106 U.S. Museums Demonstrate Commitment to Improvement, Public Service
Washington, DC—The Museum Assessment Program (MAP), an effective self-improvement tool for America’s museums for nearly 30 years, has selected 106 U.S. institutions to participate in the initiative in 2009. A process of extensive self-study, peer review and innovation, MAP enables museums to improve operations in a range of areas, thereby empowering them to better fulfill their mission of public service. MAP is administered by the American Association of Museums (AAM), through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
“MAP is a self-motivated process, leading to improvement in museum effectiveness and efficiency,” said Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS. “Our agency was created by Congress to ensure and enhance the public service provided by museums and libraries everywhere. MAP is essential to our meeting that worthy objective.”
MAP participants in 2009 include museums from 38 states and Puerto Rico, encompassing institutions of all sizes, from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh to the Jesse James Farm and Museum in Kearney, Missouri, as well as all museum disciplines, ranging from the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster to the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. The range of MAP participants reflects the broad scope of America’s museums, and a complete list of the 2009 selectees is available at www.aam-us.org/map/2009-Museum-Assessment-Program-Participants.cfm.
“MAP provides a structured, systematic means for museums across America to examine their operations and see where and how they can do better,” said AAM president Ford W. Bell. “The pillars of the public service mandate of all museums are scholarship, accountability, and sustainability; MAP likewise has its roots in these qualities, and has better enabled museums to serve their communities.”
Since its creation in 1981, MAP has provided more than 5,000 assessments to some 3,500 institutions across America.
MAP participants have found the program invaluable. “The Museum Assessment Program helped us as an organization to begin thinking about museum best practices. This will help us in our goal to become accredited. This experience opened up dialogue and instigated a working relationship with the governing authority [not previously seen] at this level. The peer review was particularly helpful in this regard,” reported executive director Billye Chabot of the Blount Mansion Museum in Knoxville, Tennessee.
MAP participants apply in one of four assessment categories: collections management, governance, institutional or public dimension. Over the years, MAP participants have reported a range of results: a refining of institutional priorities; improved communication with the public and stakeholders; energized staff and governing authorities; and improved clarity concerning the museum’s mission.
The lifeblood of MAP is the selfless effort of peer reviewers, who volunteer their time and expertise to facilitate field-wide improvements. And in MAP, the benefits run in both directions.
“I love to see first-hand what other museums and museum professionals are doing,” said Elspeth Inglis, assistant director of programs at Michigan’s Kalamazoo Valley Museum and a peer reviewer since 2001. “I think an ‘outside eye’ is an interesting perspective, as I get so immersed in my own work at my own institution. Looking in at others helps me gain new perspective on my institution and my work.”
There are more than 1,250 peer reviewers, who contribute more than 28,000 volunteer hours of service to MAP annually.
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
AAM Press Contact
202-218-7704
Dewey Blanton, dblanton@aam-us.org
Published on: 2009-07-30
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