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Voice

VAM Town Hall MEETING 2012: “The Brave New World of Museums”

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Technical Insert: Nomenclature 3.0

Member Profile: The Army Museum System

James Chung William J. Hennessey

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A wise man (the Greek philosopher Hera-clitus) once said, “Nothing endures but change.” VAM is trying something new for this year’s General Session at the Annual Conference – a Town Hall Meeting in talk show format, entitled The Brave New World of Museums.

Here is what the conference program has to say:

“In five years white, non-Hispanic Virgin-ians under 18 will make up less than 50% of that segment of the population. In 1960, one in two American households was composed of a married couple with children. Today, that number is one in five. In addition, the current economic fire-storm is threatening the sustainability of museums. These are issues museums can-not ignore. This town hall will examine the changing world around us and look at new business models that can help museums cope with the new millennium. Our moderator will engage not only our worthy panelists but also the audience in a freewheeling talk show format.”

Sponsored by Stumpf and Associates and moderated by Mark Howell, our Town Hall Meeting will engage the audience along with our speakers, James Chung and Wil-liam Hennessey (see box, opposite page) in this discussion on the future of museums. If that phrase sounds familiar, the Ameri-can Association of Museums (AAM) has a Center for the Future of Museums and they host a blog by the same name, at www.futureofmuseums.org. In fact, some of the ideas around this session took root during last May’s AAM conference in Houston. For example, our novel format that aims for a high amount of audience engagement came from a similarly formatted session at AAM.

As a springboard for discus-sion about new business models and museum sustainability, our Town Hall Meeting will explore data from the 2010 U.S. Census and how museums can learn from that data. For ex-ample, what do the demo-graphics cited in the quote

from the conference program imply for museums? Additionally, museum leaders should consider the Virginia Department of Education’s data, below, representing the changing demographics in Virginia’s schools since the year 2000. These are trends that continue and that directly impact museums’ way of doing business.

What do these numbers mean for your museum’s audience, it’s staffing, it’s donor base? What opportunities do these changes provide for museums and how can your museum stay ahead of the curve in engaging a continuously changing community? Of all the changes happen-ing in America, which ones provide the greatest opportunities for museums? As Conny Graft (an organizer of this VAM session) states in The Future of Museums’ Blog, “We need to examine the assump-tions we make about current and future audiences, and how these assumptions are shaped by the demographics of our staff and volunteers. Do visitors in fact value what we value? Do they want to consume what we want to provide, in the way we prefer to provide it?” (http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com).

Once we have taken a look at the Census data and what it can teach us, we will move with the panelists to a discussion of where to go next, and what business models can help us get there. For ex-ample, in Thriving in the Knowledge Age: New Business Models for Museums and Other Cultural Institutions, authors John H. Falk and Beverly K. Sheppard cite an ex-ample of a museum, The Alabaster Natural

History Museum, that radically changed its way of doing business: “Like so many institutions at the beginning of the twenty-first century...[the museum knew that] continuing to do business the way it always had was just not going to work. Something radically new had to be tried, something that allowed the museum to get out of the downward spiral....the key change they had to make was to change their focus; they needed to move away from their historical approach of trying to serve “the masses” with “one size fits all” experiences to a new approach that em-phasized intensive, long-term, customized, quality relationships with a more limited number of key constituencies.”

Before we can begin to consider change, we need to consider our current way of thinking. Your business model is a sum-mary of how your organization plans to serve the needs of its customers. Every business (read: your museum) must create a business model designed to address and answer four key questions:

1. Why do you exist?2. What assets do you bring to the table?3. How will you forge and maintain part-nerships and collaborations4. How will you support your business?

Finally, museum leaders and professionals planning to attend the Town Hall Meeting should consider the following questions:

• Does my museum have a business model? • How would I define that model? • What works well with my current busi-

The Brave New World of Museums: VAM Town Hall 2012

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VIRGINIA STATEWIDESTUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS

White 728,102 63.7% 678,017 54.1% -50,085 -6.9%African American 310,321 27.1% 301,578 24.1% -8,743 -2.8%Hispanic 55,823 4.9% 142,707 11.4% 86,884 155.6%Asian 46,514 4.1% 73,237 5.8% 26,723 57.5%American Indian 3,083 0.3% 4,252 0.3% 1,169 37.9%Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0% 1,715 0.1% 1,715Other (2 or more races) 0.0% 51,214 4.1% 51,214Total Enrollment 1,143,843 1,252,720 108,877 9.5%

Source: Virginia Dept. of Education

2000-2001 2010-2011 10-year change

The Brave New World of Museums: VAM Town Hall 2012

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ness model? • What does not work well with my cur-rent business model? • Who are my current constituents? • Are those constituents representative of the demographic trends we’re seeing in the 2010 Census?

