Statues of Limitation
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of membership with the Alliance. Click here to learn more about membership! Are museums the rightful home for Confederate monuments? In the summer …
Is It Time to Break Your Museum’s Organizational Mold?
Over the course of the twentieth century, and into today, museums have witnessed dramatic changes in their organizational and funding environments—some driven from within the museum field, others from outside of the field. It’s clear that …
Double Duty: How a historic botanical garden reached a balance in managing its plant and art collections
All museums face many challenges maintaining and displaying their collections. But these challenges are exacerbated when collections of vastly different needs and care protocols share the same display space. At Phipps Conservatory and …
An ‘Endangered’ Artifact Allows a Small Museum to Better Tell Its Story
In the Summer of 2017, a supporter of the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum notified us that the former First Lady’s original 1904 automobile operator’s permit was for sale on eBay. Shortly after the news spread, an anonymous donor …
Collections 2030 – What Future for Museum Collections in the UK?
One of the five pillars of the Alliance’s strategic plan is global thinking. We know that US museums can become stronger by learning from their colleagues around the world. Case in point: what can we learn about the future of collections …
Reinforcement Crew: A Look Back
As the Reinforcement Crew enters its second decade of serving museums, we thought it was only appropriate to take a look back at how this endeavor began as well as highlight some of the awesome projects our volunteers have helped with. The …
Back by Popular Demand! Collections Conundrums: Current Issues and Resolutions
Watch this recorded webinar discussing the challenges collections professionals face when working with cultural objects and thei…
The Reinforcement Crew: Colleagues Helping Colleagues
Each year since 2007 museum collections professionals from around the nation have donated their time and expertise to help other institutions in need. This wonderful program improves the stewardship of cultural heritage collections …
Information PLEASE Preserving History as It Happens: Orange County Regional History Center undertook rapid-response collecting after Pulse nightclub shooting
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2018 issue of Museum magazine. On June 12, 2016, a home-grown terrorist entered Orlando’s Pulse nightclub during Latin Night after last call. He murdered 49 beautiful individuals, injured …
Don’t Raid the Cookie Jar: Creating Early Interventions to Prevent Deaccessioning Crises
This paper summarizes the ideas and recommendations generated at “Don’t Raid the Cookie Jar: Creating Early Interventions to Prevent Deaccessioning Crises,” a convening held December 14-15, 2017 in Cambridge, MA. …
