The historical society shall create a pilot electronic records program. The historical society shall do all of the following:
44.095(2)(a)
(a) Assist state agencies in planning archival management of their electronic records.
44.095(2)(b)
(b) Examine and evaluate options for the protection, preservation and accessibility of electronic records of permanent historical value.
44.095(2)(c)
(c) Develop procedures for the protection, preservation and accessibility of electronic records of permanent historical value.
44.095(2)(d)
(d) Develop and periodically update a comprehensive plan for the protection, preservation and accessibility of electronic records of permanent historical value. The historical society shall submit the plan by June 30, 1995, and the plan updates annually thereafter until June 30, 1998, to the governor, the legislature under
s. 13.172 (2), the public records board and the division of information technology services in the department of administration.
44.095(3)
(3) This section does not apply after June 30, 1998.
44.10
44.10
Regional depositories for records. 44.10(1)
(1) The historical society, through its board of curators, in its corporate capacity and as trustee of the state may enter into agreements with the university of Wisconsin system or such other public or quasi-public institutions, agencies or corporations as the board of curators of the society shall designate to serve as the regional records depository for a given area. Said agreements shall specify the area to be served by the depository, and the methods of accessioning, cataloging, care, housing, preservation and servicing of these and such other material as may be placed by the historical society or in the name of the historical society in such regional depositories under such agreements, it being the intent of this section to provide an orderly, uniform statewide system for the retention and preservation of important court, county and local public records on a manageable basis and under proper professional care in the region of origin. Only where such arrangements cannot be accomplished may the said society transfer such records to the state archives. Said society shall compile and maintain for reference purposes as soon as may be convenient a union list of the records of county, city, village, town, school district, or other local governmental unit, or court, title to which is transferred to it under
s. 44.09 (1).
44.10(2)
(2) The board of curators may establish county records depositories within the regions served by the regional depositories established in
sub. (1). The board may enter into agreements with these county depositories similar to those provided above for regional depositories, and records may be loaned temporarily from regional depository to a county depository, title in all cases remaining in the state society. The union list of records of county, city, village, town, school district or other local governmental units, or court, provided in
sub. (1) shall indicate such transfers or loans of records between depositories so as to show at all times the present location of each group of records.
44.11
44.11
Central depository library. The board of curators of the historical society shall have the same authority to participate in the formation and maintenance of a nonprofit-sharing corporation for the purpose of providing and operating a central library depository as is conferred upon the board of regents of the university of Wisconsin system under
s. 36.11 (12).
Section 36.11 (12) shall, so far as applicable, apply to the board of curators of the historical society and for the purposes of this section whenever the words "board of regents" appear in
s. 36.11 (12) they shall be deemed to mean "board of curators of the historical society".
44.11 History
History: 1971 c. 100 s.
23;
1973 c. 335 s.
13.
44.12
44.12
Educational facilities at Nelson Dewey state park.
