Author Topic: Museum accreditation  (Read 4785 times)

Offline CHF

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Museum accreditation
« on: November 30, 2009, 07:20:21 PM »
Having spent my first 4 years in the Cavalla Historical Foundation, one of the first things I learned as requests were turned down was that you cannot just call yourself a museum and expect to be accepted as such.  My question today is are any of the submarine museums holders of Museum Accreditation from the American Association of Museums or other accrediation facilities.

Does HNSA membership add anything to accreditation or authenticity as a museum in the eyes of Grant donors?
Thanks
ELT627

Offline Paul Farace

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Re: Museum accreditation
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2009, 12:38:35 AM »
My understanding is that USS BOWFIN (used to have) or may still have it thanks to Aldona Sendzikas, their former curator. She may have been able to get it for PAMPANITO  as well, but that was 10 years ago. USS COBIA may have it via their parent organization, Wisconsin Maritime Museum ... maybe the Submarine Force Musuem as well.  HNSA membership really has no impact on this.  Some of the big battleships may also have it (think BB North Carolina)... but again, most organizations don't have the will or money to meet those standards. What this accreditation means is that you have been found to adhere to basic standards of professional museum practice. This is important not so much for grants as it is for handling artifact donations. The Naval Heritage Command adopted some basic form of these standards a few years ago among our ships in regards to artifact donations.

 Sadly, good projects can lose grant money because they don't have it. It is a metric that grantors use to weed out their grant requests. IMHO it is not a perfect metric, but the grantors have little choice unless they can send someone to check under the beds of every group requesting a grant.
Cavalla may be best advised to work outside this system and go for money for saving historic fabric, not musuem collections. The requirements, as I remember them, were beyond most of us.  I think visiting the CAM website might be helpful.
Good luck!

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