Conference Presenter: Beth Maloney

One thing I love about working with small museums is how good they are at getting folks around the table and tackling problems in nimble,  creative and concrete ways. Our session, " Making your site Family- Friendly: Expert Advice from the Pros ," tries to capture this spirit.  We've gathered together some colleagues who have a wealth of  experience in the field of family-focused programming, interpretation  and exhibit design. And we're inviting you, session participants, to bring one issue or problem you've encountered while trying to make  your site or museum more family friendly. At our session we'll address your issue specifically and develop some concrete tips and suggestions  for real solutions you'll be able to take back to your site and try out. If you'd like us to address your issue, please send me an email at beth@bethmaloney.com and include your name/contact information, the   name of your organization/museum, the number of staff you have, a 5 sentence description of your problem or issue and a one sentence  desired outcome. We'll take a look at issues in the order they are  received so don't delay!

Employment Opportunity with PastPerfect

PastPerfect Software, Inc. has an open position for a Museum Software Specialist to assist clients with the implementation and use of PastPerfect Museum Software and PastPerfect-Online.  Our team of museum and technical professionals is based in Exton, Pennsylvania and serves over 8000 organizations around the world.  PastPerfect continues to grow as the leader in providing collections and contact management to museums of all sizes. 

Position Details:

-Full time permanent position in our Exton, PA office.

-Assists clients with all aspects of ordering, installing, and operating PastPerfect Software.

Benefits:

-Complete medical and dental benefits at no cost to the employee.

-$32,000 a year starting salary with additional pay increases and incentives after the first year.

-Regular business hours 9:00am - 5:30pm weekdays.  (some weekend hours may be required for conferences occasionally)

-Leave (vacation) accrues from start of employment. After first year, employee accrues 12 days per year of paid vacation and 7 paid holidays.

Qualifications:

-Uncompromising commitment to help fellow members of the museum community.

-Excellent communication skills with the desire to work as part of a small team.

-Strong computer skills with a focus on Microsoft products.

-Preference given to the candidate who has put collection management principles in place at a small to medium size museum.

-Undergraduate degree in a museum studies related discipline.

-Familiarity with our products is a plus.

                 

Applications are being accepted by email through January 20, 2012.

Please provide references with your resume and give us your earliest available start date.  

Brian L. Gomez
Vice President, Operations
brian@museumsoftware.com
voice: 800-562-6080 Ext 102
cell:     484-883-4198
 

Conference Presenter: Nomi Dayan

When I saw this year’s conference theme, I just knew I had to give a presentation!

 

The subject "Adapt & Reuse: Fresh Ideas and New Approaches” could not describe our museum enough. Our museum has undergone a major change in the past few years. I was hired by the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum in 2008 in an effort to help revitalize the museum’s vision and approach to education programs. I would like to share our experiences and inspiration with you and show you how we started new programs throughout the year, expanded our audience, rethought how we use our physical spaces, and revamped our offerings to adults, families, and children.

 

I plan to talk about the strategies I’ve used to maximize every inch possible, making creative connections between our mission and fresh program ideas (celebrating Chinese New Year in a Whaling Museum, anyone?), interdisciplinary learning in rotating stations, and what I call “imaginative transformation” of a given space.

 

Take a look at the picture  – what’s going on? Why is there a boy absolutely thrilled for having found what he is holding? Join me on Tuesday morning for “Salt Water? Fresh Ideas: Creative Programs in Small Spaces” to find out!

 

See you in Ocean City – and remember to bring your imagination!

Nomi Dayan

The Whaling Museum 

 

Conference Presenter: Alana Blumenthal

As we lead up to SMA 2012, we will be sharing posts from several of this year's speakers! Come back regularly to learn more. Thanks! 

Hey folks!  I am really excited to be facilitating a roundtable at this year’s SMA conference.  The topic is one that I think benefits everyone in the small museum field, the role of the Emerging Museum Professional. 

Who is the emerging professional?  What does their educational and professional experience tend to look like?  And, most importantly, how does that experience benefit a small museum?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Because there are relatively few openings, candidates may have to work part time, as an intern, or even as a volunteer assistant curator or research associate after completing their formal education. Substantial work experience in collection management, research, exhibit design, or restoration, as well as database management skills, will be necessary for permanent status.

(you can check out more here: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos065.htm )

Sound familiar?  It did to me.  I have put in my time as an unpaid intern, an underpaid employee, and, of course, unemployed.  We will discuss that experience and how to make the best of it.

We will also discuss the other end of the EMP experience.  

As the collective belts of the non-profit world tighten, we have all seen significant changes in staffing.  As the theme of this year’s conference indicates, museums have had to “adapt and reuse.”  Part of that adaptation includes bringing in young professionals in roles that formerly might have been shared by multiple employees.  That’s where I am now, as the only paid professional at a small museum that formerly had a staff of six.  We will try to tackle how a museum can best utilize the talent available, and how an EMP must balance the responsibilities.