Resources and Suggested ReadingAmerican Association of Museums’ Future

of Museums Blog: http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/

Leading With Passion: Change Manage-ment in the 21st-Century Museum, Sherene Suchy

Museum Audience Insight (Blog)Audience research, trends, observations from Reach Advisors and friends.Posts relating to demographics and the fu-

ture of museums can be found here: http://reachadvisors.typepad.com/museum_audience_insight/future-of-museums/

Thriving in the Knowledge Age: New Business Models for Museums and Other Cultural Institutions, John H. Falk and Beverly K. Sheppard

About our Town Hall SpeakersJames Chung

James Chung is the President of Reach Advisors, a NY-based strategy and research firm focused on emerging shifts in the consumer landscape. James serves some of the nation’s largest and most innovative organizations involved in sectors such as community development, tourism and resorts, healthy living, museums and culture, and arts and entertainment. Because Reach Advisors limits the number of new clients taken on each year, James is personally involved in overseeing each of the firm’s corporate engagements.

James founded Reach Advisors in 2002, following his experience as a client searching for game-changing insight. Despite tapping into a sizeable budget that bought the services of the top research and strategic forecasting orga-nizations in America, he found their work to be like looking in a rear-view mirror. He simply could not find advisors who could pick apart the key drivers for future shifts, deliver truly strategic work grounded in operational reality, and set a course leading to the intended impact. Reach Advisors was created to fill that need for strategic change,

driven by data rather than guesswork, with the end goal of maximizing tangible impact for the client.

Before launching Reach Advisors, James founded a targeted media and research firm that was eventually acquired by a division of a Fortune 200 company. Prior to that, he served at Leo Burnett, one of the nation’s leading advertising agencies, where he helped one of the world’s largest marketers reshape its marketing analytics and plan for how the next decade in marketing would unfold.

James shares insights regularly as a featured speaker at many of the national and international conferences for the fields that he serves. He is also a writer, analyst and recurring source for media organizations ranging from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, NBC Nightly News, among many others. James is also the co-author of Life Stages of the Museum Visitor, published in 2009 by AAM Press.

He earned his AB and MBA degrees from Harvard, and spends his non-work time delighting in the marvels of childhood.

William J. Hennessey

William Hennessey became the Director of the Chrysler Museum in March of 1997. Before moving to Hampton Roads he was Director of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, a position he held for eight years. Earlier in his career he directed the University of Kentucky Art Museum and the Vassar College Art Gallery. Bill has also taught art history at each of those universities and has held curatorial posts at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.

Hennessey holds a BA in art history from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has studied management at the Columbia University and University of Michigan schools of business and has held a prestigious Ford Foundation Museum Curatorial Fellowship at the Worcester Art Museum.

Over the past thirty-five years he has published numerous exhibition catalogues, essays, articles, and reviews and is a frequent lecturer, speaking most often on issues involving the ways that art, people, and museums interact.

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Annual Conference 2012 will be March 17th - 20th at the Newport News Marriott at City Center - We can’t wait to see you there.

What to Bring to the Conference

• Your laptop , ipad, ipod, tablet, or other internet-enabled device so you can take advantage of our WiFi Café in the Exhibit Hall, sponsored by Capitol Exhibit Services. Check email, visit our new website, or fill out online session surveys.

• Bell-bottoms (you know you have a pair) for our 1976-themed opening reception in the Exhibit Hall, sponsored by Savant. VAM’s very first conference was held in Newport News in 1976, so we’re bringing back that ‘70’s groove for an evening of fun.

• An open mind. Not all sessions will relate to your current job—but if you broaden your choices to include sessions that may be relevant for your career later, you’ll be doing yourself and your employer a favor.

• Sneakers if you’re signed up for the Circuit Walk, sponsored by OnCell Systems. Now, it might seem like a small distinction between sneak-ers and the comfortable shoes you should be wearing for the rest of the conference, but the leaders of this year’s walk have promised to walk your socks off, so be prepared! And if you’re not signed up for this fundrais-er, you can add it to your registration to support our Circuit Rider program. (You can also support the program while staying in bed by registering as a “sleepwalker”).

• Your Twitter account so you can tweet conference happenings to #VAM2012

• 80’s cruise wear for our Monday night theme reception in the Exhibit Hall, sponsored by Rudinec & Ass-sociates. We will be taking a ride on the Love Boat, so watch out for Julie your friendly cruise director. Can you guess who Margo will be?

• Earplugs…in case you think the Love Boat theme song will get stuck in your head and replay over and over and over and…well, you get the idea.

