Frequently Asked Questions About Museums
1. How many museums are there in the United States?
2. Is there a directory or list of museums in the United States and around the world?
3. Where can I get a list of different types of museums, such as maritime museums, children’s museums, or culturally-specific museums?
4. How can I learn more about the museums in my state?
5. How many people visit museums in the United States? Which type of museum receives the most visitors?
6. How much do people spend when visiting museums?
7. Can AAM provide the address and phone number for a museum?
8. What are AAM’s standards for …?
9. We want to start a new museum. Can AAM help?
10. Does AAM offer scholarships or grants?
11. How do I pursue a museum career or obtain training in museum studies?
12. I have an item I want to sell or donate to a museum. How do I find an interested museum?
13. I want to get an object appraised. Where should I take it?
1. How many museums are there in the United States?
AAM is aware of only two attempts to count all the museums in the United States. The most recent effort estimates 17,500 museums.
One of the attempts to count museums was a survey conducted for the National Conference of State Museum Associations in 1998. The survey counted 15,848 museums. This number, however, was extremely approximate. Some state museum associations reported the number of museum members of their association; other states provided an estimate of the total number of museums in their state.
The second effort was the database of museums compiled by the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS). The database combined the IMLS database of museums that have participated in IMLS programs, the print version of The Official Museum Directory (2000), and the Museums USA database provided by the State Museums Association. IMLS used a variety of techniques to eliminate duplicates and confirm listings. The database contained 18,410 organizations in 2005. IMLS thinks that approximately 5% of the entries are for non-museum organizations, leaving an estimated total of 17,500 museums.
2. Is there a directory or list of museums in the United States and around the world?
The Official Museum Directory (OMD) is the most comprehensive directory of museums in the United States, with more than 8,300 entries. Published annually, this reference book lists participating museums by state as well as alphabetically. Each museum is asked to submit contact information along with basic facts concerning key personnel, governing authority, collections, facilities, hours, attendance, and admission fees. Some public and university libraries have The Official Museum Directory in their reference sections. The OMD is published by the National Register Publishing Company and may be ordered online.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) website lists print and online directories of museums. The list includes publications that are available for sale as well as those that are part of ICOM’s collection in its Information Center.
3. Where can I get a list of different types of museums, such as maritime museums, children’s museums, or culturally-specific museums?
Several associations have online or print directories of specific types of museums.
Volume 2 of The Official Museum Directory (OMD) provides an index to museums in more than 70 categories, such as toy & doll museums, military museums, folk art museums, and entomology museums. The OMD is the most comprehensive directory of museums in the United States, with more than 8,300 entries. Some public and university libraries have The Official Museum Directory in their reference sections. The OMD is published by the National Register Publishing Company and may be ordered online.
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4. How can I learn more about the museums in my state?
Each of the country's six regions has an association that serves museums in its member states. In addition, each state has an association that assists and promotes its museums.
Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
Midwest
Association of Midwest Museums
Mountain-Plains
Mountain-Plains Museum Association
New England
New England Museum Association
Southeast
Southeastern Museums Conference
West
Western Museums Association
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5. How many people visit museums in the United States? Which type of museum receives the most visitors?
A 1999 study by Lake, Snell & Perry reported that “American museums average approximately 865 million visits per year or 2.3 million visits per day.”
AAM’s 2006 Museum Financial Information survey found that the median annual attendance for different types of museums is as follows:
- Arboretum/Botanic Garden 106,235
- Art Museum 59,822
- Children’s/Youth Museum 78,500
- General Museum 43,500
- Historic House/Site 16,000
- History Museum 10,750
- Natural History/Anthropology 62,803
- Nature Center 52,850
- Science/Technology Museum 244,589
- Specialized Museum 20,000
- Zoo 440,502
The 2006 Museum Financial Information survey is available in the AAM Bookstore.
6. How much do people spend when visiting museums?
AAM’s 2006 Museum Financial Information survey found that the median cost for museum admission is $6, but that more than one-third charge no admission at all. On average, visitors spend an additional $1.55 in museum stores and $.81 for food service. This earned income, however, covers only a fraction of a museum’s cost of serving its visitors.
The median cost of serving a visitor is $23.35. A museum’s earned income generates only about one-third of this amount. Private charitable donations are the largest source of operating income for museums (about 35%). Government funding provides just under 25%, and investment income about 10%.
The 2006 Museum Financial Information survey is available in the AAM Bookstore.
7. Can AAM provide the address and phone number for a museum?
AAM does not generally provide contact information for individual museums. Most museums maintain their own websites which include contact information. Use a search engine such as Google to locate the museum’s website. In addition, Volume 1 of The Official Museum Directory (OMD) provides contact information for participating museums. The OMD is the most comprehensive directory of museums in the United States, with more than 8,300 entries. Some public and university libraries have The Official Museum Directory in their reference sections. The OMD is published by the National Register Publishing Company and may be ordered online.
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8. What are AAM’s standards for …?
There is no single set of museum standards. In some instances, museums rely on the standards that have been imposed upon them from outside the profession, such as accounting standards. AAM established its Accreditation Program in part to ensure that the essential standards by which museums are judged originate from within the profession, asserting the authority of the profession to define its own core principles. The Accreditation Commission has issued Expectations for some areas of museum operations to help further define the characteristics of an accreditable museum.
In addition to AAM a number of organizations have articulated standards and best practices for particular aspects of museum operations or for segments of the museum profession. The Information Center provides members with a Fact Sheet titled “Standards and Best Practices for Museums.” It has a detailed list of standards that are applicable to museums.
A number of titles in the AAM Bookstore address standards for different aspects of museum operations (for example, collections management, environmental conditions, and governance).
