The WMA strives to strengthen museums in the Western region, and beyond, by offering museum professionals unique opportunities to connect and collaborate with each other. In that regard, WMA has partnered with the American Association of Museums as a Co-Convenor of Museum Advocacy Day 2012 – February 27-28, 2012 in Washington, DC. Museums Advocacy Day is an opportunity to bring our message about the value of museums to Capitol Hill and to advocate for policy and funding issues that affect our field. If you can’t make it to Washington DC, there are many ways you and your museum can still participate.

The Publicity Toolkit is now available on the AAM advocacy website.  It contains tools to maximize your impact, whether you are attending Museums Advocacy Day in person, or advocating from home. This Toolkit is designed so you and your museum can fully maximize your advocacy efforts. Each piece of the toolkit can be downloaded and personalized to convey your story about the value of your museum to the local media. It includes ideas on Submitting op-eds, General Press Releases for museum advocacy, and a template of an Appeal Letter to your members and trustees.

Join WMA and AAM in Museum Advocacy Day 2012!

Okay…let’s face it the phrase, “when I grow up, I want to be a museum professional,” is not spoken with much frequency (if any) by most children.  In fact, even those of us in the field would be hard pressed to exactly define a “museum professional.”  Is it someone that teaches summer camps, builds exhibits, writes grants, and tracks budgets (sometimes all within the same well over 8-hour workday)?  Is it someone that is a database whiz with talent for cultivating donors?  Is it someone that comes to the field as a second career bringing with them experience and knowledge from other sectors?  Or, is it is someone who studied the field and holds a master in museum studies?

The fact is that unlike other careers (such as doctors, lawyers, or scientists) the skills, experience, and academic qualifications for a “museum professional” are amorphous and inconsistent.  So, what does it take to gain mastery in this field?  And, what can the field do to further professionalize itself? Additionally, what can the field do to appeal to and retain its top emerging talent?

At the 2011 WMA conference in Honolulu, I had the opportunity to explore these questions as part of a session titled The Charm and Challenge of Gaining Mastery in the Field.  The session was lead by Susan Spero, museum studies professor at John F. Kennedy University.  Tim Hecox from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Angela Hudson of the Tacoma Art Museum, and myself, Adrienne Barnett from the Exploratorium, were panelists in a session where we shared our experiences establishing careers within the museum field.

(Pictured at the table “The Charm and Challenge of Gaining Mastery in the Field” panelists: (left to right) Tim Hecox, Angela Hudson, and Adrienne Barnett. Also pictured WMA attendee Lauren Seyda and the amazing restaurant owner!)

As we told our stories, it was clear that there is no such thing as a “clear career path” within the museum field. This news probably comes as no surprise to anyone working in the field.  The varied backgrounds and passions of museum professionals is one of the things that make museums desirable places to work.  However, the lack of defined career tracks in museums is also what makes them frustrating and challenging to commit to in the long-term.

Although I have worked in museums for over ten years, committing to a career in the field is a decision that I myself have struggled with.  In fact, for my museum journey I started in the box office selling tickets.  Since then, I have held approximately nine different jobs with different titles, survived three rounds of layoffs, and worked at two science centers. I have grappled with the idea of pursuing a career in a field that is notorious for providing low pay. Ultimately, my passion for science and science education, and the ability to continually push myself and learn new skills has kept me going. Yet, I still question, does having a career in the science center/museum field have to feel like such a struggle?

It was this nagging question that led me to explore in my 2011 museum studies and business administration graduate thesis “Catch Them If You Can: Building Career Pathways for Millennials in Science Center/Museums,” the potential obstacles and pathways to career advancement of young museum professionals.  What I found in my research was startling.  While museums easily attract bright, young talent, under the current workplace conditions of nonprofit science centers/museums, retaining this talent will be challenging in the coming decade.  In fact, 85% of the young museum professionals surveyed in my thesis are considering leaving the profession. The top reasons expressed by young museum professionals surveyed for questioning their commitment to the field are low compensation concerns, structural limitations with too few available positions, and unclear career pathways to advancement.

So, what can museums do to address this impending loss of their most talented emerging staff members to other sectors?  My research shows that young museums professionals do desire careers in the field and that museums are doing some things well to attract and engage young workers.  For instance, museums should continue to provide opportunities for young museum professionals early on in their careers to be creative, use their knowledge, build their skills, have autonomy, and work with like-minded individuals. Additionally, young museum professionals enjoy performing work that is worthwhile to society. However, young museum professionals desire higher compensation, graduate education reimbursement, and more professional development opportunities.

