Blog and Newsletter

MAAE Announces Job Search For New Executive Director

"The MAP program is crucial for any organization looking to gain a sense of standing against museum benchmarks and assess its strengths and weaknesses. The self study, site visit and report assisted our staff, volunteers and board in necessary education growth. The report will be an invaluable tool for our museum long into the future." - Leo Landis, Education Director and Curator, Salisbury House and Gardens, Des Moines, IA

The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) is an IMLS funded program available to small and mid-sized museums of all types. During MAP your museum conducts a self-study, consults with a museum professional who will provide a customized site visit and report and gains the tools to become a stronger institution.

• •· The MAP process is customized to your museum.
• •· The application is easy to complete and 98% of museums that apply get accepted.
• •· Choose one of three assessment types: Organizational, Collections Stewardship or Community Engagement.

IMLS -funded MAP grants provide $4,000 of consultative resources and services to participating museums. Become the next museum to take advantage of MAP. The upcoming application deadline is July 1.

Visit www.aam-us.org/map for more information about MAP or contact us at map@aam-us.org or 202.289.9118.

MAP is administered by the American Association of Museums and supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore seeks a dynamic and creative history educator for the position of Education and Program Coordinator.  Working with the Director of Interpretation and Training and reporting to the Executive Director, the Education Coordinator is primarily responsible for planning, marketing, and implementing a variety of living history educational programming.  Programs includes Journey into History school programs, Meal, Laugh & Learn programs, live-in experiences, first-person living history tours, site tours, educational workshops, and special events.  The Education Coordinator facilitates scheduling of programs and tours,  provides living history and site tours for the general public and delivers school programs, maintains costume inventory and period clothing loans, coordinates the marketing and promotion of all educational services and volunteer opportunities to appropriate audiences, and actively recruits interpreters and program volunteers.  In addition, s/he assists with planning all special events and workshops.

The candidate will have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in education, history, or similar field with five years progressive responsibilities with museum education/interpretation.  Skilled in general educational programs for all ages, the ideal candidate is familiar with living history education and interpretation methods and with Maine history and rural life in America.

 Demonstrated success with recruiting, motivating and working effectively with volunteers and managing diverse groups of all ages, a plus.

This is a part-time position, 20 hours per week, 48 weeks per year, with a flexible schedule based on program needs. Tuesdays and Thursdays required throughout the summer.  Some weekends and evenings. Applicants should send a letter of interest, resume, and contact information for three references to Education Coordinator Search, Washburn-Norlands Living History Center,

290 Norlands Road, Livermore, ME 04253 or email PDF documents to norlands@norlands.org.  Preference given to applications received by June 1.

The Small Museum Administrators Committee/Professional Network of AAM wants to make sure that there will be plenty of sessions for you and your colleagues from small museums at the 2013 AAM Annual Meeting in Baltimore. To do that we need your help.

The 2013 theme, The Power of Story, provides a wide range of opportunities for us to share our ideas, successes and challenges. The attached theme description from AAM gives some examples and we know there are lots of stories ready to be told by the small museum community. But don’t let that limit your thinking. Session proposals are welcome on any topic.

If you have ideas for sessions or speakers, send me an e-mail. Let me know, also, if you are interested in working on some of these ideas that have already been suggested:

Kids in Historic Houses

Using Volunteers in the Collections

Museum Ghosts and How to Live With Them

Preparing Museum Studies Graduates to Work in Small Museums

Using Kickstarter and Other Micro-Giving Methods

Building Projects for Small Museums

Museums Without Buildings

Advocacy Outside the Capitol/Statehouse

Teaching Your Board to Ask for Money

Breaking With Museum Traditions (like holiday decorating or local art shows)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Janice

Janice Klein

SMAC/Small Museum Professional Network

Program Chair

EightSixSix Consulting

jkhm@mindspring.com

6/26/2012 NTEN 501TechClub: Telling Your Nonprofit’s Story Through Video http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/skillbuilder_detail.asp?event=1067 (FREE!)

6/28/2012 It’s Your Website: How to Get the Most Out of Your Web Project Experience http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/skillbuilder_detail.asp?event=1086

7/18/2012 PowerPoint 2010: Intermediate Topics http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/skillbuilder_detail.asp?event=1091

8/15/2012 Taking Charge of Google Analytics http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/skillbuilder_detail.asp?event=1075

8/22/2012 Microsoft Excel 2010: The Basics http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/skillbuilder_detail.asp?event=1088

8/30/2012 WordPress Demystified http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/skillbuilder_detail.asp?event=1085

*Check out VTEC Training’s website for additional technology trainings: http://www.vtec.org/

(MANP members get a 15-25% discount on public offerings!)

