Six online courses cover topics in exhibits, storage, collections
management policies, disaster preparedness and volunteer programs.
There is still room in the six courses that start on March 9. To
reserve a spot in any course, please pay at
http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html. If you have trouble,
please contact Helen Alten at [log in to unmask] or Eric
Swanson at [log in to unmask] . For more details on each course,
please go to www.museumclasses.org
Two Disaster Planning Courses
<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms002.html>MS002:
Collection Protection - Are you Prepared? (short course)
Instructor: Terri Schindel
Dates: Mar 9 - 13, 2009
Price: $75
Location: www.museumclasses.org
Disaster planning is overwhelming. Where do you start? Talk to Terri
about how to get going. Use her checklist to determine your level of
preparedness. What do you already have in place? Are you somewhat
prepared? What can you do next? Help clarify your current state of
readiness and develop future steps to improve it. Participants in
Collection Protection will read literature and participate in two
one-hour chats to discuss their institutions disaster preparedness.
Each student should read course materials and prepare questions or
comments to share with the other students in the chat. This is a
mini-course and takes no more than 10 hours of a student's time.
<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms205.html>MS205/6:
Disaster Plan Research and Writing
Instructor: Terri Schindel
Dates: Mar 9 - Apr 17, 2009
Price: $425
Location: www.museumclasses.org
Every museum needs to be prepared for fires, floods, chemical spills,
tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters. But surveys show 80
percent lack trained staff, emergency-preparedness plans for their
collections, or both. Disaster Plan Research and Writing begins with
the creation of disaster-preparedness teams, the importance of
ongoing planning, employee safety, board participation and insurance.
Participants will learn everything they need to draft their own
disaster-preparedness plans. They also will be required to
incorporate colleagues in team-building exercises.
A written disaster-preparedness plan is not only a good idea, it's
also a requirement for accreditation. In the second half of the
course, instructor Terri Schindel reviews and provides input as
participants write plans that outline the procedures to follow in
various emergencies. The completed plan prepares museums physically
and mentally to handle emergencies that can harm vulnerable and
irreplaceable collections. You will have a completed institutional
disaster-preparedness and response plan at the end of the course.
Course Outline
1. Introduction to Disaster Planning
2. Disaster Team
3. Risk Assessment and Management
4. Health and Safety
5. Insurance
6. Documentation
7. Prioritizing Collections
8. Writing the Disaster Preparedness Plan
9. Emergency Procedures
10.Disaster Response
11.Emergency Procedures Recovery
12.Emergency Procedures Salvage
13.Emergency Procedures - Salvage Techniques and Guidelines
14.Emergency supplies and location of regional resources
15.Appendices: What to put in them
16.Next steps: planning drills and further resources
17.Conclusion
Participants in Disaster Plan Research and Writing work at their own
pace. Instructor Terri Schindel is available at scheduled times for
email support. Opportunities for interaction include forums and
scheduled online chats. Each section includes a written assignment
that becomes support material for drafting an actual disaster
preparedness plan. Materials include readings, lecture notes, links
to relevant web sites and handouts. The course is limited to 20 participants.
One Exhibit Course
<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms011.html>M<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms011.html>S011:
Gallery Guides ***NEW*** (short course)
Instructor: Karin Hostetter
Dates: March 9 through 20, 2009
Price: $75
Location: www.museumclasses.org
Set aside some blocks of time and end up with a strong rough draft of
a self-guided gallery guide for the exhibit of your choice. Learn
about the power of themes and universals. Develop techniques for
layering information. Empower readers to do more on their own after
leaving the exhibit. Create information that really "sticks" with
the guest. Karin shares her 30 years experience with you as you
develop a useful document for your exhibit. Participants in Gallery
Guides will read literature and participate in four one-hour chats to
discuss what is in an effective guide. Each student should read
course materials and prepare questions or comments to share with the
other students in the chat. This is a mini-course that lasts two
weeks and takes no more than 20 hours of a student's time. This is an
opportunity to brain-storm with colleagues about what works and what
doesn't work.
