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Historic Walls, Modern Vision
The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts built a roadmap for restoration, expansion, and community impact. What makes a museum a museum? Is it the collection, the educational impact, or the relationship it cultivates with its community? … -
The Advantages of Being a Small Museum
Despite visiting only rarely, I have a strong affinity for New Orleans, the “big sister” of my own hometown: Savannah, Georgia. Both were historically port cities, sites for the global movement of goods, ideas, and people (willingly and … -
Seeing Paris—and the World—through Small Museums
A few months ago, a museum exhibition sparked a thought in my mind that I haven’t stopped thinking about ever since. I was walking aimlessly around Paris and had just wandered into Le Musée des Arts et Métiers. There I found rows and rows … -
How One Small Museum Approached Accreditation
Accreditation helps museums focus their purpose, refine their practices, and build their futures. But some museums, particularly those with small staffs and budgets, might consider it challenging amid their other responsibilities and … -
Thinking about the Unthinkable: Disaster preparedness and emergency response plans for small museums
Since 1981, the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) has been assisting small and mid-sized museums in their quest to achieve best practices and national standards. The process begins with an application to AAM for one of the assessments, … -
Making Professional Development Work for Small Museums
“We had been talking about going to different conferences for years, usually in a joking, musing way, so it is awesome to be able to do it.” When I asked my colleague Mark Riccetti, our organization’s director of operations and programs, … -
Handy Hobbies: Why diverse skillsets are an advantage to every institution
Diversity is a popular buzzword right now: diversity in staff, in teaching methods, and ideas. However, one aspect of diversity I have never heard mentioned is diversity in skillsets. It’s worth considering the hobbies employees (and … -
What Small Museums Need (& Don’t)
Over the course of 2016, ten small museums participated in an AAM pilot project called the Small Museum Accreditation Academy. The Academy, which was developed through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, was designed to help …
Tag: small museums
Upcoming Events
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Environmental Monitoring for Collections of All Sizes
Event Date:Presented by: C2C Care/FAIC -
AAM LGBTQ+ Museum Professionals Affinity Community: An Invitation to Reconnect
Event Date:Presented by: AAM LGBTQ+ Affinity Community -
2026 AIC & CAC Annual Meeting & Conference
Event Date:Presented by: American Institute for Conservation -
Landing a Board Seat: What It Really Means to Serve
Event Date:Presented by: Southeastern Museums Conference in partnership with the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries
Latest Stories from AAM
Gettin’ To Know You The Art of Networking
Category:
On-Demand Programs
As museums and public history organizations navigate tightening budgets, political …
Scholarship Opportunity! Learn Museum Foresight
Category:
Center for the Future of Museums Blog
I am happy to announce that applications are now open for the CFM Foresight Scholarship, …
When Business Partners Become Advocates: Event Network at Museum Advocacy Day 2026
Category:
Advocacy
For over 15 years, Museums Advocacy Day has brought together museum professionals, …