Call for Small Museums! Share Your Data

"I think it’s important to have small museums represented as a significant part of the museum community, and very few have contributed data so far to AAM’s Museum Benchmarking Online project.  Ultimately, the data collected by the American Association of Museums will be useful for all of us—to lobby our cities/counties/parent organizations for funding; to plan/refine our budgets; to apply for grants; etc." - Karen Daly, Director, Dumbarton House and SMA Board Member

Museum Benchmarking Online (MBO), AAM's new web-based tool, makes it easy for you to share your museum's data for the good of the whole museum field. MBO follows in the footsteps of our old, reliable, authoritative Museum Financial Information survey. The collected data is AAM's best weapon for advocacy on Capitol Hill and beyond. December 31, 2011 is the deadline for your museum's data to be included in a museum advocacy report! Contributors can review and update their data at anytime; and subscribers can make comparisons and generate reports on demand. Learn more by visiting www.aam-us.org/mbo or emailing benchmark@aam-us.org.

Employment Opportunities with Mt. Clare Museum House

CURATOR OF COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS for Mount Clare Museum House, Baltimore, MD

The Mount Clare Museum House management team is seeking an energetic, highly organized and creative museum professional to plan, develop, implement and oversee all aspects of the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibition schedule as directed and assist as necessary with site operations of Mt. Clare Museum House;  an historic site collecting and interpreting American Art and Regional History as it relates to the Carroll family and their 18^th century estate located in Carroll Park in Baltimore City.

The successful candidate will possess proven leadership and administrative experience with sound judgment and objective decision-making ability. This position requires strong knowledge of American art, American Decorative Arts, American history, current curatorial and collections management methodologies. 

This position reports directly to the Site Manager and is a part-time 20 hour per week position without benefits.   

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Curator of Collections & Exhibits develops interpretive exhibits, exhibit–related programs and publications, and is responsible for all aspects of collections management.  Work will focus on interdisciplinary and collaborative projects with staff, community organizations, and peer museums. 

The Curator will research and promote scholarship on the museum’s collection, including provenance, the Carroll family history and the role the site has played in Baltimore and the region’s art and cultural history.  Interpret works of art on exhibition in an engaging manner; think rigorously and communicate sensitively about the conception and reception of museum exhibitions. Conceptualize and plan the installation of seasonal changes to the permanent collection; install and rotate objects in the collection and refresh and upgrade installations as needed.  Manage the storage and display of loans and related correspondence. Participate in decisions regarding new acquisitions and conservation of objects in the permanent collection.

The candidate is expected to develop collaborative projects that engage and build audiences, as well as participate in public speaking. Assists in the writing of local, state, and national grant proposals to support collections care and exhibitions; and contributes to the writing of materials related to exhibitions and interpretation. The Curator will assist in routine operations of the House Museum as necessary and directed.

               

The Curator will work with staff to implement exhibit plans for the War of 1812 Bicentennial and work with the Curator of Education to organize interpretative programming to support the special exhibit, opening to the public on or about September 2012. The Curator will have an extraordinary opportunity to create a vision for the interpretation of the permanent collection, furnishing plans, and the installation and interpretation of special exhibitions in 2013-2014 as part of the continuation of museum’s commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial 2011-2015. 

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

Three to five years of professional curatorial experience working in museums is required, including experience building and managing a decorative arts collection; administering a departmental budget; training and managing intern staff, volunteers and docent corps. Excellent knowledge of current curatorial standards and proven track record in creation of exhibits are essential.  A concentration in Museum Studies, American Studies, American History or comparable field is preferred.  Master's Degree in Art History, American History or related field is desired. Relative experience may be substituted for educational requirements.

Must have working knowledge of the principles and practices of office management and tools, work organization and supervision; the ability to supervise, train, motivate and direct interns and volunteers; the ability to interact effectively with all age levels and cultural backgrounds; Must have excellent oral, written, computer, problem-solving and communication skills. Ability to work independently as well as an integral team member is desirable. Goal directed, results driven. Grant writing is a plus. Ability to lift 30 lbs, a valid driver’s license and vehicle required. Experience with PastPerfect software a plus.

To apply for this position, send a letter of application, resume, and the names and contact information for at least three professional references to chiefcurator@borail.org or mail to:

B&O Railroad Museum

Attn: Dave Shackelford

901 W. Pratt Street

Baltimore, MD 21223

CURATOR OF EDUCATION for Mount Clare Museum House, Baltimore, MD

The Mount Clare Museum House management team is seeking an energetic, highly organized and creative museum professional to plan, develop, implement quality educational programs, and assist as necessary with site operations of Mt. Clare Museum House; an historic site collecting and interpreting American Art and Regional History as it relates to the Carroll family and their 18^th century estate located in Carroll Park in Baltimore City.

