In 2002 the American Association of Museums joined the American Library Association (ALA) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Joint Committee to create the Combined Committee.
   Recognizing the shared purpose of libraries, archives and museums is to acquire, preserve and promote the use and appreciation of collections that document the range of human expression, experience and knowledge, CALM promotes cooperation among professionals of all types of collections-holding organizations, strengthens communication among their professional associations, and coordinates the goals and activities of the three organizations.
   CALM’s function is to:  (1) foster and develop ways and means of effecting closer cooperation among the organizations; (2) encourage the establishment of common standards; (3) undertake such activities as are assigned to the committee by one or more of its parent bodies; (4) initiate programs of a relevant and timely nature at the annual meetings of one or more parent bodies either through direct Combined Committee sponsorship or by forwarding particular program plans to the appropriate unit or on or more parent bodies for action; and (5) refer matters of concern to appropriate units of one or more of the parent bodies. 
   The Committee maintains a twelve person membership comprised of four members from each of three participating organizations.  AAM’s members are appointed by the AAM Board Chair and serve a two-year term.  The Committee meets three times a year at each of the participating organizations’ annual meetings. 

Resources

CALM is sponsoring a three-year arc of sessions at the meetings of AAM, ALA, and SAA that are cross-disciplinary in their approach to registration as it covers data standards, strategic planning for decision makers, and how to implement good data management to promote communication and effective workflow within the museum. The first two sessions were given in 2004 and 2005. Audio recordings can be ordered using forms linked to below.

2004, Session F-8: Data Management: A Strategic Concern with Practical Solutions.

2005, Session M-20: Data Management II: Case Studies in Best Practices. 

For 2006 and beyond, visit our archive of Annual Meeting recordings. 
Search for these session titles:
2006, Session TH20 : Data Management III: Serving Audiences Outside the Box.