New Preservation Long Island director wants to digitize more of Long Island's history

As Jackie Powers takes the helm of Preservation Long Island, she'll turn the focus on the Cold Spring Harbor nonprofit's collection. Calling it a "tremendous resource," Powers said more of the collection — from centuries-old photos to artwork that illustrates the region's formation — should be available online.

Powers, of Glen Cove, said she wants to digitize more archival documents to make it easier for Long Islanders and researchers to know more about the region's history.

“Only a small portion of our collection is online," Powers said in an interview. "We need to get all of it online so that researchers around the world can see it."

A veteran of the American Museum of Natural History, Powers became the nonprofit's executive director on Dec. 2. The organization was founded in 1948 as the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. The nonprofit advocates for historical resources, offers educational programs, raises funds, and serves as a steward for historical places and artifacts. Each year, Preservation Long Island issues a report highlighting endangered historical places in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Powers spent 27 years with the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. There, she worked as an attorney for the museum before moving into the president’s office and serving as a special assistant and then as a special advisor.

Preservation Long Island has an annual budget of $1.5 million, according to Andrea Hart, the organization’s public affairs director.

Michelle Elliott Gokey, the president of its board of trustees, said the nonprofit selected Powers for her “understanding of the power of collections to reach out to diverse audiences.” 

“She's a very creative thinker and just has been engaged since Day One,” Gokey said.

Powers recently spoke with Newsday about her goals as executive director. The interview was edited for clarity and length.

What skills did you learn at the American Museum of Natural History, and how will they transfer to your new job?

They're both collections-based nonprofits. Obviously, Natural History is of a much larger scale, but they both pull research from collections, and they do scholarship and then public programs and exhibitions based on that. The structure here is the same; it’s just on a much smaller level.

What excites you about the new role?

I think what I really am most looking forward to doing is expanding the awareness of what PLI does, and how communities can benefit from learning about PLI. I think a lot of people on the North Shore know what Preservation Long Island is, but I'd like to see more awareness and excitement about our programs out on the East End and as well on the South Shore.

What work needs to be done to bring Preservation Long Island to its next phase?

Typically, collections have grown before the technology caught up. It takes decades to catalog and properly make accessible really large collections. Organizations with historical collections should focus on making their archives accessible in a digital form. It should be the priority of all organizations that have collections. We have a tremendous resource, both in our collection and in our scholarship and in our staff, about Long Island architecture and decorative arts and cultural heritage. We need to make it more accessible.

What are the challenges of raising awareness for historical spaces on Long Island and preserving them?

I think the challenges are first assessing the community's interest level and how they’re valuing these properties. And then there’s thinking about repurposing properties. I think a wonderful option for valuable properties that are falling down is, how can these be saved? Turn a church into a school, or turn a mill into a community center. It's like recycling. It's so important, and if you don't think about it that way, you're just missing out. You don't want to save them just for the sake of saving them. You want to save them so that they're utilized to the community’s maximum benefit.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