Professional development came up as a major aspect in engaging young museum professionals.  Three forms ranking the highest importance to them were mentoring, internally-led professional development, and opportunities to attend conferences.

Attending conferences can often be challenging for emerging museum professionals when the budget for professional development is already slim in most museums. I have had the good fortune of being able to attend both the Western Museums Association and the Associations of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) conferences on scholarships/fellowships.  This year I was awarded the Wanda Chin Scholarship which made it possible for me to attend WMA and the ASTC Diversity and Leadership Development Fellowship  to attend the ASTC conference.  I cannot overemphasize the value and importance of scholarship programs such as these.  Not only do they have a huge impact on the professional lives of the recipients, but they make it possible for a wider and more diverse range of attendees.  I highly encourage supporting programs such as these in any way that you can.

For me personally, attending conferences has given me the opportunity to push myself to present in front of colleagues across the world, to broaden my understanding of the field as a whole by attending sessions, to network with brilliant minds, and to make friends in the field from across the country.  In all honesty, when I am at work, going through my day-to-day routine, I rarely take time to reflect on my role as it relates to the museum field at large. However, in those moments at conferences when I’m sharing my passion or listening to others share theirs that is when I realize that I truly am and want to continue be a “museum professional.”

Adrienne Barnett is the Assistant Administrative Director at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA.  She has worked at the Exploratorium, which will be moving to a new location on the Embarcadero at Piers 15 & 17, for two years where she started out as the Project Manager of the Teacher Institute. Prior to that she worked for over 8 years at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, CA. In 2011, Barnett received her master of business administration and master of museum studies from John F. Kennedy University.

While we are busy getting ready for next week, we are also excited to announce the Theme for WMA 2012 in Palm Springs:

Save the date for WMA’s 2012 Annual Meeting in Palm Springs, California - RESTORE AND REJUVENATE: Our Cultural & Natural Resources - Sunday, October 21, through Wednesday, October 24, 2012.

Watch for updates from the Palm Springs planning meetings on WMA’s Facebook and Twitter!

I was watching the 123^rd annual Rose Parade, January 2, 2012 in Pasadena, CA – one of the brightest and warmest Rose Parade days anyone seems to remember. And if that isn’t remarkable enough, among the marching bands, surfing dogs, equestrian units and gigantic flower bedecked displays of commercial and civic pride, there was a museum float!  Ok, yes, it’s disguised as a dinosaur trio,  which everyone can relate to, but it was a MUSEUM FLOAT!  The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles presented their first-ever float for this most historic parade,  featuring the museum’s newly renovated 1913 building, and in true LA style, three major “stars” were ready for their close up – Thomas the T. rex, an immense Triceratops, and the long-necked Mamenchisaurus.  And unlike the movie Jurassic Park, these dino’s didn’t lunge into the crowd to snap up tasty parade viewers along the route.  It was truly remarkable – the museum raised money through all private donations, used volunteer labor, partnered with the LA Visitor’s bureau, and pulled off a beautiful and creative float.

How unique is the Natural History Museum’s float?  I’ve done some searching and can’t find ANY reference to ANY museum presenting a float in the 123 years of the Parade – the closest I have found are some equestrian riders in years past from the Roy Rogers Museum.

With millions around the world watching the famous and historical Rose Parade, the Natural History Museum certainly racked up a lot of “visitation” – can they count those visitation numbers when applying for grants or when listing their visitation numbers in the Official Museum Directory?  What’s next, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?  A Super Bowl advertisement with Betty White? The opportunity to present the Museum before the millions of viewers was priceless.  What will the resulting visitation figures be for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in the months to come after the Rose Parade viewing?  We’ll have to check back and see……….hopefully their gift shop ordered extra little stuffed dino’s and t-shirts to satisfy the increase in visitors!

But seriously, why is this the first time (that I know of, correct me if you know differently!) a museum has joined in presenting in such a VERY PUBLIC parade, seen by millions around the world? Is this a trend now to be repeated in other parades and festivities?  Why not? In my imagination I picture many more museums in future Rose Parades……..such as, a Getty Museum float,  with the “Getty bronze” (Victorious Youth) articulated to wave at the crowds, covered in pepper buds and seaweed, standing amid a field of black amphora (amphorae?) and Etruscan bronzes, and in the float’s background a to-scale model of a portion of the Getty Villa ,with to-scale sculptures of ancient Gods and Goddesses, Satyrs and Nymphs, and the float populated by, of course, Getty Museum staff – curators, preps, and of course, the dedicated registrars, wearing period-appropriate garb, also waving to the crowds and the cameras, while monitoring the hygrothermograph and vibration, with float-walkers along the route passing out brochures and discount coupons for the gift shop.

