Whether you want to pose a question to the general museum community, start a discussion with members of your specialty, or reach people who share the same identity or affinity, AAM’s virtual Museum Junction network is your go-to destination for finding your community of practice. With a host of new features and a growing list of nearly thirty branch communities in categories like emerging professionals, education and interpretation, and collections stewardship, the community is alive and well.

The most active threads on the platform this year give just a taste of the important, useful, and entertaining conversations to be had:

1. What is the best small museum you have visited or worked for?

By Rachel Alschuler

“I look forward to learning of places I do not now of yet.”

2. Pets in a museum

By Stef Staley

“We are a lighthouse museum and people are wanting to bring in their dogs, ferrets, bunny and cats in to tour the museum. We have on the door posted a sign that says ‘NO PETS ALLOWED – Service animals specifically trained to aid a person with a disability are welcome.’ However, people interpret this to mean any pet can come in and when we ask if the pet is a service animal specifically trained, every person says it is and it is obvious it is not. How do you handle this? Do you require paperwork that says it’s a service animal? Do you just let any animal in?”  

3. Museums for All verification and Cafe EBT

By Kera Panni

“A few questions have come up for our institution re: discounts for SNAP recipient visitors.

1. SNAP EBT verification for Museums for All – how do participating institutions verify if an EBT card is active / currently valid at the front entrance?
2. SNAP EBT use in museum cafes – Does your institution accept SNAP EBT for cafe purchases?”

4. Loneliness in the Workplace

By Marilyn Moore

“I started my current position in June of last year, where I came from a museum where I was working with 4 other coworkers daily … In my new position, the museum staff is just me and my boss. My boss is the head of a larger department and I only see her when we meet every 10-12 weeks … I was wondering if I could get advice on how to combat the loneliness and slight depression of working alone. I’ve tried having audiobooks on or music playing but those have started to be a less effective aid. I love my job and the work that I’m doing helping to breathe life into a museum that was previously not well-known on my campus but I’m worried that this loneliness will affect my productivity negatively.”

5. Diminishment of museums

By Susan Ward

“Museums, libraries, and national parks are being reshaped and diminished in sometimes small yet growing ways. In addition to reduction of funding, there’s a movement to focus on happy stories about mostly rich, white men, rather than the stories – all the stories, of all the people, we the people. 

You all know this, but what’s being done? Yes, a few statements here, a few more comments there, but what’s the plan? What’s the strategy? How are you all working together to maintain the critical place for museums in American society?”

6. Help me figure out what my museum job is called!

By Cricket Kaya

“Recently, I have begun to learn all of the ins and outs of the systems within our museum and have been tasked with finding a way to make them all work together. … The past year, I have worked alongside development as a grant coordinator, and in finance as accounts receivable to establish financial workflows and processes with our accounting software. I am learning how the many different softwares and programs our teams use work, and I am also developing APIs to connect them all. As I begin to lean more into this role, I am wondering if anybody out there has someone at their museum who does this kind of work, and if so, what is their title? Where do they live in the museum ecosystem?”

7. Museum Studies Certificate vs. full Masters program?

By Colleen Durant

“I’m looking into the museum field as a more fulfilling career course than my current trajectory in sales. I’m interested in some professional insight on a Museum Studies Certificate vs a full Masters program.

• Just how far might a certificate take me in the field, any pros/cons of each? (obviously the main draw of the CSC is less time/money invested, so other than that?) 
• In your experience(s) would the certificate be a good starting point/foot-in-the-door for the field, or do even the most base level museum jobs prefer a full Masters degree?”

8. Recommendations for a Home Library System or App

By Laurie Sue Brockway

“I am trying to figure out a good way to create a home library system. Trying to sort and record our large book collections. But I would also like to use this kind of system to help some local historical organizations and home museums that have book collections. I have seen examples of people using a hand-held device to scan the barcode on the back of the book and then it is recorded into a computer. Anyone have any experience with this, or favorite systems that you can recommend?”

9. Touchscreen display system/program

By Ami Eckard-Lee

“We are planning to integrate touchscreens into some exhibits in our small museum this winter. The screens will display various videos and information, which visitors could select and view as they wish by using the touchscreen. I know there are many options out there for museum screen kiosks, etc., but I am wondering if anyone here has suggestions for lower-budget options, such as using a touchscreen monitor with raspberry pi or other computer?”

10. Exhibit Gallery A/V Equipment

By CJ Budy

“My museum is needing to update it’s a/v equipment and interactive components, and I was curious what works best for other small museums? We aren’t a big museum, but we do have a number of (small and medium) interactive touchscreen displays and audio files that the public can engage with to enhance their overall experience when visiting. I’d love to hear what computer systems/programs, video players, speakers, etc. work best for you and your organization?”