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Speaking the Audience’s Language: A Q&A with James Heaton

At some point in the pandemic, I was working on a project, and I needed a museum-based definition of a term relating to audience development and museum work. I started by flipping through a …

The Shifting Sands of Excellence: A Q&A with Accreditation Leaders

One of AAM’s closest-watched programs is Accreditation, the flagship program on a continuum that measures and confers excellence, giving museums an external seal of credibility which …

A Modest Proposal for Museum Collections: Apply the principle of direct costs for deaccessioning

Some years ago, shortly before I assumed the directorship of the Ringling Museum of Art—the state art museum of Florida—the leader of the Florida Legislature declared, “I love Rubens.” The …

Closing the GAAP on Direct Care

As lawyers with backgrounds in horticulture (Lori) and material culture studies (Sarah), we never thought we would be passionate about an accounting rule. Yet here we are. In 2015 we wrote …

AAM Names Beaulieu and Richardson New Accreditation Commissioners

AAM has appointed Rebekah Beaulieu and Evans Richardson IV as new Accreditation Commissioners, with terms that begin January 1, 2019 and end Decembe…

Museums and their Observers Debate the Field’s Deaccessioning Ethics

Recent sales of art by institutions like the Berkshire Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art have reignited the debate about when and how museums deaccession collections and to what purposes …

On the hard work of building the future

Currently I’m watching the birth of two movements in our field. #MuseumsRespondtoFerguson and #MuseumWorkersSpeak are both grappling with issues of what museums can do, should do, and …

Prodding Sacred Cows: The Mission Statement

When I was pulling together the book National Standards & Best Practices for U.S. Museums, I found myself increasingly uneasy with the way that the standards use mission statement as …

How a Cookbook Can Help Your Museum Engage with Food

I hope you’re planning to join us for the free Feeding the Spirit webinar, Friday, Feb. 17, 1:45-5 p.m. (ET). To help you plan your discussions before, during or after the webcast (as well …

Forecasting the Future of History Organizations and Their Leaders

For three weeks every November leaders and practitioners from the field of the public history meet at the Seminar for Historical Administration to discuss challenges and future directions …

The Backward ABC’s of Museum Data

This week’s blog post comes from Philip M. Katz, assistant director for research at AAM. This was going to be an essay about the power of museum financial and operating data—robust, …

When Trends Collide: The New Gilded Age Meets the Rise of the Amateur Expert

Museums have long struggled to resist pressure from wealthy donors or sponsors who want to call the shots. How might this play out in a future in which museums loosen their grip on …
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Updates on IMLS and the President’s Budget

Advocacy Alert – May 2, 2025 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: Lawsuit Updates IMLS Lawsuit: Yesterday, a judge granted a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the Trump …

Strategies for Building Community: Lessons from the “Gallery Guide Guide”

Category: Alliance Blog
Hi! We are Sydney Skelton Simon, the Bradley Associate Curator of Academic Affairs, and Molleen Theodore, the Jane and Gerald Katcher Curator of Programs, at the Yale University Art Gallery …

3 Considerations for Improving Museum Displays Without Compromising Preservation

Category: Industry Advertorial
This post is an advertorial written by an organization that serves the museum field. The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs …

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