Now, about that surfing dog……….

Victoria France
Managing Director, Fine Art Division
Robertson Taylor International Insurance Brokers
Sherman Oaks, CA

Victoria brings more than 23 years experience in the fine arts and collections insurance field, in addition to her prior professional museum and art gallery experience.  Victoria serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Museums Association; and the University of California, Riverside, Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and UCR ArtsBlock Committee.

This past September I had the honor of attending the 2011 Western Museums Association Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii as both a Wanda Chin Scholarship recipient and session presenter.

Having been awarded this scholarship offered me the first time experience of presenting at a national conference and to take another step in establishing myself as a leader in the museum industry.   The conference session in which I co-presented, “The Charm and Challenge of Gaining Mastery in the Field,” suited for emerging professionals’, managers and directors gave me the experience of sharing my own story of career advancement.  Along with two other emerging museum professionals as co-presenters and a Museum Studies Graduate Professor as facilitator, we offered perspectives on workplace successes and challenges and strategies of our own for gaining mastery in the museum field.

After each panelist shared their story and perspectives, audience participants were asked to discuss amongst themselves career issues relative to workplace culture, professional development, and diversity awareness.  To help lead and guide the discussion, handouts on professional development and mentor/mentee recommendations were given to each participant.  The session ended with an engaging conversation between the audience and session panelists on how the museum sector can incorporate best practices in retaining and advancing emerging museum professionals.

This opportunity was especially relevant and time appropriate for me as I had recently advanced in my own career at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, OR just three months previous to the 2011 WMA Annual Meeting in Hawaii.   Moving from my previous position as an Outreach Educator within the Education Department to a new position as an Exhibit Developer within the Research & Development Department gave me an opportunity to voice what challenges and successes I encountered in my career advancement.

Along with the chance to present, attending the annual meeting also offered me professional development opportunities relevant to my new position at OMSI.   In my current role as Exhibit Developer, I work on the development of a National Science Foundation-funded, five-year collaborative project between OMSI, the Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, and the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve titled Generations of Knowledge: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Science.  Together with these partners, OMSI will create two traveling exhibitions, a website and associated programming on how Native American traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and western science are both valuable and complementary for understanding the natural world.

By WMA co-hosting the 2011 annual meeting with the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums, Hawai’i Museums Association and Pacific islands Museum Association I received a vast amount of information and resources to use in the development of this intricate and culturally sensitive project.  From attending the opening ceremony to conference sessions like Exhibit Critique: The Bishop Museum’s Hawaiian Hall and Cultural Heritage Tourism and the Role of the Indigenous Museum, I was able to learn firsthand from indigenous people and representatives from their museums.

By receiving a Wanda Chin Scholarship and having the opportunity to attend this meeting, I feel more confident as both a museum professional and in my new role as an Exhibit developer at OMSI.  I would like to thank the Wanda Chin Scholarship Committee and everyone else who made the 2011 Western Museums Association Annual Meeting a great success.

Tim Hecox is an Exhibit Developer at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, OR.  He has a BS degree in Natural Resources Planning and Interpretation from Humboldt State University and several years of experience working for the National Park Service as an Interpretive Ranger Naturalist in Yosemite National Park.  Hecox has worked for OMSI for nearly four years and is also actively involved with American Association of Museums (AAM), Association of Science—Technology Centers (ASTC) and National Association for Interpretation (NAI).

Whereas the summer was already ending in Seattle, with seasonal showers and sixty-degree temperatures, the warmth of the sun and welcoming aloha-spirit undoubtedly describes my time in Honolulu for the 2011 WMA Annual Meeting. However, “working together to move forward,” truly characterizes my experience at the meeting this September.

Attending on behalf of the Northwest Nikkei Museum, I was able to connect with other institutions to find solutions to common problems of limited space and financial resources.  In our particular case, the NW Nikkei Museum is one of many programs offered at the nascent Japanese Community and Cultural Center of Washington, and has the meager designated museum funds to match that positioning. Located in three historic buildings that have served the Seattle Japanese community since 1911 as a gathering place, a Japanese language school, and even temporary housing for displaced families returning from their forced relocation during World War II, the NW Nikkei Museum inherits a rich history but with challenges in preserving it in a dated environment.  To preserve and present Japanese American objects and stories, the museum operates under a volunteer-run and community-based advisory committee, which often competes with the other demands of peoples’ busy lives.

