CAM E-NEWS 4/30/2008

CAM e-News is supported in part by Associated Foundations, Inc. and BRC Imagination Arts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Assemblyman Michael Villines will be presented with the 2008 President’s Award from the California Association of Museums (CAM) for his support of the state’s museums and cultural institutions in a ceremony at the Fresno Art Museum on May 2, 2008. Assemblyman Villines was chosen to receive the President’s Award in part because of his strong support of museums, zoos, and cultural institutions across the state. In February 2008, Assemblyman Villines introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 100 to proclaim May 2008 as California Museum Month. This bill, which was chaptered by the Secretary of State on April 21, 2008, highlights the vital role museums play in educating our state’s students and citizens. The bill can be read in its entirety at http://www.calmuseums.org/news/ACR_100.pdf.

Celeste DeWald, Executive Director of the California Association of Museums, along with CAM Board President Jim DeMersman, Executive Director of the Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate will present the award. Also in attendance will be Kathleen Monaghan, Executive Director of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum and Eva Torres, Acting Director of the Fresno Art Museum and a host of representatives from other local cultural arts organizations.

Recipients of the California Association of Museums’ President’s Award are elected officials in California state government who have shown support of California museums, demonstrated a continuing commitment to museums in California, and shown publicly their support of museums in their local district. The Fresno Metropolitan Museum organized the ceremony in order to thank Villines for his contributions to Fresno’s cultural arts organizations.

For additional information, contact Celeste DeWald, CAM's Executive Director, at cam@calmuseums.org or 831-471-9970.

CAM invites proposals for its annual conference in San Francisco, February 25-27, 2009. Join us in this culturally-rich city to share strategies and ideas for strengthening the future of museums, their programs, collections, and communities. The goal is to produce interesting, useful, thoughtful, and interactive sessions that address “best practices,” present model programs or techniques, and/or discuss trends that affect the future of the California museum community.

Proposals must be submitted online by June 13, 2008. For additional information or to submit a proposal, visit CAM's website at http://www.calmuseums.org/conferences_and_workshops/2009callforproposals.html.

MONTHLY MUSEUM POLL:

Has your museum ever offered a naming opportunity for items in your collection or parts of your building?

Click here to participate in the poll

(or copy the following URL and paste it in your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=E1BghtIA48gYRy_2f5Cc9Vsw_3d_3d)

IMLS OFFERS LOW-COST ONLINE COURSE ON OUTCOME-BASED PLANNING AND EVALUATION
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has announced a new low-cost online course on outcome-based planning and evaluation (OBPE). Participants in this course will work at their own pace through five interactive modules over approximately four weeks. IMLS suggests that participants take the course prior to applying for IMLS grants because it will help applicants refine project purposes and evaluation plans. Upon completing the course, participants will be able to: communicate program benefits to the community; determine which programs to expand, support, or replicate; promote partnerships and collaboration; attract new funding sources; show the human impact of museum and library programs; articulate the purpose of their program clearly and open channels for healthy discussion of key issues; produce grant proposals with data showing what a difference their institutions are making in the community; and, measure effectiveness of current programs. For details or to register, see http://www.shapingoutcomes.org, or contact the project manager by email at outcomes@iupui.edu.

CALL FOR SURVEY RESPONSES – GREENING EXHIBITION EXPERIENCES
There is a call for survey participants for an international study of any greening ideas and practices that galleries and museums have already started implementing themselves in the making of exhibitions or in building operations. The goal of the study is to provide a variety of successful ideas that other institutions can use. The outcomes and resources from this study will be shared in a future CAM e-News (survey responses will be kept confidential). The survey closes on July 31 and can be accessed through https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=FPTKQc5Kz_2fWTG0x7tMKjuw_3d_3d. For more information regarding this study, contact Stephen Mellor at the Tate Modern in London at stephen.mellor@tate.org.uk.

