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Spare Change: A Q&A with Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Christina Shutt

By Adam Rozan

The saying “a penny for your thoughts” might someday become “a penny for your memories.” After more than two centuries in circulation, the penny had its last minting on November 12, 2025, ending Abraham Lincoln’s 100-plus-year depiction. …
Talking to the Press: How to Excel as a Museum Spokesperson

By Steve Lott

A museum can spend years earning trust only to lose it in a single tense interview. If a funding issue becomes public, an object is damaged, or a protest shows up at the door, you don’t get to “opt out” of communication. In those moments, …
Trust and Responsibility to Community, Part Four: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
Five Ways to Get Started with Accessibility When You Feel Stuck

By Alexsandra Simakowicz

When I started in museums, it wasn’t my plan to work in museum education and customer care, but this field has ways of surprising you. As it turns out, the most fulfilling work I’ve ever gotten to do has come through a years-long project …
Seven Key Insights for a Data-Informed 2026

By Carys Kunze

For museum professionals striving to make data-informed decisions, 2025 brought a bevy of research reports on our field and the wider arts and culture sector. Since you likely didn’t have time to read them all, I wanted to highlight some …
Trust and Responsibility to Community, Part Three: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
Trust and Responsibility to Community, Part Two: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
Trust and Community Responsibility, Part One: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
Solo Museum Visitors: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
The Top Ten Alliance Blog Posts of 2025

By Joseph O'Neill

Some years, it takes a bit of reflection to find the throughline in museum discourse. 2025 has not been one of them. The main story has been clear: as a new presidential administration came into power, its actions and policies shook the …