In light of these challenges, I anticipated receiving practical advice on relevant topics ranging from collections management in historic building environments to community-developed programs. I did gain such insight: from the Mission Houses Museum tour, I learned how its volunteers were a vital force in sustaining museum operations with lean budgets. And from the Museums as Center of Community session I found hope in the successes of other community-based museums in connecting with their local audiences.

But I also gained much more than useful tips to take back to Seattle. More profoundly, from the open sharing among people from other Nikkei-related institutions, I discovered myself as part of a greater supportive network that champions Japanese American heritage and history. Despite the geographically specific slants to stories of Japanese American immigration, incarceration, and integration back into American society, they are shared stories nonetheless. Likewise, with collective concerns for a diminishing Nisei generation who endured the prejudice of World War II, and for encouraging multigenerational stewardship of that legacy, it behooves us to join minds and resources before it may be too late.

Through formal presentations, friendly information-sharing, and a gracious site-visit, I not only learned a great deal from colleagues at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and elsewhere, but also how we can all work together to move forward. Whether that’s applying the success of digitization efforts at Kapiolani Community College to the archival needs at the NW Nikkei Museum, or contributing to the Discover Nikkei website, hosted by the Japanese American National Museum, it’s clear that collaboration on some level is key.

While the advantages of a group effort among Nikkei cultural organizations became evident to me at the Annual Meeting, upon further reflection I also understand how crucial that sentiment must also apply to a broader set of museums. Whether united by ethnic heritage, contribution to an American identity, or heritage preservation in general, museums do not exist in silos and must function as they are, in a broader cultural landscape.

Since the meeting, I’ve returned to Seattle with collegial connections that I don’t know if I would have found otherwise, and with a deeper understanding of what community means in the museum field. The NW Nikkei Museum has since transferred the cooperative spirit in its city-wide coordinated programming in honor of the Day of Remembrance on February 19, 2012, the 70^th anniversary of the issuance of Executive Order 9066 that forced Japanese American relocation to internment camps.  Personally, I’ve become further motivated in my work with the NW Nikkei Museum, and am certain that such community-based initiatives not just be ancillary but central to my museum career.

Both the NW Nikkei Museum and I have benefited from this year’s Annual Meeting.  I’m very grateful for the Wanda Chin Scholarship which made my attendance possible.

Tasia Endo is a graduate of the Museology M.A. program at the University of Washington. She is the chair of the Northwest Nikkei Museum at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington, and works as the Education + Public Programs Coordinator at the Seattle Art Museum.

Image Credit:  Tasia Endo and Chieko Philips, at the 2011 WMA Annual Meeting.

Living in the Middle East as I do now, I am especially aware – more than any other time in my life – about the importance of having a voice in your government and the right and security to speak with elected representatives. For museum leaders we often spend more energy focused on the pressing priorities of raising money for our institutions’ budget, our capital campaign, or creating the next season of a stellar exhibitions and programs than spend the time to connect with our representatives. In the furor of our busy schedules, it’s easy to overlook an inherent right and its associated civil liberties that millions of other people fight for today.

Having just read Ravnitzky Silberglied’s Civic Duty Calls and the announcement of AAM and WMA’s partnership for Museum Advocacy Day 2012, I had to take a few moments from my office in Qatar to encourage my US colleagues to join these efforts. I recall my first visit with a Kansas Senator Jerry Moran’s office in DC several years ago. A friend had encouraged me to stop by as part of my trip to Washington DC, introduce myself and my museum, and let my senator know the great work we were doing at our art center. While somewhat intimidated by the vast halls of Capitol Hill, I was also elated to so actively participate in the democratic process – my first foray into advocacy! I owe this visit in part to WMA and AAM’s joint education efforts at past annual meetings (I currently live in Qatar, serve on the WMA board, and soundly believe WMA shouldn’t have geographical boundaries). The simple tools and talking points these sessions provided me, as well as the website, guided my successful visit.

If you can’t make it to Washington DC this February, contact a senator or send a letter to your member of Congress.  And, set an appointment in the coming months with a local government representative – perhaps it’s your city or county mayor, or state representative to tell your story and the importance of your museum in the community. If you take the time to meet with your representative, and to advocate for museums, they will take the time to listen.

Heather Ferrell
Board Member
Western Museums Association

Click the image to order the book

WMA is a 2012 Co-Convenor of
Museums Advocacy Day and so entitles all WMA members to participate for FREE in this two-day event (February 27-28, 2012) in Washington, DC. Email wma.membership(at)gmail.com to check your membership status, and to get the code for free registration to Museums Advocacy Day 2012!