• Open job postings you have at your site, for our job board. As always, our Career Center, sponsored by the Museum Studies program at Lynch-burg College, will be open through-out the conference.

• Your camera, to help VAM record the goings-on of this year’s conference. We don’t have any surviving photos from our first conference in 1976, so we want to make sure that this one is fully documented. Feel free to email fun photos to Heather after the confer-ence at hwidener@vamuseums.org, or post them to our Facebook page.

• Questions and ideas about the future of museums for our Town Hall meeting, The Brave New World of Mu-seums. For details, see our lead article.

• A smartphone with a barcode scanner app to participate in our first ever QR Code Scavenger Hunt. Watch for the first clue at the registration desk. Those who finish the scavenger hunt will be entered to win a prize from next year’s conference hotel!

Photos, from top: James A. Fields House, Marriott City Center, Virginia War Museum, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, The Mariners’ Museum.

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Introducing Nomenclature 3.0

Nomenclature 3.0 for Museum Catalog-ing is a structured and controlled list of 13,700+ object terms organized in a hierarchical classification system. It provides a way to index and catalog collections of human-made artifacts based on their function. A museum standard since 1978, the third edition of Robert G. Chenhall’s lexicon was published in 2010 by AltaMira Press for the American Association for State and Local History.

For over 30 years Nomenclature has of-fered a practical, flexible framework to make recording, retrieving, and sharing collection data easier and more consis-tent. Developed by people responsible for creating and managing collections records, it has been used by over 1,000 museums and is incorporated into the lexicons of many vendor-supported museum collections management systems. Nomenclature serves muse-ums by offering a system to consis-tently name artifacts and facilitate the sharing of information with staff and researchers, other institutions, and the public.

How Does Nomenclature Work?

Nomenclature allows catalogers to assign names to the artifacts in their collection consistently and accurately. Much like plants are grouped and categorized by family, genus, & species, Nomenclature groups items in hierar-chical levels based on artifact function. Thus, artifacts originally created to be used as toys or to carry on the activities of games, sports, gambling, or public entertainment are grouped in one category (Category 9: Recreational Ar-tifacts) while those items originally cre-

ated as expressions of human thought (e.g., art, documents, religious objects) are grouped in another (Category 8: Communication Artifacts).

The lexicon has ten categories covering all aspects of human-made artifacts: Built Environment Artifacts, Furnishings, Personal Artifacts, Tools & Equipment (T&E) for Materials, T&E for Science &Technology, T&E for Communication, Distribution & Transportation Artifacts, Communication Artifacts, Recreational Artifacts, and Unclassifiable Artifacts.

These categories are divided into classifications and sub-classifications. For instance, Furnishings (Category 2) includes such classifications as Bedding, Floor Coverings, Furniture, and House-hold Accessories. Within Household Accessories are sub-classifications such as Containers for Smoking & Tobacco, Decorative Furnishings, Furniture Cover-ings, and Storage & Display Accessories.

Classifications and sub-classification are further divided into object terms. For instance, Decorative Furnishings includes such things as “Knickknack,” “Doll, Decorative,” “Centerpiece,” and “Armor, Display.”

Those unfamiliar with Nomenclature may find the inverted word order of the terms puzzling (e.g., “Armor, Display”), but there is a practical reason for its usage. By having nouns precede adjectives, it forces like objects to ap-pear together alphabetically. This was especially important when the lexicon was first developed in the mid 1970s, when manual (rather than computer-ized) cataloging systems were the norm. Although computers have made this practice less relevant, it still serves a valuable purpose in Nomenclature’s

alphabetical index, making it easy for the cataloger to find terms.

Objects are cataloged first by category, then by classification and sub-classi-fication, and finally by object term, as seen in the examples below:

• Tools & Equipment for Materials |Ag-ricultural T&E| Cultivation Equipment |Mattock

• Personal Artifacts|Clothing|Clothing Accessories|Dickey

• Tools & Equipment for Science & Technology|Mechanical T&E| Mechani-cal Devices|Clamp

• Communication Artifacts|Ceremonial Artifacts|Religious Objects|Altar

How Does Nomenclature 3.0 Differ from Previous Editions?

New & Updated Terms: The latest revi-sion includes 5,000+ new object terms, contributed by over 75 institutions across Canada and the United States. Other authoritative lexicons were con-sulted when developing the list, includ-ing the Getty Vocabulary Program’s Art & Architecture Thesaurus. Not only have past omissions been remedied (e.g., television, ski pole), but many terms have been added or updated to reflect changing technology in the 20 years since the second edition was published (e.g., mouse pad, laptop computer).

