The Year of Museum is just around the corner, and AAM has created several resolutions to help kick off the celebration.

• In April 2005, AAM's Board of Directors passed a resolution declaring 2006 the Year of the Museum to celebrate the richness, vibrancy, and significance of museums in communities across the country. The AAM Board resolution serves as AAM's recognition of the museum field the organization serves.
• Co-Chairs of the Congressional Arts Caucus, Representatives Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28) and Christopher Shays (R-CT-4) introduced H. Res. 389, recognizing 2006 as the Year of the Museum, in the United States House of Representatives. The federal resolution serves as Congressional recognition of the great museums serving the public in nearly every Congressional district across the country. H.Res.389 passed by the House of Representatives on February 8, 2006.
• On April 6, 2006 the United States passed S.Res.437, supporting the goals and the idelas of the Year of the Museum.  the resolution is a companion resolution to H.Res.389, passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year.  Passage of these resolutions ia the culmination of a year-long effort by AAM to get Congress on the record in support of museums across the country. 

Why is a Year of the Museum Resolution Important?

The Year of the Museum resolutions are important symbolic gestures that convey the spirit of museums and museum professionals and elected officials’ support of your museum to the public. Once passed, they will provide a powerful hook for local media coverage of your museum and a variety of special events in honor of the Year of the Museum throughout 2006.

Create Your Own Year of the Museum Resolution

Both the AAM Board and Congressional resolutions were crafted to include museums of all locations, disciplines, and sizes and serve as model for development of local, state, or regional resolutions. The resolutions provide a framework of broad statements about the value of museums and can be used as samples, which you can alter and enhance with personal stories about the services your museum provides to its community. Send a letter to your governor or mayor to request a Year of the Museum proclamation for your city or state and work with local policy makers to create a resolution that reflects the needs of the museums in your community.

Museums need to be cherished, celebrated, and supported.  The goal of the resolution is to celebrate and make the case for museums - as places of discovery, life-long learning, healing, connection, reflection, and fun.

Adapt the AAM Board and Congressional resolutions, as well as the Dear Colleague letter, used by AAM to communicate with Congress and the White House, to reflect the interests of your museum, community, and elected officials.

Getting Your Year of the Museum Resolution Passed

• Identify "champions" – state legislators, city council members, mayors, governors or other elected officials – who are open to reviewing and sponsoring the bill. These are likely to be the public policy makers with whom you have a good relationship or who have shown support of your museum in the past. Consider partnering with other museums in your community to discuss the resolution with prospective champions.Once you have a favorable response, ask your elected officials to sponsor the bill. This is a win-win opportunity that provides your champions visibility on arts and culture issues while advancing your goal of passing a Year of the Museum resolution.

Once you line up your champions, continue to nurture your resolution:

• Regularly communicate with champions regarding the status of the bill and its introduction and consideration by committee, chamber or full legislature.
• Ask staff to commit to a time-frame and identify key details - such as how many cosponsors are needed to push for committee or chamber consideration of the bill or if a petition or formal request must be made by your mayor, governor or city council member’s office.
• To make your champions and their staff's task of gathering support for the resolution as easy as possible, be prepared to offer materials such as:
• • Lists of museums in the community, city or state (e-mail mat@aam-us.org for help with lists),
  • Draft Dear Colleague letters and floor language that your champion/sponsor can use to introduce or present the resolution,
  • Boilerplate language about your museum and your mission statement, and
  • Samples of any press coverage that features your museum and its programs.