For the upcoming professional seminar, "Presenting Ourselves: Interpretation
of Community Issues and Local Culture," the American Association of Museum's
Meetings and Professional Education Department requests recommendations of
outstanding models for the presentation of local concerns, local history,
local culture, local ecology, and other community-based topics in museums of
any size, discipline, or type.

This seminar will address diverse ways of focusing on an institution's own
community and local base as the subject matter for interpretation and public
exploration, whether presented in the form of exhibitions, educational
programs, outreach materials, publications, community-involvement projects,
or other.  For example:
- addressing local ecological deterioration (or improvement)
- presenting the local arts scene within the context of a wide-ranging art
museum
- explaining the influence of historical events, persons, or communities on
the current life of a city or county
- focusing on the local angle of a national or international event, in a way
that is uniquely meaningful to local residents
- presenting unusual characteristics of a local community to non-local museum
visitors
- dealing with local controversy, past or present
- introducing an established local community to newly arriving residents and
new museum audiences

Out of discussion of real examples of such focused interpretation, the
seminar will hone in on varied strategies and points of interpretive and
institutional decision-making as museums work in the area of community-based
content.

Please call, write, or send sample materials, whether your recommendation
concerns projects or programs of your own museum or community, or an example
visited and admired elsewhere:  Annie Storr, AAM, 1225 Eye Street, NW,
Washington, DC  20005; voice- 202/ 289-9114, fax- 202/ 289-6578.