In the new edition, a number of terms were moved from one category or classification to another, either to cor-rect errors or to provide for a better fit. In a few cases, entire classifications of terms were moved. For example, terms previously grouped under Plumbing Fixture (Category 2: Furnishings) are now organized in Building Compo-

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by Marie Demeroukas

Marie Demeroukas is the photo archivist and research librarian at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Spring-dale, Arkansas. She has been involved with the third revision of Nomenclature since 2000 and currently serves on the Nomenclature Committee, a group dedicated to promoting and improving the lexicon. Marie has worked on several collections management-related issues over the years, including publications concerning museum disaster preparedness and condition reporting. She is a long-time member of the Southeastern Registrars Association.

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nents (Category 1: Built Environment Artifacts). It just made sense to move essential building elements like toilets, bathtubs, and water heaters out of furnishings (where bedsteads and chairs are grouped) and place them alongside other infrequently replaced building components such as doors and skylights.

Definitions: Definitions for catego-ries, classifications, and sub-classi-fications have been expanded and refined. Rather than being buried in an introductory chapter, they are now placed immediately before their list of associated terms.

Additional Hierarchical Levels: In the second edition there were only three levels of organization. Now, many terms can be further differenti-ated. For instance, where before the term “Cap” was used for several types of similarly structured head gear, now it can be defined by primary, second-ary, and tertiary object terms, as seen in the examples below:

• Cap|Cap, Sport| Cap, Jockey

• Cap|Cap, Sport|Cap, Baseball

• Cap|Cap, Military| Kepi

• Cap|Skullcap|Beanie

Not only have object terms been expanded, but many new sub-classifi-cations based on function have been added. For instance, Furniture has been sub-divided into such groupings as Storage & Display Furniture (book-shelves, cabinets, chests), Support Furniture (tables, stands), and Seating Furniture (benches, chairs, sofas).

Grouping of Similar Terms: Before, terms like “Chair, Potty” and “High-chair” were listed alphabetically in the lexicon, separate from one another. Nomenclature 3.0 has positioned them as tertiary terms grouped under the new secondary term “Chair, Child’s,” which is organized under the primary object term “Chair,” along with garden chairs, armchairs, rocking chairs, etc. Now, when a cataloger searches for an appropriate term, he or she will find all of the chairs grouped together,

making it easier to determine the best term quickly and accurately.

This hierarchical arrangement allows for artifact searches to be as broad or refined as necessary. Working on a sports exhibit? Choose the clas-sification Sports Equipment. Putting together an exhibition on baseball? Choose the primary object term “Gear, Baseball” or look for specific secondary terms such as “Softball” or “Mask, Catcher’s.”

Unique Terms: For this edition, spe-cial effort was made to ensure that every term was unique, thus avoiding the confusion of having the same term listed under multiple classifica-tions. In the second edition “Mortar” was listed under food processing, in chemical and medical manufactur-ing, and under artillery armament. In Nomenclature 3.0 generic terms like “Mortar” have been modified to better reflect their classifications (e.g., “Mortar, Grain,” “Mortar, Pharmaceuti-cal,” “Mortar, Artillery”).

Non-preferred terms continue to be listed in the alphabetical index, along with the preferred term. So instead of using “socket, wall” and “machine, copier,” the cataloger is directed to use “Outlet, Electrical” and “Photocopi-er.” This consistency in naming is one of Nomenclature’s greatest strengths.

How Can a Museum Adapt Nomenclature 3.0 to Suit Their Own Needs?

While museums with specialized collections will appreciate the level of specificity they can achieve when cata-loging, not all institutions will require this level of naming. As Nomenclature points out, museums are encouraged to determine how far they want to go. Catalogers with a collection of carpenter’s planes may decide to use only the primary object term “Plane” or they may differentiate further between “Plane, Leveling” and “Plane, Grooving.”

The lexicon does not include all pos-sible names for all possible museum artifacts. Rather than clutter Nomen-clature 3.0 with multiple terms for

musical instrument cases (e.g., “Case, Clarinet,” “Case, Trumpet,” “Case, Flute”), the generic primary object term “Case, Musical Instrument” is provided. Institutions with an extensive musical instrument collection can modify the lexicon by adding further specialized instrument cases as secondary terms under the generic primary term.

As long as new terms are added with-in the Nomenclature 3.0 framework, the reasons for adding the terms are documented, and the additions are made after careful consideration, the lexicon will function properly. When adding terms, it’s best to refer to the definitions given for the classifica-tions and sub-classifications and to review existing object terms carefully to determine if any of them qualify as a broader term for the term to be added by the institution.

How Can You Find out More About Nomenclature 3.0?

