Small Museums: Are they Relevant?

Ocean City, MD

I recently attended the Small Museums Association Conference in Ocean City, Maryland. Yes, small museums. There is an association for everything. (By the way, 75% of museums in America function with under 5 staff members.)

Much of the conference focused on rehashing the basics. Sessions included tips like: don't use Pledge on antique furniture, get rid of things you don't need, and volunteers are really valuable. Insightful.

Redemption came when Carol Kammen, the editor of the AASLH journal gave Tuesday's opening plenary session. She questioned the value and purpose of small museums. She asked, "Do we really need a museum that is all about buttons?" She stressed that museums need to do a better job of being relevant to their current community.

Most small museums were created in the mid to late 70s by enthusiastic boards and highly involved communities as an effort to save a (local) historically signficant site. Over the course of time, prominent board members have passed on, and the face of the town is diverse with new immigrant populations who don't see the little museum down the street as relevant. They ask: "What does 18th century America have to do with me?"

It's up to the museum to answer this for the public. Through their websites, programming, and presence in the community small museums can say, "Hey look, we're relevant!" and awaken a connection between the past and the present. What were immigration issues like in the 18th century? What immigration policies are there now? What does this mean to me, as a resident of this town?

Let it be known, there is a museum for everything. These are a few of the museums represented at the conference that sounded particularly unique:

The National Christmas Center Family Attraction and Museum
Dedicated to preserving and sharing memories of Christmas past and present, near and far.
The Radio and Television Museum
Fosters an understanding of radio-television technology
National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum
A monument to the memory of the men and women who pioneered the discovery, development and processing of our nation's natural resources