Speaking as a past IMLS/GOS reviewer ( no I didn't review this batch so
don't yell at me!)  Yes, the Museums are looked at by budget size and a
reviewer gets museums with budgets similar to theirs and they get museums
within their expertise - e.g. I work with small art museums - I got small
art museums.  I also have University museum experience and was given a
large number of University Museums to review. I think they are pretty
careful about picking people who understand the situations. (Just an
aside, I found the many of the University Museums did not do as well in
areas of education and public programming but were often geared towards
scholarship and research--with Excellence and Equity this may be having an
impact.  In fact of the 5 University museums I reviewed, none had a
full-time paid educator!)

I suspect part of the low numbers related to smaller museums may be
because they do not have the time resources necessary to complete and IMLS
grant, while the large museums with grants and development offices do.

Kathrine Schlageck