As a way to introduce Nomenclature 3.0 to the museum public, an online community has been established at http://aaslhcommunity.org/nomen-clature/. There visitors can find a tu-torial explaining the changes found in the third edition and keep up with the news on such issues as the lexi-con’s adoption by software vendors, upcoming presentations, etc. Users can also query experts about the proper name for an object, propose new terms, and find recent updates to the lexicon. Several of the people involved in the online community participated in the recent revision.

Although many improvements have been made to meet the needs of its users and to reflect changing museum standards, Nomenclature will always be a work in progress. It is hoped that this new edition helps museums improve their data man-agement and provides a firm founda-tion upon which future editions will be based.

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Gold Level Capitol Exhibit Services, Inc.Cinebar Productions, Inc.The Donning Co. PublishersGlavé & Holmes ArchitectureStumpf & Associates, Inc.

Silver Level Design 3 / MuseumRails Lynchburg College Museum Studies ProgramRudinec & Assoc. – Request A PrintSavant, Ltd.St. George’s Brewery

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Thank You Conference 2012 Sponsors!

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eThe Army Museum Systemby Francoise B. Bonnell

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Many people are not familiar with the Army Museum System, an important component of the Army historical program overseen by the U.S. Army Center of Mili-tary History (CMH) at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. The Army Mu-seums are responsible for collect-ing and preserving artifacts and archival documents for techno-logical research, training military Soldiers and providing outreach to the public. There are over 55 museums in the Active Army, and several more in the United States Army Reserve and Army National Guard. They are located around the world and are visited by hundreds of thousands of visi-tors every year. They range in size: some with small collections of a few hundred items, to others with larger collections up to 45,000 ar-tifacts. Most of the museums have either an archive or a document storage facility. Some museums have exhibit specialists with fabri-cation capabilities and others are able to do their own conservation and preservation of objects.

The Army museum collections are varied and many have items that were gathered by Soldiers during wartime. These trophies, relics and souvenirs compiled over numerous years and military campaigns eventually became museums. The earliest example is the West Point Museum in New York, the home of the United States Military Academy, which was established in 1854. The museum’s very large and somewhat eclectic collection is an important part of

the institution’s curriculum.

All Army museums are charged with the preservation of their objects in order to provide heritage training for Soldiers. Two of these museums in Virginia, the Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis and the Quartermaster Museum at Fort Lee, host thousands of visits from Soldiers. Conducting training in their professional specialties at their respective schools, Transportation and Quartermaster Soldiers visit their respective branch museums to learn of their rich heritage. The Army Women’s Museum, also at Fort Lee, hosts thou-sands as well, and provides educational resources for Soldiers in all branches of the Army.

Artifacts, specifically equipment and other types of objects, are sometimes used for research purposes. For example, one of the Vietnam era gun-trucks in the Transportation Museum proved valuable in 2004 as the Army looked for ways to better protect its vehicles in Operation Iraqi Freedom from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Over the years, enemies’ equipment has been collected by the U.S. Army for the purpose of research and technology. Captured pieces are used to improve American equipment to better protect Soldiers. Many World War II objects, for instance, ended up in the U.S. Army Ord-nance Museum collection, as did this German Krupp K5 rail mounted gun—nicknamed Anzio Annie. The Germans called the guns Robert and Leopold, and after they were discovered in 1944 in a town outside Rome, they were shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground in

Maryland where they were tested.

Often times one Army museum can assist another by transferring excess equipment. The Ordnance Museum re-cently provided the U.S. Army Women’s

Museum with a 40mm Bofors Gun. This Bofors gun, a 40mm artillery piece, helps recount the story of the women who served in a highly top-secret experiment that put women in the anti-aircraft batteries tasked to defend the nation’s capitol in World War II. This outdoor exhibit was created to draw attention to the museum and highlight the unexpected stories visitors will find inside.

The Army Museums work diligently to ensure continued collection of artifacts from more recent conflicts. The director for the 1st Cavalry Division Museum at Fort Hood, TX went overseas to Iraq in 2004 to collect artifacts that were asso-ciated with the Division’s mission during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Many times objects are catalogued and stories are collected and then interpreted in the

museum as the exhibit pictured on the opposite page represents.

Source: U.S. Army Ordnance Museum

Source: U.S. Army Women’s Museum

The Army Museum Systemby Francoise B. Bonnell

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Direct donations from Soldiers them-selves or their family members often comprise Army museums’ most interest-ing artifacts. In 2011, Specialist Aleshia Johnson-Williams donated to the Army Women’s Museum her uniform and equipment worn the year before while providing earthquake relief in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Specialist Johnson-Williams supervised the tracking of over 2,000 containers that carried critical aid for the U.S. Agency for International Develop-ment and the World Food Program.

Accompanying these artifacts were extensive archival materials pertaining to the mission and her unit’s operations.

