2002 Annual Conference

July 26-28, 2002

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The California Association of Museums is pleased to announce that it will be holding its annual conference in Sacramento, CA, July 26-28, 2002. This year’s theme is The State of Museums: memory, vision, responsibility….

Museums mean many things to many people. And over the past decade, museums have come to mean much more than they have in the past. The role of museums in society has expanded. Not only are they "institutions devoted to the procurement, care, study and display of objects of lasting interest or value," as defined in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, but they are safe havens where individuals and families can connect with others, information centers for children and adults offering resources that give context for understanding our world; they are special environments where people may retreat into work, beauty, literature, entertainment, projects or hobbies. At the very least, an open museum is a reassuring sign of normalcy and a stabilizing force in communities across our state. At the most it is a center of community answering the needs of its audience while remaining true to its mission.

This broadening social mission of museums can be quite daunting at times, often leaving institutions scrambling to respond to the greater needs of community. This year’s conference will help museums prepare for the greater demands for their services. From planning programs, to securing funds, to securing facilities and reviewing and disaster plans, sessions will address a variety of issues pertinent to museums today.

The 2002 CAM Conference will be a forum for ideas and issues that will assist museums to enhance the services they currently provide their audiences. Sessions will address a wide range of subjects and the needs of our museum community -- large or small, urban or rural, old or new. We invite you to submit proposals for interesting, thoughtful and interactive sessions that explore how museums continue to insure their sustainability by successfully serving the public.

2002 CAM ANNUAL CONFERENCE: The State of Museums: memory, vision, responsibility… is the annual conference of the California Association of Museums. It will bring together a diverse group of museum professionals from across the State of California for a stimulating and enjoyable exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Conference sessions are proposed from the field and are reviewed by a Program Committee comprised of representatives from California museums. The Committee is interested in sessions that address a wide range of subjects and the needs of our museum community -- large or small, urban or rural, old or new. We invite you to submit proposals for interesting thoughtful and interactive sessions that explore how museums successfully serve the public.

Sessions may address the following and more:

• examples of best practices in museums; reflections on successes and failures; explorations of professional courage; articulations of our core values as museums

• topics such as education programs; visitor services; collections management; cultural tourism; increasing access; using technology --and other areas of service

• revelations on new models and changing forms for the delivery of museum services

• strategies for museums to build their potential to be effective, meaningful, essential organizations in the future -- sustaining one another and their communities.

There are three different formats for annual meeting sessions. Please select the one that best fits your topic:

Panel or Dialogue: The most common types of sessions, 90 minutes in length with a maximum of three speakers, often with contrasting perspectives. The panel features a moderator who is responsible for organizing and managing the panel. The moderator briefly introduces the topic and the presenters formally address it in some detail. The session concludes with a general question and answer period. The Dialogue session also uses a moderator, but differs in that presenters are limited to brief remarks, a responder summarizes the topic, and the audience is engaged in a lengthy dialogue on the topic.

Roundtable: A moderated discussion on a pre-selected topic involving 8-10 participants per table. Each of the tables pursues an aspect of the topic and reports to the entire group at the end of the session.

Workshop: Hands-on, participatory style sessions, often presented the day preceding the conference. Pre-conference workshops can 1/2 day or full day. Session workshops are presented during the course of the conference and are 90 minutes in length.

In preparing your proposal, you might consider framing your session as a case study, demonstration, or project report. Ensure that your presenters will engage the audience and provide time for questions.

All proposers are encouraged to consider a range of ethnic, geographic, gender, size/type of institutional representations in the development of their sessions. We are interested in broad and meaningful perspectives, in particular, opportunities for museum professionals to engage with and learn from each other.

Some Guidelines for Session Proposals: The proposal should provide a brief description of the session including its focus and the goals the proposer wishes to achieve. Session titles should be clear and concise. If there are specific suggestions for presenters, they should be included. The more fully developed and clear the proposals, the more effectively the Program Committee will be able to understand and evaluate them. The proposal must be submitted by mail, fax or e-mail to the addresses indicated by December 15, 2001.

The Program Committee will review session proposals in December 2001. If your session is accepted, you will be asked to develop and submit a more specific description and details for a second meeting of the Committee in January 2002. Notification of session acceptance will be made in December 2001.

The deadline for the receipt of session proposals is December 15, 2001

Please go to www.calmuseums.org

to download the Form for Proposals.