AASLH is about six months away from launching its new Standards program to help small- to mid-sized history organizations learn more about national museum standards. The project is funded by a grant from IMLS. It’s truly been a grassroots effort with more than 125 people from across the country serving as task force, committee and team members plus service provider pilots and pilot sites.
I’m often asked how this new program will define “small” museum. Goodness. How our field defines “small” is an ongoing debate and for now I’m going to leave that decision to others. Here’s my take on the question as far as the new Standards program goes: if you think your museum would benefit from receiving information and resources about national standards then we would love to have you enroll in the program next summer. We’re not going to turn away any museum, historic house, or historic site no matter how large or how small.
Where did these standards originate that we’ll be using in the new program? We’ve adopted national standards in use by the American Association of Museums in its Accreditation program because we (task force and committee members) believe that not only are the standards solid (why reinvent the wheel?), but that if both AASLH and AAM use the same standards we create a smoother path of improvement for the museum field as a whole.
We will, however, add additional standards especially ones pertaining to historic structures and landscapes. Most importantly, we will offer self-assessment questions, performance indicators (basic, good and better), and a variety of resources related to the standards. These materials are intended to help history organizations assess their current performance level in six areas, identify projects they can undertake to make needed improvements, and find the resources and training they need to successfully complete their projects.
I’ve worked on the development of this program for just over three years and while it’s been an interesting and challenging assignment from the start, the past several months have been particularly inspiring. During that time, I’ve watched as eight service organization pilots and 47 pilot sites undertook projects related to helping them meet or move closer to meeting one or more standards. The projects have symbolized significant steps for some of the organizations. Things like a first-ever collections management policy for an organization that is more than fifty years old. Researching an interpretive plan or writing a statement of interpretive goals. Learning how to conduct a basic visitor survey. Compiling the organization’s first-ever board of directors’ orientation manual. Training board and staff members in reading financial statements. These are the kinds of achievements we want to see in AASLH’s new Standards program and we can’t wait to hear about more success stories when the program is open and ready for participation from museums across the country!

Beverly Miller, staff member of the Bois Forte Heritage Museum in Tower, Minnesota, received training from staff at the Minnesota Historical Society to build a mount for this bandolier bag. Photograph courtesy of MHS.
Posted: December 22nd, 2008 under AASLH Standards, Administration, Audience, Collections & Exhibits, Community Engagement & Collaboration, Disciplines, Diversity, Education & Interpretation, Evaluation, Financial Management, Funding & Fundraising, General, Historic Houses, Human Resources, Interpretation, Leadership & Governance, Management, Marketing, Mission, Vision, and Governance, Professional Career Development, Publishing and New Media, Small Museums, Stewardship of Collections, Stewardship of Structures and Landscapes, Technology & Digitization, Volunteers.
Tags: AASLH Standards, Accreditation, American Association of Museums, historic structures and landscapes, IMLS, performance indicators, Small Museum
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