[Nhcoll-l] Introduction to Museums online course starts August 5th

[helen at collectioncare.org]

MS101: Introduction to Museums
Instructor: John Simmons
Dates: Aug 5 to Sep 13, 2013
Location: online at www.museumclasses.org

Description:
The United States is blessed with more than 10,000 museums.
We can only guess at the world's total. While most people
think of a well-staffed, professionally run institution,
the vast majority of museums are started and run by people
with little or no basic training in museum studies or
preservation. Introduction to Museums is crafted to change
that. The course introduces basic concepts, terminology and
the role of various staff members, including curators,
registrars and directors. Introduction to Museums is aimed
at board members, interns and volunteers, as well as anyone
interested in becoming a museum professional or learning
more about the profession.

Logistics:
Participants in Introduction to Museums work through
sections at their own pace. Instructor John Simmons is
available for scheduled email support. Materials and
resources include online literature and dialog between
students and online chats led by the instructor. The course
is limited to 20 participants.

Introduction to Museums runs four weeks. To learn more
about the course, go to
http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms101.html
If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at
helen at collectioncare.org

The Instructor:
John E. Simmons runs Museologica, an independent consulting
company, and serves as Adjunct Curator of Collections at
the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery at
Pennsylvania State University. He has a B.S. in Systematics
and Ecology and a Master's degree in Historical
Administration and Museum Studies. Simmons began his
professional career as a zoo keeper, then worked as
collections manager at the California Academy of Sciences
and the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas,
where he also served as Director of the Museum Studies
Program until 2007. He received 2011 Carolyn L. Rose Award
for outstanding commitment to Natural History Collections
Care and Management from the Society for the Preservation
of Natural History Collections, the Superior Voluntary
Service Award from the American Association of Museums and
the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Mentoring of
Graduate Students from the University of Kansas. Simmons'
publications include three books, Herpetological Collecting
and Collections Management (2002), Cuidado, Manejo y
Conservación de las Colecciones Biológicas (2005, with
Yaneth Muñoz-Saba), and Things Great and Small: Collections
Management Policies (2006). He consults, teaches, and does
field work in the US, Latin America and Asia. For more
information visit his web site MUSEOLOGICA
Helen Alten
Director
Northern States Conservation Center
www.collectioncare.org
www.museumclasses.org