American Alliance of Museums

6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 3 AMERICAN ALL IANCE OF MUSEUMS we are prioritizing. We kind of hold the standard for the field, we don’t have any authority to stand on a mountain and command what those standards are, but part of our role is to bring the museum field together to agree on what they’re going to hold themselves and each other accountable for in terms of their operations.” With over 1000 accredited museums, the process involves reaccreditation every 10 years, with site visits from peer reviewers, followed by a review from a commission. The alliance also hosts two in-person events each year. The first is Museums Advocacy Day, which brings together about 400 museum advocates. The event offers training on issues, legislation, and a full day of meetings with government representatives. The second major in-person event is the American Alliance of Museums annual meeting, the largest convening of museum professionals worldwide. “It’s about 5000 folks who come, primarily the U.S. but also from other parts of the world, for four days to have conversations and sessions and networking opportunities, to learn and talk about trends in the museum field and then to take skills and contacts back home with them, when they leave,” Lott recounts. The event also includes an Expo of museum products and service providers. “It moves around the country, this next spring, it’ll be in Denver. We’re really excited to shine a light on the tremendous museum community that’s in the Denver region,” she maintains. Partnerships with other museum service organizations, such as those that represent art museums, history museums, or science centers, as well as regional, state, and individual representatives, are another part of AAM’s role in the field. “There are about 46 different museum service organizations that divide up the field. So, while AAM is the one place where everyone comes together and focuses on things that are most important to be done at that consolidated