The successful candidate will possess proven leadership and administrative experience with sound judgment and objective decision-making ability. This position requires strong knowledge of American art, American history, current educational theories and art education methodologies including current technological advances in internet and classroom learning.

This position reports directly to the Site Manager and is a part-time 24 hour per week position without benefits.   

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Curator of Education provides leadership and vision in the development and coordination of all programming associated with the museum’s mission, collection, history and special exhibits, working with staff and volunteers to constantly revise, distinguish, diversify, and participate in the Museum’s educational program offerings to attract and serve the broadest possible audience. 

In accordance with the museum’s long range plan, the Curator oversees the development and implementation of programs, including but not limited to: preparation of program budgets, ongoing training for volunteer tour guides and the development and coordination of programs related to current exhibitions and the permanent collection. The Curator assists in the writing of local, state, and national grant proposals; and contributes to the writing of materials related to exhibitions and family/public programs.

The Curator is responsible for the Visitor Services aspects for the museum including but not limited to scheduling and planning of group tours and related correspondence, scheduling docents, and preparing the template for the quarterly newsletter.  The Curator will assist in routine operations of the House Museum as necessary and directed.

The Curator works on audience advocacy to raise awareness of the Museum as a resource within the community by working with local cultural and community organizations to develop partnerships, collaborations, and special programs to serve their unique needs.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
A minimum of 3+ years combined experience working in museums and/or teaching, including experience building and administering a departmental budget; training and managing intern staff and the docent corps; and designing and coordinating quality education programs for adults and children with a diversity of backgrounds, ages and interests.  A Master’s degree in museum education, art history, American history, or related field is desired.  Relative experience may be substituted for educational requirements.

Knowledge of current issues in the field of museum education and museum-school partnerships, including knowledge of and participation in professional organizations at the state, regional and national level in the field of museum education or art education; and knowledge of curriculum standards for art and history for school age children.

Must have working knowledge of the principles and practices of office management and tools, work organization and supervision; the ability to supervise, train, motivate and direct staff and volunteers; the ability to interact effectively with all age levels and cultural backgrounds; Must have excellent oral, written, computer, problem-solving and communication skills. Ability to work independently as well as an integral team member is desirable.

To apply for this position, send a letter of application, resume, and the names and contact information for at least three professional references to chiefcurator@borail.org or mail to:

B&O Railroad Museum

Attn: Dave Shackelford

901 W. Pratt Street

Baltimore, MD 21223

Explore and Share Cultural Heritage Collections Online With Viewshare

From Trevor Owens, Digital Archivist, Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is excited to launch Viewshare.org, a free, easy-to-use tool that lets historians, curators, archivists, and librarians create interactive interfaces to digital collections. If you can create a spreadsheet you can create and share a dynamic online interface including maps, timelines, and charts that allow for rich exploration collection information with Viewshare. Stewards of cultural heritage collections can request a free account to use the tool by sending an email to ndiippaccess@loc.gov.

An Example of the Collection Interface created with Viewshare for a collection of photographs of segregated schools in Mississippi.

The best way to explain Viewshare is to walk through how it helped a user make a collection more accessible. Over a week last summer, Gloria Gonzalez, a junior fellow at the Library of Congress, used Viewshare to help tell a story about the Phay Collection, a collection of historic photographs she had worked with as an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi. As Gloria explained, “I care about this collection DEEPLY; I worked around 600 hours over the last year scanning the photos and slides while making an Excel sheet of the metadata at the same time.” Gloria, like many aspiring and professional historians, archivists, librarians, and curators across the country, cared both about the individual stories in each photograph and what the collection as a whole says about her community.

By uploading data from the collection to Viewshare, Gloria was quickly able to create a dynamic interface to the collection of photos she had worked so hard to make accessible online. Viewshare enabled her to place the items on an interactive map, create an interactive timeline, and create search tools making it easy to sort through and analyze the collection’s categories and data. She was able to do this without needing to write any code or build her own website. All Viewshare required was a little bit of patience to work with a point-and-click and drag-and-drop interface.  

Pamela Williamson, Curator of Visual Collections at the University of Mississippi, and Gloria’s manager on her project to digitize the Phay collection, explained how the Viewshare views supplement the existing online collection. “Viewshare really picks up where our digital collection management system leaves off. It allows the information presented by the collection to be seen and manipulated in a way that builds and expands our online Phay Collection.” The central idea behind Viewshare is that stewards of cultural heritage collections have a great deal of knowledge about their collection. Providing a tool that makes it as easy as possible for those stewards to create dynamic and engaging interfaces to their collections will support access to, and use of, those materials by anyone interested in understanding and exploring the history of the nation.  

