Professional Development
Updated April 19, 2024
AAM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
Hosted by the American Alliance of Museums and other museum service organizations, this calendar lists opportunities for museum professionals.
CALL FOR PEER REVIEWERS: NEH GRANT PROGRAM
All NEH applications are evaluated by a panel of peer reviewers with relevant professional expertise. As a reviewer not only will you provide essential assistance in identifying the highest quality applications, but your feedback will also play a role in helping to strengthen projects from across the field, whether they receive NEH funding or not. If you are considering applying for an NEH award in the future, serving as a reviewer is an excellent way to prepare for the process of developing your proposal. As a reviewer you will learn more about what makes applications competitive and get an inside look at the review process.
For the Public Impact Projects grant program reviewers will be given a 4- to 6-week period in July and August to read and provide written comments on approximately 15 of the applications. You may not serve as a reviewer for this program if your organization submits an application to the program.
If you would like to serve as a reviewer for this or other NEH grant programs, please email [email protected]. The subject line of the email should read “Call for Reviewers” and in the body of the message you should include your name, a brief biographical paragraph or resume, and your contact information.
INFO SESSION: CULTURAL HERITAGE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS – APRIL 25
Join the "Ready — Or Not": Cultural Heritage Disaster Preparedness Project's Outreach & Travel Coordinator for an overview of the project and how to set up a site visit for your organization in California.
WEBINAR: NO BUDGET PRESERVATION TIPS – MAY 7
Preservation is an underlying responsibility of any collections caretaker, whether you are an archivist, a public librarian, a family collector, or anyone in between. Preservation has a lot to do with knowing your collections and prioritizing the materials that need the most help to survive. This webinar will discuss methods and projects that require no additional funding or supplies, including collection management, storage environment assessment, care and handling practices, and emergency preparedness.
WEBINAR: DIGITIZATION: PLANNING FOR SUCCESS – MAY 23
This session covers digitization project stages; selection criteria for converting paper, audio, video, and film collections; and handling considerations for vulnerable media across these format categories. How existing descriptive metadata and available institutional resources factor into conversion planning will also be covered. Learning goals for this webinar include understanding how to outline a conversion project plan, evaluate collections for conversion, and articulate special requirements for unique media.
ONLINE COURSE: WRITING A DISASTER PLAN – JUNE 6 & 13
Having a disaster plan is an important part of collections stewardship. This two-part course empowers participants to complete the critical stages of becoming more prepared for the unexpected.
RESOURCE: THE INCLUSIVE HISTORIAN'S HANDBOOK
This reference source supports inclusive and equity-focused historical work in public settings by sharing a knowledge base that invites more people to engage in history projects. This handbook provides concrete examples of how to make history work more relevant. It centers on equity, inclusivity, diversity, and public service while offering accessible windows into the many ways public historians work.
FREE DOWNLOAD: TRANSGENDER INCLUSION TOOLKIT FROM AAM LGBTQ ALLIANCE TASK FORCE
The AAM LGBTQ Alliance’s Task Force for Transgender Inclusion recently released the Gender Transition and Transgender Inclusion in the Museum Workplace: A Toolkit for Trans Individuals, Institutions, and Coworkers. This expansive set of guides approaches trans inclusion from various perspectives in an approachable and easy-to-understand format.
BECOME A PEER REVIEWER FOR THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS
Peer reviewers are museum professionals who volunteer their time to support AAM's Accreditation and Museum Assessment Programs (MAP). They review museum self-assessment materials, conduct site visits and facilitate the institutional planning process. Their service is the critical backbone to the success of both programs. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis.
POLARIS MUSEUM MENTOR NETWORK
Serve as an online mentor or to reach out for support as a mentee during this time of physical distancing by joining POLARIS: The Museum Mentor Network (free to all museum professionals).
DOWNLOAD THE AAM RACIAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION PLAN PRIMER
Advancing racial and ethnic diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion on boards can be a daunting task for any institution. No matter where you are in the process of creating a racial equity and inclusion plan for your museum, learn more from this new resource, including questions to help guide you and links to additional resources.
CULTURE TRACK INTERACTIVE TOOL NOW LIVE
This interactive dashboard provides compiles data from over 120,000 respondents who completed the Culture & Community in a Time of Crisis survey this spring. The comparisons included in the tool currently highlight members or subscribers to any arts or culture organization. In the coming weeks, it will be further enhanced to include splits by genre of cultural attendance as well as race and ethnicity to further aid cultural organizations in planning and implementation towards increased relevance, equity and sustainability.
MUSEUMS FOR DIGITAL LEARNING
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is pleased to announce the launch of an online resource center featuring dynamic digital museum content for K-12 educators searchable by subject and grade. Teachers across the country can now find resources that feature engaging activities from a growing number of museums all aligned with national education standards.
RECORDED WEBINAR: JUNETEENTH & CELEBRATING FREEDOM AT HISTORIC SITES
Continue learning about the history and significance of Juneteenth in this recorded webinar presented by The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). Amber Mitchell, Director of Education at the Whitney Plantation, will discuss how your organization can join in the celebration in ways that are appropriate and respectful to the history of African Americans from slavery to modern interpretations, and elevating to the communities you are trying to reach all year-round.