Since the American Association of Museums (AAM) has appointed Gail Ravnitzky Silberglied Director of Government Relations in 2008, the Association has made amazing strides in advocacy.  AAM has been busy building easy to use tools like Speak Up for Museum at http://www.speakupformuseums.org/home.htm and publishing Speak Up For Museums: The AAM Guide to Advocacy.

Tyler Green points out in his essay “Why Aren’t Americans Angrier?”:

Almost six million Americans work in the culture industry, and substantial cuts in government support, which according to the NEA accounts for 13 percent of nonprofit arts financing, seem likely to lead to the loss of tens of thousands of those jobs. The arts are also a good investment: Tax revenues from that sector amount to more than 18 times the annual federal funding.

Further, Tyler Green adds:

…a steep decline in government spending will hurt the art we care about most, the art near us. Most Americans have multiple local institutions that feel the pain of government cuts and probably regularly visit more than one of them. However, if art lovers are making any kind of meaningful response to the oncoming decreases, I haven’t heard it. So why not?

Click to see videos from Museum Advocacy Days past...

In summary Green claims:

Like gun owners and supporters of civil rights, U.S. art lovers are quick to join organizations that mean something to them. U.S. art lovers become members of their local museums in astonishing numbers. Consider this: The American Civil Liberties Union, the preeminent defender of constitutional liberties, has about 400,000 members; the top 20 U.S. art museums — not all American art museums, just the 20 with the biggest membership programs — have a combined one million members.

The ACLU is one of the most effective grassroots issue-advocacy organizations in the United States, regularly communicating with its members about policy issues, legislation, and the like. Art museums, in contrast, are content to rally their members to their own institutions and do virtually no lobbying, especially not grassroots lobbying on specific legislation, policy objectives, or funding issues. Don’t let anyone tell you they can’t: The section of the tax code that governs U.S. nonprofits allows them to spend up to roughly 5 percent of their budgets on influencing public policy either through direct lobbying by the museum staff or by encouraging grassroots lobbying by museum members and other supporters.

Collectively, art museums represent a sleeping tiger when it comes to influence and impact on public policy. This is shaping up to be a devastating year for arts funding and arts-related jobs in the United States. Here’s hoping museums change their ways — and soon.

Working closely with AAM, WMA will help wake the sleeping tiger and help model behavior for each of our museums. I hope you’ll join us for Museums Advocacy Day 2012 February 27-28, 2012, in Washington, DC. Email wma.membership(at)gmail.com to check your membership status, and to get the code for free registration to Museums Advocacy Day 2012!

Julie K. Stein
President
Western Museums Association

The need for collections care throughout the United States has been long recognized and is well documented. Those of us working in museums and libraries know that many of the challenges are deeply intertwined – lack of public awareness, lack of funds, lack of expertise, and lack of staff time.  In the last five years, the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has pledged to aid libraries and museums in their efforts to provide the best possible care for their collections with the Connecting to Collections initiative. Funded by the IMLS, California has recently developed a free collections stewardship toolkit and distributed over 2,000 hard copies to museums, libraries, and archives in the state. The toolkit is now available online for anyone to access. The toolkit includes:

Collection Stewardship Guide for Trustees. This guide outlines some of the free or inexpensive steps libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies can take to use collections to raise funds and attract audiences.

Capitalize on Collections Care. This publication is an excellent resource that outlines successful approaches to collections-based fund raising and audience development.

Staff Guide to Free Preservation/Conservation Information and Training. This publication shares just some of the numerous free resources available to help staff increase their knowledge, plan for disasters, protect collections, and raise funds for preservation projects to enhance collection care.

These resources are all available online at www.calpreservation.org/toolkit. Joining together to create a culture of collection stewardship helps all of us do our work with greater pride, satisfaction, and success. If you have any questions about the toolkit, please email info@calpreservation.org.

About Californians Connecting to Collections (C3): C3 is an IMLS funded project to help museums, libraries, and archives promote awareness of collection care and raise funds to preserve California’s heritage collections. In addition to the Collection Stewardship Toolkit, the C3 project is offering a 24/7 toll-free collection emergency hotline (888.905.7737), as well as workshops on writing disaster plans, testing disaster plans and exploring mutual aid networks, and preservation project creation and funding.

Kara West
Steering Committee Member, C3 and
Assistant Director for Field Services
Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC)
BACC website:  www.bacc.org