Army museums can receive items for a variety of reasons. The Quartermaster Museum received the Medal of Honor that was presented posthumously to George Watson in 1997. Given in recog-nition of his valor and courageousness in rescuing men from the ship he was sailing on in the Pacific Theater in March 1943, Watson had no known next of kin to whom the Medal could be presented. Due to the rarity of Medals of Honor, this

piece is a prized part of the Quartermas-ter Museum.

All of the museums in the Army Mu-seum System are unique and have vary-ing collections that reflect the diversity of their story lines. Their missions are the same, and their purposes clear; to con-serve and preserve the Army’s material culture. How they collect artifacts and archival documents is as varied as their story lines.

For more information on the Army Museum System and its facilities visit the Center of Military History website at: www.history.army.mil. Another excel-lent reference is The Guide to U.S. Army Museums, CMH Pub 70-51, by R. Cody Phillips, published by Center of Military History, 2005.

Source: 1st Cavalry Division Museum

Source: U.S. Army Women’s Museum

Source: U.S. Army Quartermaster’s Museum

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VAM NewsVAM will be electing new council members during our business meeting at the 2012 Annual Conference. The following council positions will be filled from our nominees:PresidentVice-President: PlanningVice-President: ProgramsTreasurerDirector, Historic Houses

Coming later this month: Disaster Planning Lockup in Washington, D.C. - Monday, March 26th.

Coming in April:ERT Workshop April 12th in Lynchburg.

Wearing Many Hats and Keeping Your Head - Mini Conference April 18th in Norfolk.

Disaster Planning Lockup in Danville - April 23rd.

Hails and FarewellsThe Textile Museum announced that W. Richard West, Jr. has been appointed interim director, effective February 27. West was previously the founding director and is director emeritus of the Smithsonian Insti-tution’s National Museum of the American Indian. “The Textile Museum is delighted to have someone of Rick West’s stature as-sociated with the museum at this signifi-cant moment in our history,” says Bruce P. Baganz, President of The Textile Museum Board of Trustees. “Rick’s enthusiasm for joining The Textile Museum is a tribute to the strength of our present position and our promising future as the museum affiliates with the George Washington University.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) today announced the hiring of Joe Urschel to be Executive Director of their National Law Enforcement Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2014 in Washington, D.C.’s historic Judiciary Square. Mr. Urschel, the former longtime Executive Director of the Newseum, of-ficially assumed the office on March 5 and will oversee the development, construction, opening and operation of the Museum. Mr. Urschel was selected after a five-month na-tional search to become the first Executive Director of the National Law Enforcement Museum.

The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) announced that Alison Byrne is the new director of exhibitions and education. Byrne, previously the curator of education at MOCA, has been with the museum since 2002.

The Cold War Museum announced that Jason Y. Hall, Ph.D., C.A.E., has agreed to serve as Executive Director. Dr. Hall brings a rich background in museum and nonprofit leadership and administration. As owner and principal of Public Trust Strategies of McLean, VA, Hall advises nonprofit execu-tives and boards on organizational develop-ment, branding, strategic planning and more. In addition, Dr. Hall is a part-time pro-fessor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, teaching Masters courses in public administration, lobbying, the media, ethics, and association management. Previously, Dr. Hall was Director of Government and Media Relations for the American Association of Museums in Washington, DC, held vari-ous positions at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and served as a senior legislative aide to Senator John Heinz. “Dr. Hall’s academic and professional credentials make him the perfect candidate to serve as The Cold War Museum’s executive director. The Board of Directors is eager to work with Dr. Hall to build on the museum’s existing strong foundation and produce a first-class educational institution,” said Chairman and Co-Founder of The Cold War Museum, John Welch. The Cold War Museum is in the process of opening a small facility at Vint Hill, VA, which currently keeps weekend hours only (Sat and Sun Noon to 4) or by appointment.

The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library announced the hiring of Mr. Jarod Kearney as curator, following a national search that yielded more than 100 appli-cants. Jarod was curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum from 2007 to 2011. He also has held curato-rial and administrative posts with the Rye Historical Society and Hallockville Museum Farm and Folklife Center, both in New York, and the Greensboro Historical Museum in North Carolina.

Preservation Virginia recently appointed Todd Ballance as Bacon’s Castle new Site Co-

ordinator. Todd is a resident of Isle of Wight County and brings to Bacon’s Castle over 27 years of cumulative historic preservation experience. He has worked and volun-teered with a diverse range of museums and historic sites including Preservation Virginia’s Lynnhaven House and Smith’s Fort Plantation, the National Park Service at Petersburg National Battlefield, Harper’s Ferry, and Gettysburg, Fort Ticonderoga, Co-lonial Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia War Museum, Endview Plantation, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, Bel Air Mansion, and Henricus Historical Park.