EDUCATIONAL/EVENT RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR NASA’S MAY 25 SPACECRAFT LANDING ON MARS
On May 25, NASA's Phoenix spacecraft is scheduled to touch down in Mars' northern polar region, to begin a 90-day mission to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic's ice-rich soil. Throughout the 90-day mission, museums, science centers, and planetaria will have access to the latest images, videos, news, and plans through a dedicated website, e-mail notifications, and professional development opportunities for staff and docents/volunteers. The sign up form for these resources is at http://informal.jpl.nasa.gov/museum/alliance/. Participants will have access to the Museum Alliance listserve, website, and telecons, and receive educational and multimedia materials such as DVDs. For questions, contact Anita Sohus at anita.m.sohus@jpl.nasa.gov.

REPORT ON EDUCATION AND CREATIVITY RELEASED
In a new report, The Imagine Nation: Moving America's Children Beyond Average, a coalition of groups concerned about education and creativity present a case statement that outlines issues with education and imagination in the U.S. There are several resources associated with this new report, including a powerpoint presentation from the California Arts Council’s conference on March 4 (http://www.cac.ca.gov/artsconference/AfterArtsConference/files/AEPPresentationMar42008.pdf) and a press release from a January 2008 poll on imagination and education (http://www.theimaginenation.net/press/080124_tinpr.pdf). For the full list of resources and to read the full Imagine Nation report, see http://www.theimaginenation.net/resources.htm.

NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION SELECTS SAN JUAN BAUTISTA AS ONE OF 2008 HISTORIC DESTINCTIVE DESTINATIONS
Each year since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected 12 vacation destinations across the United States that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation and revitalization. San Juan Bautista is the only California city to be named by the Trust for 2008. To see the list of cities for 2008, see http://www2.preservationnation.org/dozen_distinctive_destinations/2008/.

FOUNDATION CENTER CONTINUES WORKSHOP IN OUTCOME-BASED PLANNING
The Foundation Center will offer a third location for its outcome-based planning workshop. This workshop, Outcome Thinking and Management: Shifting Focus from Activities to Results, will be held on May 8 in San Francisco. The course will cover how to use outcome thinking to plan programs, produce better proposals, and to report on the impact of programs. For more information or to register, see http://foundationcenter.org/marketplace/catalog/product_training.jhtml?id=prod1710007.

CTTC CALLS FOR “MUST DO” ACTIVITY SUBMISSIONS
The California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) is seeking submissions for an upcoming press release, “Weekend Travel -- Three Perfect Days”. They are interested in receiving submissions from each region that profile must-sees and must-dos for travelers that have a short time to experience the best-of activities of that area. The deadline to receive information is Friday, May 9. All information must be sent via the official submission form, which can be obtained by emailing Amanda Moreland at amoreland@visitcalifornia.com.

BALBOA ART CONSERVATION CENTER HONORS MAYDAY - DOWNLOAD RESOURCE GUIDES FOR FREE
In honor of MayDay 2008, the Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC) is making all five Guides to Emergency Preparedness Resources available as free downloadable PDFs to encourage and assist institutions in their efforts to better prepare for a disaster. Archives, libraries, museums, and historic preservation organizations across America are setting aside May 1 to participate in MayDay, a national effort to protect collections from disasters. To access BACC’s Guides, see http://bacc.org/res_pub.htm.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AVAILABLE FROM MUSEUMS AND THE WEB 2008 CONFERENCE
With the addition of the papers published for Museums and the Web 2008, the on-line bibliography now numbers over 1,200 sources. These published papers from Museums and the Web and ICHIM - with full texts available on-line - represent the development of museums and interactive multimedia, and museums on the web, from 1991 to the present. One new feature is the ability for any user to add to the bibliography. To view this resource, see http://conference.archimuse.com/researchForum/.

VIA MAGAZINE CALLS FOR 2009 MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS
VIA Magazine is seeking submissions of notable 2009 anniversaries of destinations, cities, parks, attractions, events. They are looking for anniversaries that are major milestones, such as 50, 75, 100, 150, etc. Anniversaries like 10 or 25 would not qualify. Submission must be sent by May 6. For more information, contact Jeanne Sullivan at CTTC at jsullivan@visitcalifornia.com or (650) 359-1774.

