Trust – American Alliance of Museums

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 …
The Messy and Vulnerable Truth about Trust and Museums

By Dawn DiPrince

You could almost hear the cheers across the museum field early in March when Colleen Dilenschneider’s email hit inboxes announcing that “More People Trust Museums Now Than Before the Pandemic.” The numbers are compelling—nearly 75 …
What Does it Mean to Trust a Museum?

By John Voiklis and John Fraser

Last September, AAM released Museums and Trust 2021, a survey that measured how museums were performing during a time of record public distrust in a wide range of institutions, from news outlets to the government. As with any good …
What Does It Mean to be Trustworthy?

By James Gardner

On September 30, the Alliance released Museums and Trust 2021, the latest research to measure public trust in US museums. It was reassuring, though not surprising, that the results confirm museums continue to be highly trusted. However, …
Exploring Museums and Trust 2021

By Elizabeth Merritt

The 2019 edition of TrendsWatch took a deep dive into the topic of trust, summarizing the global “trust deficit” and its effect on society. The subject was of particular importance to museums because, as a sector, museums had bucked that …
With Their Subject Matter in the Crosshairs, What Should Museums Do?

By Kevin Jennings

My parents were part of the generation that fought and won World War II. As their children, it was common for us to ask them, “What did you do during the war?” We wanted to be reassured they had stood up and done the right thing when it …
Explore How Museums Can Rebuild Public Trust

By Elizabeth Merritt

Would you like to explore how museums can use their superpower of trust? This new video and discussion guide about “Truth, Trust, and Fake News”—the first chapter in CFM’s TrendsWatch 2019—is designed for use by museum studies programs, …
TrendsWatch 2019: Truth, Trust, and Fake News

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is one of the five trends from the 2019 TrendsWatch. Click here to read more about the full report. “Trust is the foundation of society. Where there is no truth, there can be no trust, and where there is no trust, there can be no …
New Economic Models for Field Wide Research

By Elizabeth Merritt

On my desk is a report from Reach Advisors’ Museums R+D membership program. It’s on museums and trust. Before I opened the report, the latest data I had on this critical subject was a survey about public attitudes toward museums that AAM …
More on Trust: The Malleable Past

By Elizabeth Merritt

In my study at home is a beautiful wooden couch handcrafted by my uncle Bob. It cleverly converts into a (narrow, hard) sleeper sofa when you lift the woven back. I was very happy to inherit this piece of family memorabilia, and always …