Museum Interpretation Initiative

Museum Resources

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Utah Organizations
Museum Professional Associations & Networking Opportunities
Grant Sources
Museum Classes Available
Performance Standards
Standards and Policy Templates
Collection Management and Preventive Conservation
Digitization Assistance
Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery
Exhibits
Archival Exhibit and Storage Supplies
Research Resources for Utah
Research Resources National
Education Resources


Utah Organizations

Utah Humanities Council www.utahhumanities.org
Non-profit organization that provides workshops and professional advice for museum interpretation, oral history, preventive conservation, and lots more. Grant opportunities for humanities projects, including museum interpretation and oral history. Provides opportunities to host Smithsonian Museum on Main Street traveling exhibitions.

Utah Division of Arts and Museums  www.artsandmuseums.utah.gov   
State agency that provides grants and a conference for art organizations and museums. Manages the Certified Utah Museum program, State Performance Goals program, and partners with the Utah State University to provide museum studies distance education. Sign up for their electronic newsletter.

Utah Division of State History www.history.utah.gov
Provides historic consultation, an annual conference, grants, and amazing online historical resources.

Utah Division of Archives & Records Service www.archives.utah.gov
Manages records created by state and local government in Utah, including historic records. Occasional grants for historical records care and digitization.

Utah Heritage Foundation www.utahheritagefoundation.com
Works to preserve historical buildings through education, public awareness, and resources.

Utah Nonprofits Association www.utahnonprofits.org
Provides workshops, consultant list, and a job board for all Utah nonprofits.

Utah Cultural Alliance www.utahculturalalliance.org
Sponsors panel discussions, advocacy, and legislative forums for Utah’s cultural organizations.

Now Playing Utah www.nowplayingutah.com
Provides free publicity for museums and special events.

Museum Professional Associations & Networking Opportunities

Utah Museums Association (UMA) www.utahmuseums.org
Connects museums to professional resources and best practice, and serves as an advocate for Utah museums. Professional development opportunities available at annual conference each October, and at occasional regional workshops. Stay connected through website and electronic newsletter! 

Utah Small Museum Interest Group  www.facebook.com/#!/SmallUtahMuseums  
The Small Utah Museums group provides support and networking opportunities to leaders, staff, and volunteers involved with small museums in Utah.

Utah Emerging Museum Professionals  www.facebook.com/#!/utahemps 
UTEMP is for those who have been in the museum field for less than 10 years and provides an opportunity for museum or art-related staff to network, collaborate, and socialize.

Western Museum Association (WMA) www.westmuse.org
Annual conference each autumn of western states museums

American Alliance of Museums (AAM) www.aam-us.org
Annual conference each spring, publications, many resources 

American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) www.aaslh.org 
Excellent source of information for small museums and historic sites, including StEPS program, technical fliers, online training and workshops, as well as annual conference in the fall.

Grant Sources

Utah Humanities Council www.utahhumanities.org
Grants for museum interpretation, oral history, and other humanities projects.

Utah Division of Arts and Museums  www.artsandmuseums.utah.gov   
Grants for museum development and general project support.

Utah Division of State History www.history.utah.gov
Grants for cemetery inventory, capital project, and CLG heritage projects.

Utah Division of Archives & Records Service www.archives.utah.gov
Grants for historical records conservation.

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) www.imls.gov
Grants and links to online resources. Thanks to IMLS for funding the Museum Interpretation Initiative.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) www.neh.gov/grants
Grants for collections care and preservation, exhibits, education programs, and digitization.

Museum Classes Available

Utah Humanities Council Museum Interpretation Initiative www.utahhumanities.org/MIIHome.htm
This workshop program assists staff and volunteers at Utah’s small museums tell the stories of their collections and communities. Contact Megan van Frank at vanfrank@utahhumanities.org

Utah State University offers museum studies classes through its regional campus and distance education program, and starting 2013 online! Tuition scholarships available through the Utah Division of Arts & Museums. Contact Curtis Ashton at curtis.ashton@usu.edu

Southern Utah University offers a minor in museum studies and an online MA of Arts Administration. Contact Reece Summers at summersr@suu.edu.

Brigham Young University offers museum studies certificate to its MA students. Contact Paul Stavast at paul_stavast@byu.edu.

Small Museum Pro!  www.smallmuseumpro.org
Online certification program designed specifically for those working in small community museums who desire professional development training.    

Northern States Conservation Center www.museumclasses.org
Provides collection care services and offers a plethora of online museum classes.

Campbell Center www.campbellcenter.org
Offers courses in collections care, historic preservation, and conservation.

Northeast Document Conservation Center www.nedcc.org
Specializes in preservation of paper-based materials and digitization. 

