Hi- I am a second year student at Cooperstown Graduate Program, and a long-time "lurker" on this list. I have 2 requests concerning my thesis topic, which is on membership programs in small museums. First, I am looking for small museums (including historical societies, historic houses, science and art museums) to interview about their membership programs. The questions concern membership programs in relation to the institution's history, budgeting, and mission. I am not solely interested in those organizations with a booming, vital membership program, but also those who are faced with membership declines or are having trouble maintaining their programs. For the purpose of this research, a small museum is one with 5 or fewer full-time paid staff OR an operating budget of less than $500,000. If you work in such an organization and would be interested in participating in this research or if you know of an institution that would be suitable, please contact me off-list. These phone interviews typically last 45 minutes. My second question concerns resources about museum membership programs. Have any of you run across good articles or perhaps seen a speaker on effective membership programs? I have searched the conference proceedings and publications of large organizations (AAM, AASLH, Chronicle of Philanthropy, etc.) and some regional ones (NEMA, MAAM, etc.). Some of the best stuff I have found has been 4th generation photocopies from helpful museum professionals, so I'm sure I may have missed some gems. Incidentally, I would be glad to share my bibliography or any other information concerning this topic. Just e-mail me off list. Thanks in advance for your help! Amy Cunningham Student Cooperstown Graduate Program [log in to unmask] _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).