It is my understanding that the American Association of Museums (AAM) accredits one thing and one thing only, and that is _museums_. They _do_ have a set of "evaluation criteria" for museum studies _programs_, but in higher education _program accreditation_ is a very specific thing. By way of comparison, in the graduate professional sector, law programs are accredited, by way of the accreditation of law _schools_. So to with library "schools," although these seldom have the sovereignty or autonomy of a law school. A list of program accreditation bodies may be found in any number of places. The Peterson's volumes, in the reference collections of many libraries, have much useful information. The history of the development of a "professional" identity in librarianship - a part of which is the accreditation, by a recognized national body, of schools offering not only substantive instruction in the field but also "gatekeeping" (because for one thing, in many states eligibility for certification by an agency of state government requires the condition precedent of graduation from an accredited program - should be looked at closely by "museum professionals." That will form part of the paper I am working on. I hope I will somehow find the time to complete it. Henry Grunder, Ed. D. *USUAL DISCLAIMERS* According to JHANDLEY: > > Thank you -- who ever you are, for responding. I want to organize > something myself on this thread and have contacted the AAM for a > current copy of their accredidation standards. It is time > that we as museum professionals make demands of AAM to bring the > standard of employee care up to that of collections. > > Who ever wrote this response, would you please contact me offthe > list? > > [log in to unmask] > John Handley >