[NHCOLL-L:3704] New AAM standard

[CAHawks at aol.com]

AAM Announces New  Standard for Facilities and Risk Management 

The Board  of Directors of the American Association of Museums (AAM) recently 
approved the  first national museum standard on facilities and risk 
management in museums in  August of 2007. “AAM Standards for U.S. Museums Regarding 
Facilities and Risk  Management” outlines the basic responsibilities of any 
museum in caring for  people, collections, buildings, and grounds. As with all AAM 
standards, it is  broad, describing desirable outcomes that a museum can 
achieve using methods  appropriate to its mission and resources. 

It is incumbent upon museums  to provide for the safety of their visitors and 
staff, and ensure the  preservation of their collections, structures, and 
grounds. A 2005 survey of  collecting institutions conducted by Heritage 
Preservation, revealed the  challenges in achieving this—fewer than 20% of museums 
have an emergency  preparedness plan, with staff trained and practiced in 
implementing it.  

The new AAM standard can help museums assess their performance against  
national expectations for facilities and risk management, identify areas for  
improvement, and seek resources to support their needs for planning, training,  and 
implementation of emergency preparedness. Compliance with national museum  
standards is voluntary. Those museums that have achieved accreditation by the  
AAM will be assessed against this new standard in subsequent accreditation  
reviews.

The American Association of Museums serves as the voice of the  U.S. museum 
community and as a forum  for discussion and resolution of important issues 
facing the museum field.  Ongoing, field-wide discussion takes place through the 
Museum Assessment and  Accreditation Programs, peer review, seminars, 
meetings, AAM’s periodicals and  books, and numerous professional committees. AAM 
captures the consensus of the  field regarding standards (generally accepted 
levels that all museums are  expected to achieve) and best practices (replicable 
actions and philosophies  that demonstrate an awareness of standards).

Visit _http://www.aam-us.org/aboutmuseums/standards/index.cfm_ 
(http://www.aam-us.org/aboutmuseums/standards/index.cfm)  to read the complete standard on 
facilities and risk management and  other standards and best practices for 
museums.  


Catharine Hawks
Conservator
2419 Barbour Road
Falls Church  VA 22043-3026 USA
t/f 703.876.9272



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