IMLS ANNOUNCES CONSERVATION PROJECT SUPPORT GRANT AWARD RECIPIENTS
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has announced 34 recipients of their 2008 round of Conservation Project Support grants. The grant program, which began in 1984, helps museums identify conservation needs and priorities and perform activities to ensure the safekeeping of its collections. CAM would like to congratulate the two CAM members and only California recipients: the Oakland Museum of California, for its “Costume Collection Re-housing and Preservation” project; and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento for its "Environmental Improvement Project for Paintings Collection Storage". For a full list of recipients, see http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/042908_list.shtm.

NEW CREATIVE INDUSTRIES REPORT – DATA BROKEN DOWN BY DISTRICT, STATE, CITY
The new Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts reports offer new, research-based approaches to understanding the scope and importance of the arts to the nation's economy. While most economic impact studies of the arts have focused on the nonprofit sector, Creative Industries is the first national study that encompasses both the nonprofit and for-profit arts industry. Free 2-3 page online reports are available that display statistics and details broken down by Congressional and Legislative districts, state, and city. To view these reports and learn more, see http://www.artsusa.org/information_services/research/services/creative_industries/default.asp.

3-DAY UCLA EXTENSION COURSE: DOCUMENT IMAGING AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
UCLA Extension has announced a 3-day course on document imaging and document management. The class will take place on June 6-8 at UCLA in Los Angeles. This course is designed to assist managers to be more effective in bringing the immediate and long term benefits of document imaging and document management to their organizations and to their organizations' clients, customers, and constituents. All of the printed class materials are available free on the Internet for those who cannot attend the class: see http://www.archivebuilders.com/whitepapers/index.html. Enrollment is limited. To enroll, visit http://www.UCLAExtension.edu, click on 'enter keyword', then enter 'document imaging' and click 'search' button. For a course description, see http://www.archivebuilders.com/abcourses.html.

CCAHA OFFERS TWO-DAY COLLECTIONS STORAGE PROGRAM
The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) will be hosting a two-day collections storage workshop in Philadelphia, PA on September 23 and 24. A Space Odyssey: Storage Strategies for Cultural Collections will cover a variety of topics, including: deconstructing collections storage; allocating resources and funding for collections storage projects; space planning; moving collections; storage environmental control and implementation; HVAC systems; and many other case studies and break-out sessions. Registration begins in May. For more information, visit http://www.ccaha.org, call (215) 545-0613 or email pso@ccaha.org.

NEW REPORT ILLUSTRATES STRUGGLES WITH FOUNDATION GRANT APPLICATIONS AND REPORTING PROCESSES
According to a new report released by Project Streamline and the Grants Managers Network, foundations have begun to recognize that some of the measures they’ve adopted to ensure strategic and accountable grantmaking are backfiring, resulting in a system that drains both foundations and nonprofits of time and energy. The report, Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted From Purpose, found ten ways in which the current system of grant application and reporting creates more burdens than it relieves. To spur an open dialogue about the grant application and reporting system, the report offers recommendations that grantmakers can adopt to relieve the burden on nonprofits, including assessing what information grantmakers really need to make decisions and minimizing the amount of time, effort, and money that grantees spend getting and administering grants. To download the full report or the executive summary, see http://www.projectstreamline.org/.

CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT PROGRAM ANNOUNCES 2008 PARTICIPANTS
The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) has announced the 101 museums that will be assessed this year through its assessment program. CAP helps small to mid-sized museums of all types, from art museums to zoos, obtain a general assessment of the condition of their collections, environment, and historic buildings. Following an on-site assessment by a conservation professional, the museum receives a written report recommending priorities to improve collections care. CAM would like to recognize its member institutions who were awarded participation: Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science, Fresno; Pasadena Museum of History, Pasadena; and the Sierra Mono Museum, North Fork. Forms for applying to the FY2009 CAP will be mailed on October 10, 2008, to museums on the CAP mailing list and will also be available on Heritage Preservation's Web site at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP. To be added to the CAP application mailing list or for more information, call (202) 233-0800 or e-mail cap@heritagepreservation.org. The postmark deadline for 2009 applications will be December 1, 2008.