9. We want to start a new museum. Can AAM help?
Starting a new museum is a complex undertaking with serious fiduciary and legal obligations. AAM offers several books in its Bookstore that address the multitude of issues related to starting and sustaining a successful museum. These titles are an excellent place to start:
- Starting Right: A Basic Guide to Museum Planning. Published by the American Association for State & Local History, Starting Right provides sound guidance in a handbook designed to explain the basics of museum planning in an evening's reading. In straightforward language it explains what a museum is, discusses pros and cons of establishing a museum, provides an up-to-date resource lists, and offers good basic advice on all aspects of museums from the choice of a building through collections care, registration, exhibitions, conservation, staffing, financial management, and fund raising.
- Collective Vision: Starting & Sustaining a Children's Museum: A Comprehensive Guide for New & Existing Institutions. Collective Vision is an essential tool for anyone starting a new children’s museum. .
- Capturing the Vision: A Companion Volume to Collective Vision: Starting & Sustaining A Children's Museum. This volume offers models in the planning of new institutions or renovation of existing museums. The book is divided into four chapters: history, architecture, exhibits and programs.
- The Legal Obligations of Nonprofit Boards: A Guidebook for Board Members. This book outlines the legal responsibilities and requirements that board members and executive staff must know about when working with every category of the IRS-defined 501(c) grouping. It covers requirements imposed by federal and state laws, specific board member duties, internal board and organization documents, board member liability, suggestions on how to comply with legal requirements, and case studies illustrating legal principles.
- Code of Ethics for Museums. Issued by the American Association of Museums in 2000, this code provides a framework for developing an institution’s own code of ethics and reflects the current, generally understood standards of the museum field. The Code of Ethics is available free on AAM’s website.
- A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections. This AAM-best seller focuses on collection-related problems and legal entanglement issues, reviews relevant cases and court decisions, and gives advice on when a museum should seek legal counsel. The easy-to-use text provides outlines, checklists, and model documents.
- Creating & Implementing Your Strategic Plan: A Workbook for Public & Nonprofit Organizations. This book is a step-by-step guide to strategic planning. It is filled with useful tools, including illustrative examples, detailed questionnaires, and easy-to-understand worksheets.
Consider joining AAM even during the planning stage. Institutional member museums have access to the Information Center’s resources on museum operations, standards and best practices, and a wide variety of sample documents.
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10. Does AAM offer scholarships or grants?
To encourage the ongoing growth and development of museum professionals, AAM offers a number of fellowships that provide support to attend AAM Professional Education Seminars and the AAM Annual Meeting.
AAM’s International Partnerships Among Museums (IPAM) provides the opportunity for a staff member from a U.S. museum to work with a colleague in a non-U.S. museum on a collaborative and mutually beneficial project. The project is completed during a one-month residency at both museums. IPAM pays for airfare and provides a stipend to cover living expenses.
AAM administers the Museum Assessment Program (MAP), which can be funded with a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
11. How do I pursue a museum career or obtain training in museum studies?
Graduate Training in Museum Studies: What Students Need to Know will help future museum professionals assess the various training options in museum studies. It poses a series of questions to help research graduate training programs and plan a museum career. This book is available from the AAM Bookstore.
Museums: A Place to Work--Planning Museum Careers provides descriptions of more than 30 positions and the skills and education recommended for each one. The importance of ethics, training, and preparation are discussed. It also has information on how to find jobs in the field. This book is available from the AAM Bookstore.
The Smithsonian Institution’s Career Center has brief explanations of the duties and skills needed for a variety of museum jobs. The Smithsonian Institution's Center for Education and Museum Studies has a directory of university training programs in museum studies, historic preservation, public history, and nonprofit management.
GradSchools offers a directory of graduate programs in museum studies and historic preservation. The directory includes distance learning programs and programs outside the U.S.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides Career Guides that describe particular industries, working conditions, training, employment outlook, and earnings. Museums are included in 2 categories: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation and Archivists, Curators & Museum Technicians.
Reading the job ads in AAM’s Job HQ will provide an understanding of the education, experience, and skills that museums are requiring for specific jobs.
12. I have an item I want to sell or donate to a museum. How do I find an interested museum?
Begin by conducting some research to identify museums that have missions and collections that are related to the object. Each museum has a unique mission and develops a collection that will help it fulfill that mission and serve the public. Most museums maintain websites that include their missions and a description of the collections. Use a search engine such as Google to generate a list of potential museums.
In addition, Volume 2 of The Official Museum Directory (OMD) provides an index to museums in more than 70 categories, such as toy & doll museums, military museums, folk art museums, and entomology museums. The OMD is the most comprehensive directory of museums in the United States, with more than 8,300 entries. Some public and university libraries have The Official Museum Directory in their reference sections. The OMD is published by the National Register Publishing Company and may be ordered online.
Consider advertising the object in Aviso, AAM’s monthly newsletter. The Marketplace Ads section includes ads for goods, services, and announcements.
Donors and sellers should keep in mind that a museum incurs legal, social, and ethical obligations to provide proper physical storage, management, and care for the collections and associated documentation, as well as proper intellectual control. Collections are held in trust for the public (both present and future generations) and made accessible for their benefit.
Because of these obligations and their financial impact, museums must be selective in what they add to their collections. A museum generally will accept an object only if it is free of all conditions and restrictions imposed by the donor or seller. Once an unrestricted title is transferred to the museum, the donor or seller relinquishes all rights to the object. The donor or seller has no say as to when or how the object is exhibited. Future generations have no claim in asking that the object be returned to the family.
13. I want to get an object appraised. Where should I take it?
AAM does not make recommendations for any type of product or contracted service. The Official Museum Directory has an online searchable database of products and services that can be used to locate suppliers who specialize in the museum field. The directory has a list of individual appraisers as well as a link to the American Society of Appraisers.
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