Arlington, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced three new museum accreditation awards and 18 reaccreditations made at the June 2019 meeting of the Accreditation Commission.  Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, 1,078 are currently accredited.

Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, these museums have demonstrated they meet standards and best practices and are educational entities that are appropriate stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust.

Recognized as the field’s gold standard for museum excellence for nearly 50 years, AAM accreditation signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.  The Accreditation Program helps to ensure the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforce the educational and public service roles of museums and promote good governance practices and ethical behavior.

The following museums were accredited for the first time:

• Polk County History Center, Bartow, FL
• KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY
• Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI

The following museums were reaccredited:

• Alden B. Dow Museum of Science & Art, Midland, MI
• Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX
• Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
• Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
• Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, Colorado Springs, CO
• Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA
• Historic Spanish Point – Gulf Coast Heritage Association, Osprey, FL
• Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN
• Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
• Maine State Museum, Augusta, ME
• Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL
• Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
• Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
• New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
• Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, Miami, FL
• Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
• The Mark Twain House and Museum, Hartford, CT
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

 

According to Accreditation Commission Chair Amy Bartow-Melia, “With governance types spanning city, state, federal, university, and private nonprofit, this group of museums shows the diversity in the type of museums that are accredited. A wide variety of sizes are also present—twenty-five percent of these museums have fewer than 10 staff and budgets of $800,000. Along with the rest of the museums on this list, they are an inspiration to our field and vital assets to the communities they serve.”

To earn accreditation, a museum submits a self-study questionnaire and key operational documents for evaluation, then undergoes a site visit by a two-person team of peer reviewers which produces a report for the Accreditation Commission. The Commission uses these materials and its collective expertise to determine whether to grant accreditation.

Read more about the Alliance’s Accreditation program.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community.  For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

 

###

 

Press Contact:

David Harrison

Harrison Communications

410-804-1728

david@harrisoncommunications.net

 

Skip over related stories to continue reading article