The Rice Museum has been selected to participate in the Museum Assessment Program (MAP), which is administered by the American Alliance of Museums. Through guided self-study assessment and on-site consultation with a museum professional, participation in MAP will empower the Rice to better serve the citizens of Portland Metro by facilitating its meeting and exceeding the highest professional standards of the museum field.
The museum’s participation is made possible through funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). MAP helps museums strengthen operations, plan for the future, and meet standards through self-study assessment and a consultative site visit from an expert peer reviewer.
“Museum collections are held in trust of the public and made accessible for the public’s benefit. Effective stewardship ensures that the objects the museum owns, borrows, and/or uses are accessible to current and future generations,” said Rice Museum executive director, Aurore Giguet. The Rice has chosen to do a MAP Collection Stewardship Assessment to prioritize long-term collections stewardship issues, provide better access to the collection, and update museum policies that govern the collection. A team of museum staff, Rice Museum board members, community volunteers, and a peer reviewer will work together to assess and improve the museum’s care of the more than 24,000 objects in its collection.
“Choosing to be part of the MAP program is indicative of the commitment to civic involvement, public service and overall excellence on the part of the Rice Museum” said Laura Lott, president of AAM. “Studies have shown America’s museums to be among the country’s most trusted and valued institutions. MAP is designed to make them even better.”
Since its creation in 1981, the MAP program has served over 5,000 museums. MAP is supported through a cooperative agreement between AAM and IMLS. For more information, including a complete list of museums participating in MAP, please visit www.aam-us.org/map, call 202-289-9118 or e-mail map@aam-us.org. Our website also has information about museums across the country who have previously participated in MAP and other AAM Excellence Programs (such as Core Document Verification and Accreditation).