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| AAM Museum Assessment Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | AAM Museum Assessment Program |
| Formation | 1970s |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Parent organization | American Alliance of Museums |
AAM Museum Assessment Program The AAM Museum Assessment Program is a professional assessment initiative administered by the American Alliance of Museums to strengthen collections, governance, facilities, and audience engagement in museums across the United States. It provides consultative services, peer review, and strategic planning support to institutions ranging from local historical societies to national science museums, coordinating with funders, state humanities councils, and independent foundations. The program interfaces with a broad network including accreditation bodies, preservation organizations, and cultural policy advocates.
The program offers assessments addressing collections stewardship, governance, strategic planning, conservation, security, and emergency preparedness to museums such as Smithsonian Institution affiliates, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, Field Museum, and smaller entities like Petersburg Museum and Lowell National Historical Park partners. It collaborates with funding organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and philanthropic institutions like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation. The program convenes experts from institutions such as The Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Research Institute, Conservation Center for Art and Historical Artifacts, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and regional hubs like California Arts Council affiliates.
Originating from museum professionalization movements of the 1970s, the program evolved alongside initiatives at Smithsonian Institution, American Association of Museums (the former name of the American Alliance of Museums), and policy efforts influenced by reports from the American Institute for Conservation, the National Academy of Sciences, and advisory panels convened by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Early adopters included institutions such as The Cloisters, Brooklyn Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, and university museums like Harvard Art Museums and Yale Peabody Museum. During the 1980s and 1990s the program expanded in response to disaster recovery lessons from events affecting the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the USS Arizona Memorial, and regional crises addressed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and State Historic Preservation Offices. Partnerships with professional societies such as Association of Art Museum Curators, Museum Computer Network, American Association for State and Local History, and Society of American Archivists shaped standards and methodologies.
Services include on-site assessments, remote consultations, disaster preparedness planning, collections surveys, risk assessments, and governance reviews engaging staff from curatorial departments at institutions like Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Wadsworth Atheneum, High Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, and Detroit Institute of Arts. The program deploys specialists affiliated with organizations such as International Council of Museums, ICOMOS, Council of American Maritime Museums, and American Institute for Conservation. Assessment tools incorporate conservation techniques developed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s conservation department, collections management practices from Smithsonian Institution units, and digital standards promoted by Museum Computer Network and Digital Public Library of America.
Eligible participants range from tribal museums like those associated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to nonprofit museums accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and university museums administered with support from entities such as Institute of Museum and Library Services grants. The program has served institutions including New-York Historical Society, Chicago History Museum, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Asian Art Museum, Autry Museum of the American West, and smaller community museums supported by state humanities councils and local foundations such as Knight Foundation and Kresge Foundation. Eligibility criteria involve governance structure, nonprofit status, and commitment to implementing assessment recommendations.
Assessment methodologies draw on standards from the American Alliance of Museums accreditation framework, conservation protocols from the Getty Conservation Institute, security guidelines influenced by Department of Homeland Security collaborations, and emergency response frameworks informed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and regional State Historic Preservation Offices. Key areas assessed include collections care, accessioning and deaccessioning practices observed at institutions like British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (as comparative models), facilities and environmental controls reflecting standards used at Cooper Hewitt, audience development comparable to Cooper Hewitt and Museum of Science, governance and board effectiveness as emphasized by Independent Sector, and interpretation and education programs paralleling Smithsonian Institution outreach. Assessments utilize quantitative inventories, qualitative interviews with directors and board members, and condition reports prepared with input from conservation labs such as Winterthur Museum Conservation Lab.
Outcomes reported by participating museums include improved collections storage modeled after The Metropolitan Museum of Art practices, updated emergency plans informed by FEMA templates, enhanced board governance following guidance from National Council of Nonprofits, and successful grant awards from funders like the Mellon Foundation and Institute of Museum and Library Services. Impacts have been documented in case studies featuring institutions such as Cleveland Museum of Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and smaller regional institutions that secured capital funding for preservation projects. The program has contributed to broader professional standards adopted by entities such as Association of Science-Technology Centers and American Association for State and Local History.
Critics cite limitations similar to debates at American Alliance of Museums accreditation processes, including resource constraints for small institutions like rural history museums, perceived bias toward metropolitan institutions such as MoMA and Tate Modern models, and challenges aligning recommendations with tribal sovereignty concerns highlighted by National Congress of American Indians. Additional challenges include integrating digital preservation standards from Digital Public Library of America, addressing climate resilience priorities emphasized by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change discussions, and securing sustained funding from grantmakers like Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities for long-term implementation.
Category:Museum programs