Performance Standards

The Performance Goals Program of the Utah Division of Arts and Museums provides a set of goals in an effort to raise the performance level, professionalism, and quality of Utah museums.
http://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/area_interest/museums/
certification/documents/museums_performance_goals.pdf

The StEPS Program of the American Association for State and Local History is a voluntary assessment program for small- and mid-sized history organizations that encourages awareness and achievement of national standards. http://www.aaslh.org/steps.htm

The American Alliance of Museums’ Museum Assessment Program (MAP) helps small and mid-sized museums strengthen operations, plan for the future and meet national standards through self-study and a site visit from a peer reviewer. MAP grants provide $4,000 of consultative resources and services to participating museums. http://www.aam-us.org/resources/assessment-programs/MAP

Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) Heritage Preservation, The National Institute for Conservation, provides noncompetitive grants for small and mid-sized museums to conduct general conservation assessments of their sites and collections.  http://www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP/index.html   

Standards and Policy Templates

International Council of Museums http://icom.museum/ethics.html#intro
ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums sets minimum standards of professional
practice and performance for museums and their staff internationally.

American Alliance of Museums
http://aam-us.org/resources/ethics-standards-and-best-practices/code-of-ethics-for-museums 
The AAM Code of Ethics for Museums establishes the basic set of values that should guide American museums, from governance to collections and programs.

CIDOC http://cidoc.mediahost.org/
ICOM’s International Committee for Documentation provides the museum community with advice on good practice and developments in museum documentation.

Museums & Galleries NSW http://mgnsw.org.au/resources/fact_sheets/
Policy templates, fact sheets and technical information geared to small museums on collection management, conservation, storage, and many other issues. Write that Collections Policy now!

Museums Australia Victoria  http://www.mavic.asn.au/resources
Resources specifically for small museums, including collections policy template, interpretive policy template, information sheets on variety of topics.

Home of the wonderful Small Museums Cataloging Manual
http://www.mavic.asn.au/services/small-museums-cataloguing-manual

Significance Assessment http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/significance2-0/
Significance assessment is a terrific roadmap for research and a tool for going beyond descriptive cataloging to establish the meaning of an object and make a judgment about why it is important.

Collection Management and Preventive Conservation

American Institute for Conservation (AIC)  http://www.conservation-us.org/ 
Resources on how to find a conservator, how to care for treasures, frequently asked questions. 

CoOL  (Conservation OnLine)  http://cool-palimpsest.stanford.edu/
Full text library of information covering a wide range of conservation topics.

Costume Society of America (CSA)  http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/ 
CSA Angels project organizes volunteer textile experts to help save endangered clothing collections.

Canadian Conservation Institute http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/
Information on how to preserve and care for many object types and links to many preservation sites.

Department of the Interior Museum Program http://museums.doi.gov/
Offers the Museum Property Handbook Volume I: Preservation and Protection of Museum Property and
Museum Property Handbook Volume II: Documentation of Museum Property

Museums & Galleries NSW http://mgnsw.org.au/resources/fact_sheets/
Policy templates, fact sheets and technical information geared to small museums on collection management, conservation, storage, and many other issues. Write that Collections Policy now!

Museums Australia Victoria  http://www.mavic.asn.au/resources
Resources specifically for small museums, including collections policy template, interpretive policy template, information sheets on variety of topics.

Home of the wonderful Small Museums Cataloging Manual
http://www.mavic.asn.au/services/small-museums-cataloguing-manual

NPS ConservOGrams www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html
Terrific brochures on collections care from the National Park Service

PACCIN http://www.paccin.org/content.php  Packing, art handling and collection care info network. 

reCollections: Caring for Collections Across Australiahttp://www.collectionsaustralia.net/sector_info_item/3

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
http://cool-palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/spnhc/spnhc1.html

Digitization Assistance

Mountain West Digital Library http://mwdl.org/about.php
Need advice or help digitizing your collection archives, photographs, or audio/video resources? Contact Sandra McIntyre, Director of MWDL at sandra.mcintyre@utah.edu

Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery

Western States & Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS) http://westpas.org/

UTAH COLLECTIONS ASSISTANCE HOTLINE 1.888.905.7737. Offers emergency disaster assistance, classes on disaster planning and preservation grant writing. Local contact is Randy Silverman, Preservation Librarian at Marriott Library, University of Utah, 801.585.6782.

American Institute for Conservation http://aic.stanford.edu/library/online/disaster/index.html.
Offers disaster response and recovery information, including “Emergency: If You’re First” guide.