ARTS ADVOCACY FORUM – MAY 1 IN SAN JOSE AND MENLO PARK
Arts Council Silicon Valley and California Arts Advocates will present two free workshops on May 1 in the Silicon Valley area. Topics include: history of funding to Santa Clara County, advocacy for non-profits, hot topics in legislation, overview of current public arts education funding, and other information. The locations and times are as follows: 8:30 - 10:00 am at the Adobe headquarters (234 Park Avenue, San Jose) and 3:00 - 4:30 pm at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (2121 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park). To register or for more information, contact Emily Knutson at eknutson@artscouncil.org or call (408) 998-2787 x200.

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR VISITOR STUDIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Registration is open for the 21st Annual Visitor Studies Association Conference, Theory, Practice, & Conversations. This conference, which will be held in Houston, TX, from July 15 - 19, will focus on creating bridges to understanding among researchers, evaluators, and those who apply research and evaluation within organizations. Early bird registration discounts end May 15. For more information and a complete description of the conference, visit http://www.visitorstudies.org/conference_about.htm.

CULTURAL RESEARCH AND DATA FROM MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES IN ENGLAND
England's Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) recently launched its Research Resources online facility, which provides access to hundreds of research and evaluation publications commissioned and undertaken by the MLA. It also includes case studies on how these sectors are delivering outcomes-focused activities and provides ways to interrogate and manipulate the most important datasets for the sector. To visit the online facility, see http://research.mla.gov.uk.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK: APRIL 27-MAY 3, 2008
Established in 1974 by President Nixon's executive order, National Volunteer Week is an annual celebration of volunteering. This year’s theme is “Volunteer to Change the World,” and there are a variety of resources available from the Foundation Center for improving volunteer management. The Center hosts a resource list at http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/topical/voluntarism.html, and also provides resources such as the cash value of volunteer time (http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/volunteer_value.html) and volunteer opportunities (http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/volunteer_opportunities.html). For additional resources, search for “voluntarism” in the Center’s Catalog of Nonprofit Literature at http://cnl.foundationcenter.org/.

ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP RELEASES NEW PUBLICATION – ARTS EDUCATION AND URBAN SCHOOL REFORM
The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) has announced the release of its new publication The Art of Collaboration: Promising Practices for Integrating the Arts and School Reform. This second installment in AEP’s research and policy brief series outlines promising practices for building community partnerships that integrate the arts into urban education systems. The publication describes 16 practices used by the demonstration sites in their efforts to improve student achievement, build public support for arts education, and influence local policy. The intended audience for this publication is anyone engaged or interested in using community-based arts education collaboration as an agent for system change. The cost of this report is $5.00. To order or download the brief, visit the AEP website at http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=35.

SYMPOSIUM ON CALIFORNIA ARTS AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES – MAY 6
California Lawyers for the Arts and Arts Council Silicon Valley have announced the Third Symposium on California Arts and Healthy Communities to be held on Tuesday, May 6, from 3:00 - 4:15 pm, at the Santa Clara County Board of Education offices in San Jose. The Symposium will explore what cities and counties are doing to address the California arts infrastructure, strategies for public and private philanthropy, and the value of the arts for youth development, tourism, economic development, and quality of life in California communities. To register, call (408) 998-2787 x216 or send an email to sanjose@calawyersforthearts.org.

PROPOSALS DUE MAY 9 – COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION 2009 CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES
The College Art Association will host their annual conference in Los Angeles, on February 25-28, 2009. The association has issued a call for proposals; the deadline for submissions is May 9, 2008. For details, see http://conference.collegeart.org/2009/.

NSCA–SPNHC JOINT MEETING IN TWO WEEKS
The Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) will be hosting their annual joint meeting on May 13-17 in Oklahoma City. Collection Stewardship: Challenges in a Changing World will highlight a variety of collection stewardship topics. Registration is still open – see http://www.snomnh.ou.edu/nsca-spnhc/ for details.

