From: "Maxwell, Eileen" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: IMLS Announces 1999 Professional Service Program Awards Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 21:37:48 -0400 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contacts: 202-606-8339 September 24, 1999 Eileen Maxwell: [log in to unmask] Mamie Bittner: [log in to unmask] FEDERAL GRANTS PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR SMALL MUSEUMS Washington, DC-Today Beverly Sheppard, Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), awarded 12 grants to museum associations that will help hundreds of small museums improve their professional practices. In addition, these awards will help build museum networks to participate in cultural tourism activities. Ms. Sheppard said, "With this year's Professional Service Program awards IMLS continues its commitment to small museums. Seventy-five percent of museums in the United States identify themselves as small, and most look to museum associations for guidance. By helping museum associations provide effective tools and resources to their members, IMLS helps small museums achieve their goals to increase their stability and meet the needs of their communities." These grants support museum organization projects that improve the ability of their members to serve the public - through workshops, publications, and cultural tourism partnerships. Professional museum organizations at the national, regional, state, or local level are eligible to apply. Applications were evaluated by peer review. Projects funded in 1999 include: a Michigan association that will develop statewide thematic itineraries for tourists in the state; a Boston center that will create a website that will give museums across the country 24-hour access to conservation information; a Pennsylvania organization that will help small and mid-sized museums use new technologies to develop websites and interactive exhibits; and a Texas association that will develop a video to get the state's museums involved in cultural tourism. (See the attached for a complete list of awards and descriptions of the projects.) About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - IMLS is an independent federal agency that fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's 8,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. Created by the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, IMLS has an annual budget of $190 million. For more information, including grant applications, contact: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20506, (202) 606-8536, or http://www.imls.gov. Association of Youth Museums (AYM) $27,230, Washington, DC The AYM will publish Collective Vision II: The Companion Edition, a visual complement to their comprehensive collection of essays Collective Vision: Starting and Sustaining a Children's Museum. Collective Vision II will contain a 48 page-illustrated book and companion CD-ROM that will bolster the impact and usefulness of the original written work through illustrations of best practices in children's museums of all sizes and locations across the country. Central Arizona Museum Association (CAMA) $27,300 Phoenix, AZ CAMA has designed a program called SMART (Small Museums of Arizona: Resources Training) which will provide professional development seminars for small and rural museums in Arizona. In cooperation with the Museum Association of Arizona, six workshops will be held over a two-year period on topics ranging from volunteer management, fundraising, marketing, collections care/conservation, education/interpretation, and exhibits. Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) $25,000 Philadelphia, PA CCAHA will use the $25,000 funds to conduct a national conference in cooperation with the National Park Service on the management and preservation of architectural records. There will be lectures, tours and hands-on demonstrations to address the theoretical and practical issues surrounding these records. Ultimately, this conference seeks to improve preservation and access to documentation of the built environment in the nations' in museums, archives, libraries and historical agencies. Florida Art Museum Directors Association (FAMDA) $50,000 Vero Beach, FL FAMDA in cooperation with the National Conference of State Museum Associations will use this award to create a centralized database of state museum associations (SMAs) and museum information. FAMDA will also further develop the current SMA net web site to allow on-line modification to ensure up-to-date information, and create a template web site for state museum associations to adapt in order to provide a presence for all SMAs. Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies and Museums (LHC) $15,000 Elmsford, NY LHC in cooperation with the National Park Service will present a three-day hands-on collections care workshop for staff of historic house museums. Using the Vanderbilt Mansion as a case study, conservators will focus the workshop on the unique methods of cleaning and maintenance of walls, wood surfaces and textiles coverings specific to historic house museums. Michigan Museums Association (MMA) $49,475 Lansing, MI MMA will use the award to develop statewide theme-based itineraries for cultural tourists in the state. Some suggested topics are tours designed around the Underground Railroad and automotive culture in the state of Michigan. These itineraries will be available to the public on a new web site that will be developed by MMA. MMA will then conduct a statewide conference on cultural tourism in order to help museums use these theme-based itineraries and also forge tourism collaborations with the tourism industry. Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) $43,750 Boston, MA NEDCC, in cooperation with the other 13 regional conservation centers in the country, will work together to create a joint website which will allow museums 24-hour access to the technical conservation expertise of all the centers. The website will include a searchable bibliography of all conservation publications of the centers to guide museums in their search for more detailed information. It will also include a core selection of updateable technical collections care leaflets reproduced in full text to answer some of museums most asked conservation questions. Ohio Museums Association (OMA) $25,319 Columbus, OH The Ohio Museums Association in cooperation with the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums and several other Ohio cultural agencies, will develop a resource guide for Ohio museums to help them more fully participate in cultural tourism cultivated for the upcoming Ohio State Bicentennial celebration. In encouraging participation of museums in this celebration, OMA aims to enhance the visibility and visitation in Ohio museums both for the event, and into the future. Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations $29,965 Harrisburg, PA This project will present an introduction to computer-based technologies such as websites and interactive exhibits using workshops, conference sessions, and other established formats for professionals in small to mid-sized museums. Participant organizations will learn about these new technologies in order to make informed decisions, and choose from the available technological options to best maximize their resources. Texas Association of Museums (TAM) $30,000 Austin, TX TAM in collaboration with the Texas Travel Industry, the Texas Historical Commission, and the Texas Commission on the Arts, will create and distribute a 7-10 minute video about cultural tourism in the state of Texas. This video will both serve as an instructional tool to help museums understand the benefits and methods of cultural tourism, as well as aid in getting museums more involved in the process and industry of cultural tourism on the state level. Vermont Museum & Gallery Alliance (VMGA) $18,600 Woodstock, VT The award is focused on Vermont's small and rural museums to create a one-year sequential program of general surveys, on-site training, with follow-up by conservation and curatorial interns. This curriculum aims not only to provide professional development to staff, but also to aid in the creation of a coordinated collections care programs within these museums. Virginia Association of Museums (VAM) $17,158 Richmond, VA VAM, in cooperation with the Museum Trustee Association and the Library of Virginia, will conduct a series of training workshops for board members of small museums. These workshops and the resulting training manual will address the issues of board members roles and responsibilities, organization of a board meeting, staff and board relationships, legal issues, public accountability, and fiduciary responsibility. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).