National Institute for Conservation www.heritagepreservation.org/PROGRAMS/COLLECT.HTM
Provides online and printed resources on collections care, emergency response, and CAP program. Also home to the Heritage Preservation Emergency Task Force, which offers publications on preservation and disaster response and salvage wheel http://www.heritagepreservation.org/programs/taskfer.htm

Minnesota Historical Society www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/emergency.html

Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute www.si.edu/MCI/english/learn_more/taking_care/

NPS Museum Management Program www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/index.htm
Publications on preservation and disaster response for cultural heritage from the National Park Service

Exhibits

Exhibit Makeovers – Alice Parman www.aparman.com

Acrylic Cases www.acrylicdisplaymfg.comand Display Furniture and Stands www.artdisplay.com

Life-Size Cardboard Cutouts www.partystandups.com  custom laser-cut from your photo

Judging Exhibitions Framework www.serrellassociates.org/pdf/EJFramework507.pdf

Archival Exhibit and Storage Supplies

Gaylord Brothers www.gaylord.com 

University Products  www.universityproducts.com

 Hollinger Metal Edge www.hollingermetaledge.com   

Research Resources for Utah

Brigham Young University Digital Library http://www.lib.byu.edu/digital/

Brigham Young University Special Collections http://lib.byu.edu/sites/sc/

Dixie State College Special Collections and Archives

http://library.dixie.edu/special_collections/index.html

International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers

http://www.dupinternational.org/

LDS Church History Archives and Library

http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library

Mormon Historic Sites Foundation http://mormonhistoricsitesfoundation.org/index.htm

Mountain West Digital Library http://mwdl.org

Pioneer, Utah’s online library http://pioneer.utah.gov/

Salt Lake County Archives http://www.archives.slco.org/

Snow College Library http://www.lib.snow.edu/

Southern Utah University Special Collections

http://www.li.suu.edu/page/special-collections-about 

University of Utah Digital Collections

http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/digitalcollections.php 

University of Utah Main Library http://www.lib.utah.edu/libraryinfo/dept/spc/

University of Utah Special Collections

http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/special-collections/

Utah American Indian Digital Archive http://utahindians.org/archives/index.html

Utah Artists Project  http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/utah-artists/ 

Utah Collections Multimedia Encyclopedia http://www.uen.org/ucme/

Utah Digital Newspapers http://digitalnewspapers.org/

Utah Division of Archives & Records Service http://archives.utah.gov/

Utah Division of State History Research Center http://history.utah.gov/research_and_collections/index.html

Utah Government Publications Online http://publications.utah.gov/

Utah Historical Quarterly http://history.utah.gov/historical_society/historical_quarterly/index.html

Utah History Encyclopedia http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/

Utah State History to Go http://historytogo.utah.gov/

Utah State Library http://library.utah.gov/

Utah State University Digital Library http://digital.lib.usu.edu/

Utah State University Special Collections and Archives

http://library.usu.edu/specol/

Utah Valley University Library http://www.uvu.edu/library/

Weber State University Archives and Special Collections http://library.weber.edu/asc/default.cfm

Weber State University Digital Collections http://librarydigitalcollections.weber.edu/

Research Resources National

Family Search - LDS Church Family History Library  http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp

Ancestry.com - Federal Census, Voter Lists, Military Records, Immigration etc  http://www.ancestry.com/

Census Finder - Directory of Free Census Records http://www.censusfinder.com/index.htm

Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws

History Detectives – Detective Techniques http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

National Register of Historic Places http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do?searchtype=natreghome

Education Resources

Columbia Center for Oral History http://library.columbia.edu/indiv/ccoh.html

Free sounds for your hands-on tours or exhibits http://www.freesound.org/index.php

Ira Glass videos on storytelling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA

Journal of Museum Education http://museumeducation.info/

The Moth: true stories told live without notes www.moth.org

Museum Ed – Connecting the Museum Educator Community http://www.museum-ed.org/ 

Museums on Main Street/Docent Guidelines
http://museumonmainstreet.org/support/exhibition_specific/between_fences/
fencesadmin.htm

National Storytelling Network www.storynet.org/

Smithsonian Education http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/

Society for Storytelling www.sfs.org.uk/

Storycorps  www.storycorps.org

Utah State Core Curriculum http://www.schools.utah.gov/core/

Video of Peter Gruber on Persuasive Storytelling http://seanmalarkey.com/telling-stories-win-peter-guber-win-book

The Uncataloged Museum - Linda Norris Blog  http://uncatalogedmuseum.blogspot.com

Museum 2.0 Blog – Nina Simon Participatory Museum Blog http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/

Nicole Duefel’s Blog http://nicoledeufel.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/what-makes-agood-guided-tour/ 

The Art of Storytelling Show http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/