FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Updated - May 4, 2005
Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Eileen Maxwell, emaxwell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
160 Museums Receive Federal Grants for Improved Operations, Collections, and Community Relations
Washington, DC—Dr. Robert S. Martin, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),
and Edward H. Able, Jr., President and CEO of the American Association of Museums (AAM), announce that 160 museums will receive grants
totaling $439,275 through the Museum Assessment Program (MAP).
MAP is a cooperative program between IMLS and AAM designed to help museums assess their strengths and weaknesses and plot
a course for future improvements. IMLS provides grants to museums to participate in MAP, which is administered by AAM. Since 1981, MAP
has provided 5,600 successful assessments, leading to improved professional standards and practices within museums of all sizes and types.“
The Institute of Museum and Library Services supports America’s museums and libraries to ensure a lifetime of learning
essential to a thriving, democratic society,” said Director Robert Martin. “The Museum Assessment Program grants we make today
will help museums strengthen professional practices and educational services that will benefit communities all across the country.”
MAP includes the completion of a self-study workbook, an on-site visit by a museum professional (surveyor), and
a confidential report of recommendations for change. MAP offers four types of assessments:
- Institutional Assessment - Reviews the museum’s entire management and operations.
- Collections Management Assessment - Focuses on a review of collections use, planning, policies, and procedures within the
context of the museum’s total operation.
- Public Dimension Assessment - Evaluates how the museum collaborates with its community and audiences.
- Governance Assessment - Examines the roles, responsibilities and performances of museum governing authorities and advisory
boards.
"We are very pleased with the increased participation in the MAP program, especially in the areas of Governance
and Public Dimension," said Edward H. Able, Jr., President and CEO of the American Association of Museums. "The Public Dimension Assessment
was recently revised, and encourages museums to work even closer with their communities to develop mutually beneficial relationships."
Among the varied museums funded this year are the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York
City, The National D-Day Museum Foundation in New Orleans, and the Latah County Historical Society in Moscow, Idaho.
Other grants announced today
include Conservation Assessment Program grants and
Conservation Project Support grants. This
is the first of four grants rounds IMLS will announce
for FY2005. The second round will be announced mid-June.
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