One Volunteer Management Course
<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms108.html>MS10<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms108.html>8:
Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
Mar 9 - Apr 3, 2009
Instructor: Karin Hostetter
Dates: Mar 9 through Apr 3, 2009
Cost: $425
Location: www.museumclasses.org
Volunteers are essential for most non-profit institutions. But good
volunteers aren't born they are made. Even though they don't get
paychecks, it takes time and money to have effective volunteers.
Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs teaches the basics of a
strong volunteer program. Topics include recruiting, training and
rewarding volunteers, as well as preparing staff. Instruction
continues through firing and liabilities. Participants will end up
with custom forms tailored to their institutions, an understanding of
liability issues and a nine-step process to troubleshoot an existing
volunteer program or create the best one for a particular institution.
Course Outline
1. Introduction
2. Laying the Foundation: preparing staff, job descriptions
3. Determining Program Structure: who's in charge
4. Recruiting Volunteers
5. Selecting Volunteers
6. Training Volunteers
7. Evaluating Volunteers
8. Saying "Thank You"
9. Keeping Records
10. Communicating Information: including handling change
11. Liability
12. Conclusion
Participants in Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs work at
their own pace through sections and interact through online chats.
Instructor Karin Hostetter is available at scheduled times during the
course for email support. Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
includes online literature and student-teacher/group-teacher dialog.
The course is limited to 20 participants.
Twp Collections Management and Preservation Courses
<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms202.html>MS20<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms202.html>2:
Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture
Instructor: Helen Alten
Dates: Mar 9 - Apr 3, 2009
Cost: $425
Location: www.museumclasses.org
The storage building and its furniture are your first line of
protection for the most valuable asset in your museum, the
collection. Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture concentrates on
building systems and furniture for storing and protecting
collections. Topics include environmental controls, insulation, floor
coatings and predicting space requirements. Museum Storage also
compares commercial and homemade furniture and provides a blueprint
for planning the redesign of your facility. Storage philosophy,
construction requirements, safety and security and planning. A unit
details how commercial museum-quality cabinetry is constructed.
Blueprints are provided for high-quality, homemade cabinets.
Course Outline
1. Storage Philosophy
2. Agents of Deterioration and Preservation Planning
3. Storage Facilities
4. Storage Furniture
5. Conclusion
Participants in Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture work at
individual paces through five sections. Instructor Helen Alten is
available at scheduled times during the course for email support.
Resources include forums and scheduled online chats, PowerPoint
lectures, reading materials and lecture notes and links to relevant web sites.
<http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms209.html>MS209:
Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
Instructor: William (Bill) Tompkins
Dates: Mar 9 - May 22, 2009
Price: $425
Location: www.museumclasses.org
Acquiring and holding collections impose specific legal, ethical and
professional obligations. Museums must ensure proper management,
preservation and use of their collections. A well-crafted collections
management policy is key to collections stewardship. Collections
Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions helps
participants develop policies that meet professional and legal
standards for collections management.
Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
teaches the practical skills and knowledge needed to write and
implement such a policy. The course covers the essential components
and issues a policy should address. It also highlights the role of
the policy in carrying out a museum's mission and guiding stewardship
decisions. Participants are expected to draft collections management policies.
Course Textbook
John E. Simmons, Things Great and Small: Collections Management
Policies, American Association of Museums, 2006, $40 non-member, $30
member, 208 pages, ISBN: 1-933253-03-7, available from the AAM bookstore
Course Outline
1. The Principles of Collections Management
2. Collections Stewardship: The Role of a Collections Management Policy
3. Policy Versus Procedure
4. Issues to Consider When Developing a Collections Management Policy
5. Essential Components of a Collections Management Policy
6. Monitoring and Revision
7. Potential Problems
8. Emerging Issues
9. Drafting a Collections Management Policy
Participants in Collections Management Policies work through sections
at their own pace. Instructor Bill Tompkins is available for
scheduled email support. Materials and resources include online
literature, textbook readings, slide lectures and dialog between
students and online chats led by the instructor. The course is
limited to 20 participants.
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