Hi VivianLea! Several graduate Museology or Museum Studies degree/certificate programs in the United States (and Canada) were founded in the late 1960s (i.e., University of Toronto in 1969) and early 1970s (i.e., University of Washington in 1972). As the need for specialized professionals grows, so too do the criteria for hiring and the quality of the work - which, for collections managers and registrars means improved skills at documentation. It would appear to be less a matter of specific reasons rather than a general ethos: Museum professionals were expanding their abilities (by narrowing their specialization) and responding to a demand by the profession as a whole. Some information I gleaned from the AAM's web site: "The first museums were granted accreditation in June 1971." ("Accreditation General Information and Frequently Asked Qeustions," http://www.aam-us.org/accredproginfo.htm) The eligibility criteria for participation in the accreditation process include: "To participate in the American Association of Museums' Accreditation Program, a museum must:... meet the following definition of a museum ... have a formal and appropriate program of documentation, care, and use of collections and/or tangible objects..." ("Museum Accreditation Criteria & Characteristics," http://www.aam-us.org/webc&c.htm) For more on collection stewardship, which includes appropriate documentation, see the AAM's "Accreditation Commission's Expectations Regarding Collections Stewardship" at http://www.aam-us.org/collstewardship.htm. I am not expert to be able to apply this to the legislation to which you refer. But I hope the general information helps! Sincerely, Jay Heuman Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator Joslyn Art Museum 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102 342-3300 (telephone) 342-2376 (fax) www.joslyn.org "You can’t lock up art in a vault and keep it frozen for posterity. Then the artist is betrayed, history is betrayed." (Walter Persegati) > -----Original Message----- > From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > On Behalf Of VivianLea Stevens > Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 4:29 pm > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Impt Query re: Professionalism in Museums & Abandoned > Property/Unclaimed Loans > > QUESTION -- We need to better understand & explain to > legislators, why museum documentation has changed so > dramatically over time. Why, sometime in the 1970s, did > documenting collections become such an important focus? > Sure, the bicentennial sparked interest in things historic, > but that alone does not explain the increased attention to > record keeping. When did AAM start accrediting museums? > Was this about the time that the discussions of individual > certification were rolling around? I was not yet in the field at > that point and would appreciate some 'sound bites' and > information to use when trying to explain this to non-museum > folks. > MANY, MANY THANKS for any and all input! > VivianLea Stevens ========================================================= 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).