Museums and Community Initiative--Call for Issues

Museums and Community, a new initiative of the AAM Board of Directors, will
be a broad-based dialogue addressing how museums of all types can best
respond to changes, challenges, and opportunities in the communities they
serve while continuing to respect the tradition of collections stewardship
and the museum's role as an educational institution. The initiative was
developed in response to the AAM Strategic Agenda leadership goal: "to help
museums anticipate and respond to issues so that they may succeed in serving
communities' changing needs." To fully develop the initiative, the board is
calling for issues from the museum field.

The dialogue, to be conducted nationally and regionally, will address such
questions as: What are communities? How will museums define their
relationships with those they seek to serve? To what extent should a
museum's focus be upon community concerns? Why are museums appropriate
venues for community-building and community leadership? What is the impact
of real collaboration? Who will lead our institutions in the 21st century,
and what skills must they possess? Who will be qualified to work in the
museums of the future? What values will inform the work of museums? What
meanings pertinent to contemporary concerns are embedded in collections, and
how will museums identify and interpret them?

A national steering committee, appointed by AAM Board Chair and Director of
the National Museum of the American Indian Richard West, and chaired by
Robert Archibald, Director of the Missouri Historical Society, is seeking
issues from the profession. Responses may address any of the questions
listed above, or more generally, the role of museums in the development of
community in the 21st century. For an overview of the initiative, visit the
AAM Web site: www.aam-us.org/hottopics.htm. Please submit responses to:
Museums and Community Task Force, American Association of Museums, 1575 Eye
St. N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005; fax 202/289-6578; e-mail:
museums&[log in to unmask]



Jerry
Jerold D Kappel CFRE
Director, Development
American Association of Museums

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