November 10, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
African American History & Culture in Museums: Strategic Crossroads and New Opportunities, is the product of a conference of museum professionals on the state of museums that focus on black history, arts, and culture. Produced by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency, the report says that because other types of museums have started integrating African-American history and culture into their work, institutions that focus solely on that subset of history are “at a point of reassessment.” Conference participants recommended that black museums create relationships with specific types of potential visitors, such as the military, to extend their reach; actively recruit students to raise awareness about careers in museum work; and collaborate with “mainstream” museums to expand their programs and membership. The participants also encouraged fund raisers at these museums to take advantage of new fund-raising techniques such as data mining, to cultivate relationships with donors who have the ability to make big gifts, and to consider building endowments.
Publisher: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1800 M Street, N.W., Ninth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036; imlsinfo@imls.gov; http://www.imls.gov; 14 pages; free for download on the publisher’s Web site.