Small Museum Finds Assistance!

From Flavia Cigliano, Director of the Nichols House Museum in Boston, MA. Nichols House has participated in several Museum Assessment Programs through AAM as well as in StEPS with AASLH.

"I noticed that the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) has another application deadline coming up, at the first of next month. I know I’ve been quoted as a strong supporter of MAP in many vehicles before, but I wanted to send one more personal message to small museums to consider a MAP application. It did wonders for our museum, the Nichols House in Boston.

"We did our first MAP in 2000, and have done a total of four, the most recent in 2010. Our results speak to the value of the program.

"Since that first MAP, we have been able to more than triple our staff, receive 4 grants from the IMLS ( 2 CPS; 2 MFA) 5 Preservation Assistance Grants from the NEH, and numerous grants from state agencies and private foundations when previously the Nichols House had received less than a handful. We have catalogued, digitized, and put on-line our entire collection (previously undocumented).  With recommendations from our Institutional MAP [now called an Organizational MAP], we developed our first strategic plan, setting the ground work for considered long term planning for the museum.

"MAP is a marvel. It made us better stewards of the historic treasure we are charged with managing, made our board better able to fulfill their responsibilities, and made Nichols House a more important entity in the community. MAP helped make our museum investable. I cannot overestimate its impact on our museum." 

To learn more about MAP, IMLS and AAM are offering a free webinar today at 3pm. Here is the information:  The MAP webinar is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. EST. To connect to the audio portion of the webinar, use the following phone number and participant code:

• 1(866)459-4770
• Participant code: 8452132

Nominations for 2012 Leadership in History Awards Program

Contact:          Bethany Hawkins

                        AASLH

                        (615) 320-3203

                        hawkins@aaslh.org

American Association for State and Local History Invites Nominations for 2012 Leadership in History Awards Program

NASHVILLE, TN—October 2011—The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) invites nominations for the 2012 Leadership in History Awards.  Now in its 67th year, the Awards Program is the most prestigious national recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of local, state, and regional history.  AASLH initiated the Awards Program in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout America.

      The AASLH  Leadership in History Awards Program recognizes exemplary work completed by state or federal historical societies, institutions, or agencies; regional, county, or local historical societies, institutions, or agencies; specialized subject societies in related fields such as oral history, genealogy, folklore, archaeology, business history, railroad history, etc.; junior historical societies; privately owned museums or foundations; individuals; and organizations outside the field of traditional historical agencies.  Awards are given for general excellence, exhibits, public and educational programming, special projects, publications, multimedia, individual achievement, and preservation or restoration projects. Nominees need not be members of AASLH to qualify.

      Nomination forms may be obtained by visiting www.aaslh.org/aaslh_awards.htm, or by contacting the AASLH office by phone: 615-320-3203 or email: hawkins@aaslh.org.

      Nominations are due to state award representatives on March 1, 2012.  A list of state award representatives can be found at the AASLH website.  Nominations are then reviewed by a national committee in the summer of 2012 with formal presentation of the awards made during the AASLH Annual Meeting, October 3-6, in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

      The American Association for State and Local History is a not-for-profit professional organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote history.  From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides leadership and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans.  AASLH publishes books, technical publications, a quarterly magazine, and monthly newsletter. The association also sponsors regional and national training workshops and an annual meeting. For more information about the Leadership in History Awards Program, contact Bethany Hawkins in the AASLH office at 615-320-3203.

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Photograph Collection - Possible Donation

SMA received the following request to spread the word about a collection of photographs that could be accepted by a small museum. Please respond directly to Mr. Riley with any questions or interest:

"Hello. I am interested in the possibility of donating, as an outright gift, a collection of photographs to any small museum that might be interested in obtaining these works. I seek your assistance in notifying your members of this offer.

The collection comprises thirty (30) black & white still life photographs printed on double-weight silver gelatin papers that are dry-mounted on white, 4-ply, acid and lignin-free, pH buffered, 100% cotton rag boards. Each photograph is approximately 10” x 13” in size. The mounts, French-cut mats, and backing boards are each 16” x 20” in size. All of the photographs are in pristine condition: all have been processed and handled using archival methods. Each photograph is signed in customary fashion and stamped on the back with identifying information. The mounted photographs are individually contained in polyethylene sleeves and all are stored in acid-free portfolio boxes.

The entire collection of 30 images can be viewed at: http://normanrileyphotography.com/page5.html and http://normanrileyphotography.com/page6.html. There are 15 thumbnail images on each page. Click on the thumbnails for enlarged views of each image.

Please contact me at this email address or by telephone at (360)220-8000 if any of your member museums are interested in adding these photographs to their collections.

Sincerely,
Norman E. Riley"