Across the country, historical societies are facing a “transform-or-die” fork in the road, and a New York Times feature highlights Chester County’s renewed push to remain relevant.

“It’s just about reaching more people and adapting to what our audiences prefer,” Chester County Historical Society President Robert Lukens said in the article. “Give people their history in ways that they want it, not ways that we think they want.”

To do that, the society has experimented with programs like “History on Tap,” where Phoenixville’s Irish roots are explored around the bar at Molly Maguire’s Irish Restaurant and Pub.

The society also obtained a grant to study the marketing of its name.

“We want to make sure that the excitement that our programs and our collection bring to people is accurately reflected in what we call ourselves,” he was quoted as saying.

Read more about the national trend and Chester County’s role in that re-evaluation in The New York Times here.