JOIN CONFERENCE CALL FOR OVERVIEW OF KIDS’ SCIENCE CHALLENGE PROGRAM
The Kids’ Science Challenge has issued an open invitation for a conference call to be hosted on Wednesday, May 14 at 3:00 pm (EST). This call will provide an overview of the Kids’ Science Challenge in order to encourage participants to integrate the Challenge with activities at their museum or science center. The Challenge, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, will center on a nationwide competition for 3rd to 6th grade kids, including underserved groups and girls, beginning in fall, 2008, with kids submitting their own problems and experiments to scientists and engineers who are specially recruited for this project. These professionals will then investigate, experiment, and answer their questions. Competition winners will visit with and engage the professionals in their research settings. For more information regarding the challenge and the conference call, see http://www.kidssciencechallenge.com.

NONPROFIT ACCOUNTING BOOT CAMP – MAY 15 IN WATSONVILLE
The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County and CAN Insurance Services will present a Nonprofit Accounting Boot Camp on May 15 in Watsonville. Early bird registration rates end on May 1. To register or for more information, see http://www.canonprofits.org/events/bootcamp.html.

Get the Word Out in CAM e-News!
Please email the CAM office at editor@calmuseums.org to list any announcements pertaining to professional development programs, grant opportunities, or related opportunities in future editions of CAM e-News and on the CAM web site. Since it is not possible to include all the details of an announcement, please include a phone number, web site address, or email address so interested parties can get additional information. Please do not exceed a limit of 150 words per listing. All announcements are subject to editing by CAM personnel.

A CAUTIONARY NOTE
For access to some of these articles, the publishers may require that you become a member of their web site. For access to recent articles, this is usually a free service. However, you may need to pay for access to archived articles. In all instances, they will collect your contact information and probably send you advertisements. If you do not wish to become a member of a newspaper web site, we recommend that you note the title, author, newspaper, and publication date and visit your local library. If you are having trouble connecting to the appropriate article via the link provided below, we recommend that you go directly to the newspaper's web site and search with key words.

Montana Museum Board Breached Duty, Court Says [ruling says board breached its fiduciary duties by closing the museum]
By: Stephanie Strom and Jim Robbins, New York Times, April 30, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/us/30museum.html?ref=us

Experts see impact of museums in science education efforts
By: Malcom Ritter, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2008
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/27/national/a092052D18.DTL&type=science

Hundreds Turn Out To Paint Museum Walls [Museum of Ventura County]
By: Susan G, Ventura County Star, April 25, 2008
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/25/hundreds-turn-out-to-paint-museum-walls/

The Museum of Art and the Tech offer free admission [Bank of America’s Museums on Us program]
By: Mark de la Vina, San Jose Mercury News Blogs, April 25, 2008
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/04/25/the_museum_of_art_and_the_tech_offer_free_admission/

A fresh voice on history: Local high school students produced museum audio tours aimed at their own age group
By: Mark St. John Erickson, Daily Press (VA), April 21, 2008
http://www.dailypress.com/features/dp-life_teenaudiotours_0421apr21,0,7472593.story

Diamond Valley Lake museum buildings rated 'Platinum'
By: Gail Wesson, Riverside Press-Enterprise, April 18, 2008
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_ecobuilt19.4158a86.html

Please note that CAM does not necessarily endorse the information contained in these articles or the source(s) of the information.

To view 23 additional articles featuring museums or related topics in newspapers through April 30, 2008, see Museums in the News.

• COLLECTION MANAGER / NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, LOS ANGELES

• ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL GIVING, CORPORATE RELATIONS / SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (SFMOMA), SAN FRANCISCO

• INSTITUTIONAL GIFTS ADMINISTRATOR / SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (SFMOMA), SAN FRANCISCO

• DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION / COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM, MOUNTAIN VIEW

• GALLERY TEACHER, EDUCATION AT THE VILLA / THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM, MALIBU

• EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / HAYWARD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, HAYWARD

To view additional details, application instructions, and contact information for the above open positions, click on Museum Job Opportunities.