Salary questions certainly seem to hit this list in fits and spurts and I'm
feeling long winded...

One good source of general museum salary information is the American
Association of Museums. They sell several salary survey publications which
can be ordered from their web site <aam-us.org>

All U.S. based (not to exclued non-U.S. museum folks) museum professionals,
students, and the want-to-be employed might consider joining this
organization. One of the first things I look for on a job application, after
reviewing employment history, are professional memberships. I see membership
in relevant organizations as a sign that the applicant is serious about
pursuing a profession and that the applicant knows where to find a variety
of information and resource material.

Professional museum organizations publish newsletters that often address
current issues in their fields, they often offer scholarships to attend
professional conferences, they provide networking opportinities (yes, even
job postings), and membership shows that you are serious about your
profession.

Personally, I choose to spend quite a sum of money each year on these groups
so I can receive publications that benefit me and my entire department. (No
one said I couldn't share this stuff...)

My job includes responsibilities for exhibit development, design, and
fabrication so I joined NAME (National Association for Museum Exhibition). I
just love reading their magazine "The Exhibitionist" for the active,
thoughtful debates about how museums approach exhibitions. I have
interpretation responsibilities so I joined Ed-Com and I've been active in
RC-AAM for years. RC is a wonderful source of info on topics ranging from
conservation concerns to understanding museum data management. These three
groups are Standing Professional Committees of the AAM. There are more and
info on all of them is at the AAM web site.

Exhibit development includes unerstanding visitor behavior, thus my
department joined the Visitor Studies Association. I've worked in history
museums and historic houses--voila-- the American Association for State and
Local History. Of course there are the state and regional museum groups,
great sources for local talent and assistance. Not to mention groups for
special types of collections (ASC is now the Natural Science Collections
Alliance.)

Some of these groups publish their own salary surveys, another great reason
to join them.

Diane Gutenkauf
Manager, Interpretation & Exhibits
The Morton Arboretum
Lisle, IL

(Disclaimer: I'm very opinionated and accept complete responsibility for all
my comments, my employer had nothing to do with this.)

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