I hope you will join me for “Learning and Doing: Emerging professionals in Today’s Museums.”  The more perspectives we have in the discussion, the more valuable it will be for everyone.  See you there!

-Alana Blumenthal, Curator/Collections Manager of the Loudoun Museum, Leesburg, VA

Small Museum Fellowships to AAM's Annual Meeting

The Small Museum Administrators Committee of AAM (SMAC) is partnering with other Professional Networks to offer Fellowships to the 2012 AAM Annual Meeting for Mid-Career Professionals working in small museums.

Two Fellowships will be awarded for mid-career professional from small museums (budgets of $350,000 or less) who have worked in the museum field for at least 3 years. These Fellowships are open to volunteers as well as paid staff.

The Fellowships cover basic conference registration, registration for one evening event and one business lunch, a Fellowship Breakfast, and a $750 travel stipend. All monies must be used to attend the 2012 AAM Annual Meeting in Minneapolis.

To Apply:  Visit http://aam-us.org/am12/fellowships.cfm for more information about eligibility requirements and application. When applying, you will be expected to provide the following:

• A description of your job responsibilities and how a fellowship would help advance your museum career and benefit your institution.
• A summary of your significant contributions and future plans for service to the small museum community, highlighting any leadership roles. Examples include but are not limited to presenting sessions or teaching; serving on professional committees or association board; publications; and/or mentoring interns and emerging professionals.
• How you will specifically use the opportunity to attend the meeting to assist your colleagues.
• A statement of your financial need.
• Your current resume
• A letter of recommendation from your employer that includes a statement of the value to your institution of your conference attendance.   
• A copy of the museum’s annual budget or other proof of budget size

               

Deadline: Tuesday, January 31, 2012. 

Emerging Museum Professionals Fellowships for those in the first 10 years of their careers and Diversity Fellowships for those who are members of under-represented groups in the museum field are also available.   Both are open to individuals working in small museums.   Visit http://aam-us.org/am12/fellowships.cfm for more information.

Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship

Cooperstown Graduate Program announces its third annual Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICE) May 6-9, 2012. Twenty (20) openings are available for mid-career museum professionals at the spring 2012 entrepreneurial training program in Cooperstown, N.Y. 

ICE’s enrichment program teaches museum, preservation, historic site and other arts and culture professionals the entrepreneurial skills designed to strengthen institutions and build on sustainability while engaging community.

 

Here's what fellows from the 2011 institute said about their ICE experience:

• ICE gave me "a new framework for problem solving, or rather taking challenges and transforming them into opportunities." - Laura Thayer
• "Create the buzz folks - this program rocks!" - Elizabeth Shapiro
• "Using the interaction and experiences I had at ICE has really allowed me to envision and plan for a future with a clarity that I did not have before." - Matthew Mittelstadt

ICE tuition is $500 and includes most meals and your stay at the historic Otesaga Resort Hotel ( http://www.otesaga.com/ ) on Otsego Lake in Cooperstown. Some scholarships are available.

 

Join ICE on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Institute-for-Cultural-Entrepreneurship-for-Museum-Leaders/190560077627609

 

Get more information on the ICE website: http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/ice/index.html

 

E-mail Elizabeth Furlow at ICE: furlowew@oneonta.edu

Workshop: Incorporating Visitors into Museum Interpretation

[ Prepaid registration required.

To download the registration form, go to this program's website here. ]

You are invited to participate in this exciting museum workshop,

Incorporating Visitors into Museum Interpretation

Friday, January 13, 2012

The first workshop in a brand-new series:

“Creating the Visitor-Centered Museum”

This workshop series is one of only 10 museum programs in the nation supported by the

Institute of Museum and Library Services' 21st Century Museum Professionals Grant program.

The day’s sessions will cover:

What is Interpretation?

Customer Service and Interpretation

Being a Presence and Keeping the Visitors’ Attention

Recent Research on Visitor-Directed Interpretation

This interactive, engaging workshop will be hosted at

Historic London Town and Gardens.

839 Londontown Road; Edgewater, MD 21037

$10 for students

$25 general registration fee

$15 for staff and volunteers of supporting organizations

Lunch included in price.

For more information, or if you want to register by phone with a credit card,

please contact Rod Cofield at

410-222-1919 x206 or rodcofield@historiclondontown.org

This workshop and the workshop series are a jointly-sponsored project of:

Historic London Town and Gardens

Maryland Association of History Museums

Maryland Historical Trust

Thanks to a 21st Century Museums Professionals grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Historic London Town and Gardens, in partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust and Maryland Association of History Museums, will be offering a series of twelve workshops during the next three years for museum staff and volunteers. This workshop series, “Creating a Visitor-Centered Museum,” will help area museums explore how their museums can become more engaging, educating, and fascinating places to visit.

This workshop series is also supported by:

Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South County

Historic Annapolis Foundation

Watermark

Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area

Sotterley Plantation

The project is made possible through a 21^st-Century Museum Professionals grant awarded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

For more information about this particular grant award and the grant program in general, follow this link.