Sherri Dillow became the general manager of the Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum recently. The Bland County resident previous-ly worked for Bland County Social Services for four years before coming aboard the Indian Village team. “I’m always excited about a challenge,” Dillow said. “I believe in this county and I feel we have something special to offer. I see huge potential for the Indian Village and am excited to be a part of it.”

The Virginia War Memorial Educational Foundation welcomes two new Directors to its board:Chief Kenneth Adams - King William County; Chief of the Upper Mattopani Tribe of VirginiaMr. G. William Beale - Richmond; CEO of Union First Market Bank; Alumnus of the Citadel

The Virginia Historical Society welcomes a new staff member: Jessica DeRuosi, Assistant Retail Officer. Jessica previously worked at the Valentine Richmond History Center and the Museum of the Confederacy. She gradu-ated from William and Mary with a B.A. in anthropology and a minor in history. Jessica focused her studies on early Virginia history, and she is especially fond of architectural history. This comes in handy when she is re-storing her nearly 100-year old house in the Museum District. Jessica is eager to help our visitors as new Assistant Retail Officer.

Mark Howell recently joined the staff at the Library of Virginia as the Program and Education Coordinator. He is responsible for developing and implementing the Library’s educational and outreach initiatives as well as public programs and special events.

Museum News in Your

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Earl Alvin Gerhardt Jr., 81, of Johnson City TN, died at his home on Sunday, February 5, 2012, after a long battle with prostate cancer. While living in Lynchburg, Mr. Gerhardt served as volunteer director of the Lynchburg Historical Museum, then in the base-ment of the court- house building but now encompassing the entire court-house. He was president of the Lynch-burg Historical Society in 1970-71 and a founding member of the Virginia History Federation, now the Virginia Association of Museums, serving as its president in 1972-73.

Amanda Outcalt has left the Portsmouth Museums for a new position as Administrative Coordinator at the Virginia Museum of Con-temporary Art in Virginia Beach. Best of luck to Amanda in her new position!

The Board of Directors of Oatlands Historic House and Gardens announced the election of Michael J. O’Connor of Leesburg, VA as its new Chairman.

The Montpelier Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Michael C. Quinn an-nounced his resignation to become president and chief executive officer of the American Revolution Center in Philadelphia. “Mike has made a transformative contribution to Mont-pelier during his 12 years at the Foundation, and he will be missed,” said Gregory May, chair-

man of the board of directors. “The Montpelier Foundation and its board are greatly in Mike’s debt for his vision, leadership, and energy that have driven the success of James Madison’s Montpelier during his tenure as president.”

The Henricus Foundation with Chesterfield and Henrico Counties are pleased to announce that Charles Lewis Grant has been named Executive Director of Henricus Historical Park, after a nationwide search. Grant served as acting executive director since July 2010 and throughout the site’s 400th commemoration. He previously served as operations manager of the living history museum for two years. “It is an honor to represent the second success-ful English settlement in North America and educate visitors about the significance of the Citie of Henricus,” said Grant. “I’m proud of the diverse talent, rich history and beautiful natural surroundings at Henricus Historical Park and the Dutch Gap Conservation Area.” During his tenure, Grant directed and managed the plan-ning, operation and coordination of programs, staff and facilities.

Kelly Dierberger has left her position as public relations manager for the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Kelly’s last day at the Garden was Feb-ruary 17th. We wish her all the best!

The Board of Directors of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond has named Ava Spece the non-profit’s new President and CEO. Anne Grier, Chair of the Board, said, “We are extremely fortunate to find a person of Ava’s remarkable experience, vision and energy to lead the Visual Arts Center as we approach our 50th anniver-sary.” Ms. Spece relocated from Elkridge, Md., where she held the position of Executive Direc-tor of the (Washington) D.C. Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP) for seven years. Welcome, Ava!

Oatlands Historic House and Gardens recently parted with Curator and Director of Education Kirsten Edwards. Kirsten, who joined the staff at Oatlands in 2008, made remarkable strides in cataloguing and properly archiving Oatlands’ collection. Thanks to her hard work, Oatlands now has a database containing informa-tion about most collections items. She also expanded our Girl and Boy Scout programs, continued and enhanced our school programs, and offered new and innovative programming, such as the popular paranormal tours. We wish her all the best!

Oatlands Historic House and Gardens wel-comes Lori H. Kimball to the staff as Director of Programming and Education. Ms. Kimball said, “Oatlands has been at the forefront of historic preservation and education in Loudoun for five decades. I will be proud to develop a variety of programs that increase Oatlands’ outreach in the local community and across the region and the nation.”