Education Coordinator Position Open

The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore seeks a dynamic and creative history educator for the position of Education Coordinator.  Working with the Director of Interpretation and Training and reporting to the Executive Director, the Education Coordinator is primarily responsible for planning, marketing, and implementing a variety of living history educational programming.  Programs includes Journey into History school programs, Meal, Laugh & Learn programs, live-in experiences, first-person living history tours, site tours, educational workshops, and special events.  The Education Coordinator facilitates scheduling of programs and tours,  provides living history and site tours for the general public and delivers school programs, maintains costume inventory and period clothing loans, coordinates the marketing and promotion of all educational services and volunteer opportunities to appropriate audiences, and actively recruits interpreters and program volunteers.  In addition, s/he assists with planning all special events and workshops.  

The candidate will have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in education, history, or similar field with five years progressive responsibilities with museum education/interpretation.  Skilled in general educational programs for all ages, the ideal candidate is familiar with living history education and interpretation methods and with Maine history and rural life in America.  Demonstrated success with recruiting, motivating and working effectively with volunteers and managing diverse groups of all ages, a plus.

This is a part-time position, 20 hours per week, 48 weeks per year, with a flexible schedule based on program needs. Tuesdays and Thursdays required throughout the summer.  Some weekends and evenings. Applicants should send a letter of interest, resume, and contact information for three references to Education Coordinator Search, Washburn-Norlands Living History Center, 290 Norlands Road, Livermore, ME 04253 or email PDF documents to norlands@norlands.org.  Preference given to applications received by June 1.  

"MAM is extremely fortunate to have Erin Bishop to help us build upon recent growth implemented by her predecessor," said president Jay Adams. "During her tenure here Julie Rabinowitz put MAM's administrative house in order and then introduced tools, including a new cloud-based web site, and methods of operation, such as making the most of social media, to further support our member collecting institutions. Erin Bishop comes to us with responsible administrative experience, a record of successful grant writing, and now as director, with the knowledge and ability to help MAM members carry out their most important role: caring for and using artifacts and objects from the past to inform and improve the personal and civic lives of Maine's citizens. Thanks to both of these smart, creative, dependable women for casting their lot with MAM."

Dr. Bishop has a Ph.D. in history from the National University Ireland (Dublin) and is the principal of Clio Museum Consulting, where she has consulted on projects with Skyline Farms in North Yarmouth and the Jonathan Fisher House in Blue Hill. Dr. Bishop is also the Project Coordinator of the Experience Maritime Maine program with Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. Before moving to Maine, Dr. Bishop served as Director of Education for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

"I am very pleased and proud to help MAM pursue its mission of supporting and promoting collecting institutions in Maine,” said Bishop. "I have followed MAM’s tremendous growth over the last two years, and I look forward to helping MAM and its members achieve even more together."

Dr. Bishop joins MAM at a time of great energy and renewed focus. Since 2011, MAM has embarked upon a remarkable number of new initiatives, including a move to a new website and system of data management, a major grant from the Davis Family Foundation, new social media fansites, and a significant increase in membership and revenue from sponsorships and paid advertising. Under Dr. Bishop’s leadership, MAM is in a strong position for future success.

Steve has been responsible for the extraordinary growth of the MHS audience, both live and virtual. He has planned and implemented all public programs at MHS, increasing numbers and diversity through better communications and partnerships with many Maine cultural organizations. Steve has been instrumental in the success of Maine Memory Network--the Society's statewide, online collaborative museum--raising more than $3 million in grants and designing new, innovative programs, such as the Maine Community Heritage Project, to help promote the role of history in creating community awareness and identity. A participant in the statewide development of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, and a frequent presenter at national conferences, Steve is now a recognized leader in the field of digital history and community development.

Bromage received his B.A. in English from the University of Richmond (VA) and his Masters in American History from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), where he focused on 20^th century U.S. cultural history. He has served as a regular grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and has served on the board of the Willowbrook Museum Village in Newfield Maine. Before coming to MHS in 2001, Steve served as the Associate Director of the Disability History Museum and Learning Resource Center, a project of Straight Ahead Pictures (a non-profit media and education center in Massachusetts).

"In the past decade," says Steve, "we have seen the vibrant role that Maine history can play in the lives of diverse audiences throughout the state. History is becoming active, participatory, representative, and more integrated into civic life. There are exciting possibilities ahead, and heightened expectations for the role that MHS can play in Maine. I look forward to leading MHS as it continues to grow and evolve, and as we build a dynamic, sustainable foundation for the future."