American Association of Museums  

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The American Association of Museums (AAM) is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community. AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future.

AAM is the only organization representing the entire scope of museums and professionals and nonpaid staff who work for and with museums. AAM currently represents more than 15,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, 3,000 institutions, and 300 corporate members. Individual members span the range of occupations in museums, including directors, curators, registrars, educators, exhibit designers, public relations officers, development officers, security managers, trustees and volunteers.

Every type of museum is represented by the more than 3,000 institutional members, including art, history, science, military, maritime, and youth museums, as well as public aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, historic sites, and science and technology centers.

Each year, the association conducts a ceremony known as the "MUSE" awards. Awards are presented to "institutions or independent producers which use digital media to enhance the museum experience and engage new audiences".

History

• 1906: Foundation
• 1911: Directory of North and South American museums published
• 1923: Headquarters established in Washington, D.C. (offices in the tower of the Smithsonian Castle)
• 1925: Code of Ethics for Museum Workers adopted
• 1925: $2,500 grant from the Carnegie Corporation for research on museum fatigue
• 1961: Museum directory published (4,600 institutions)
• 1964: Museums included in the National Arts and Cultural Development Act
• 1966: National Museum Act passed
• 1976: New constitution adopted

Strategic Plan

Template:Inappropriate person "The Spark"[1] is the first strategic plan in AAM’s recent history that contains a set of beliefs, values and goals that we are passionate about, will guide our decision making and will drive the Association’s behavior and activities into the future. It articulates a vision for museums, the field, and AAM. We have reworked our mission to highlight our strong commitment to leadership, advocacy, collaboration and service. We have incorporated a preamble to the plan that provides background on our strategic planning process.

"The Spark" contains four goals: excellence, advocacy, sustainability and alignment. These goals will serve as a guidepost to all of our endeavors as we work collectively with our museum colleagues, key stakeholders and supporters of the broader museum field.

Presidents/Chairpersons

• Hermon Carey Bumpus (1906–07), director of the American Museum of Natural History
• William M.R. French (1907–08)
• William Jacob Holland (1908–09)
• Frederick A. Lucas (1909–1910)
• Frederick J.V. Skiff (1910–11)
• Edward S. Morse (1911–12)
• Henry L. Ward (1912–13)
• Benjamin Ives Gilman (1913–14)
• Oliver C. Farrington (1914–16)
• Henry Howland (1916–18)
• Newton H. Carpenter (1918–19)
• Paul M. Rea (1919–21)
• Frederic Allen Whiting (1921–23)
• Chauncey J. Hamlin (1923–29)
• Fiske Kimball (1929–32)
• Paul J. Sachs (1932–36)
• Herbert E. Winlock (1936–38)
• Clark Wissler (1938–45)
• David E. Finley (1945–49)
• George H. Edgell (1949–51)
• Albert E. Parr (1951–53)
• William Milliken (1953–57)
• Edward P. Alexander (1957–60)
• Froelich G. Rainey (1960–63)
• Charles Van Ravenswaay (1963–66)
• Charles Parkhurst (1966–68)
• William C. Steere (1968–70)
• James M. Brown III (1970–72)
• Charles E. Buckley (1972–74)
• Joseph M. Chamberlain (1974–75)
• Joseph Veach Noble (1975–78, director of the Museum of the City of New York
• Kenneth Starr (1978–1980), director of Milwaukee Public Museum
• Craig C. Black, ( ), director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History
• Dan Monroe, ( ), director of Portland Art Museum
• Robert MacDonald (1985–1988), director of the Museum of the City of New York
• W. Richard West (1998–2000), director of the National Museum of the American Indian
• Louis Casagrande (2002–2004), director of the Boston Children's Museum
• Jeffrey Rudolph (2004–2006), director of the California Science Center
• Irene Hirano (2006–2008), director of the Japanese American National Museum
• Carl R. Nold (2008–2010), director of Historic New England

Directors/Presidents

• Charles R. Richards (1923–27), director of Cooper Union
• Laurence Vail Coleman (1927–58)
• Joseph Allen Patterson (1958–67)
• Kyran M. McGrath (1968–75)
• Richard McLanathan (1975–78)
• Lawrence L. Reger (1978–1986)
• Edward H. Able (1986–2006)
• Ford W. Bell (2007- )

See also

• Category:Museums accredited by the American Association of Museums
• National Education Association
• Art Museum Partnership
• New England Museum Association
• Association of Art Museum Directors