During the first week of January, Dr. Robert Krause joined the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division team as the Divi-sion’s new Preservationist. A native of Rochelle, Virginia, Rob comes to Prince William County having served as Historic Site Administrator with the Florida Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee. Dr. Krause earned his Ph.D in United States and southern History from the University of Mississippi in 2010. Krause served as Curator of History at the Ole Miss Museum and Rowan Oak (the William Faulkner Home) while completing his dissertation. From 2006-2008, Krause served as Research Historian for James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Virginia. In addition to expertise in Public History, Dr. Krause brings to the Division over ten years of experience in historic administration in federal, state, and University settings.

Backyard, and Beyond...

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got news?Share it & spread it!

Send museum and professional news to Heather Widener at hwidener@vamuseums.org for inclusion in our monthly Forum e-newsletter and in this MUSENET section of the quarterly newsmagazine.

Dear Members,

In January, we invited you to our second annual Virginia Museum Advocacy Day. We are happy to report that it was a great success! Museum staff and support-ers gathered at the General Assembly building on Jan. 25th. The day’s activities featured an open-house style continental breakfast for legislators where we were able to talk to 27 Delegates and Sena-tors about the importance of museums to the Commonwealth’s education and economic development. An additional 20 other legislative offices were represented by staff - a very successful turnout. Following the breakfast the museum contingent went over to the Capitol to be recognized in the House by Del. David Bulova (D-Fairfax) (watch the video on VAM’s YouTube Channel at http://youtu.be/D8xEaHvCFQQ) and Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-Springfield). Working in teams, we followed up with visits to 16 offices in the afternoon.

VAM then took museum advocacy to the U.S. Capitol, helping to organize and take part in The American Association of Museum’s (AAM) Museums Advocacy Day 2012 on February 27th and 28th. During those days, the Virginia delega-tion of 10 participated in legislative briefings, training sessions and Congres-sional receptions before paying calls on the Virginia Congressional delegation. We visited Senators Warner and Webb together, then split into teams to visit our

representatives from every Virginia con-gressional district!

Remember, every day can be an advo-cacy day. Take ad-vantage of advocacy resources from VAM at www.vamuse-ums.org and AAM’s advocacy resources at www.speakupfor-museums.org. Get to know your legisla-tors. Invite them to your museum. Leave information about your programs and services at their of-fices, and introduce yourself to their staff. If you are not sure where to begin, consider joining in a group advocacy ef-fort such as one spearheaded by VAM or AAM. Remember, although govern-ment budgets are tight, it is important to be “at the table” to make sure that when times get better museums are remembered!

Sincerely,

MargoMargo CarlockExecutive DirectorVirginia Association of Museums

Director’s Corner

12S p r i n g 2 0 1 2

Our Governing CouncilPresident, Joe Gutierrez

VP, Planning & Resources, Sean FearnsVP, Programming, Tracy Gillespie

Secretary, Barbara Batson

Treasurer, Al SchweizerPast President, John Verrill

Ex-Officio Member, Robert C. Vaughan

DirectorsGretchen Bulova Anna HollowayDonald Buma Melanie L. MathewesNorman Burns Robin NicolsonApril Cheek-Messier Cheryl Robinson Diane Dunkley Barbara RothermelLin Ezell Gary SandlingPatrick Farris Charlotte WhittedPage Hayhurst Our StaffExecutive Director, Margo CarlockDeputy Director, Jennifer ThomasCommunications Dir., Heather Widener Accountant, Su Thongpan

Project Manager, VCI, Christina Newton

Our VoiceVAM Voice is a member benefit pub-lished quarterly for museum profes-sionals and volunteers. The editor encourages readers to submit article proposals. Contact the Communica-tions Director for more information.

Our Contac tsPhone: 804. 358.3170 Fax: 804. 358.3174www.vamuseums.org membership@vamuseums.orgmcarlock@vamuseums.orgjthomas@vamuseums.orgtimetravelers@vamuseums.orghwidener@vamuseums.org

Our News D eadlinesSpring: February 1st

Summer: May 1st

Fall: August 1st

Winter: November 1st

Our MissionThe Virginia Association of Museums

is a non-profit, professional member-

ship organization for museums and

individuals associated with museums,

primarily in Virginia and Washington,

DC, serving all museum disciplines.

The Association provides education,

information, resource and support ser-

vices, facilitates communication among

the institutions and individuals of its

membership, fosters inclusiveness and

serves as an advocate to governmental

and other decision-making authorities

on issues relating to museums.

Exhibitors!If our conference

was your “main course” then why not add a

dessert? Special for

exhibitors only: sponsor one

month’s E-news, get one free!

Contact hwidener@vamuseums.org