How You Can Help Us

 
 

We need your expertise.  Preparing a body of knowledge for an entire community is a team process. No one person can do it all. We all have areas of specialization or expertise and so do you based on your experience. You may, in fact, be the only one with sufficient qualifications in your area of specialty to submit materials to us.


If you want to submit an article, please contact us. See the contact page.

Contribute An Article. Get Published.

Please consider writing a White Paper or contributing in other ways.  Earlier in my career I made a decision to “get published”. Professionals in the museum community who have academic credentials--and being a published author is one of these credentials--have higher standing among their peers. It was the best decision I ever made. Today, I have published over 40 articles in many publications and these are an impressive addition to my resume. Please give it a try. We need your expertise. And as a career enhancement tool, having your contribution on your resume certainly won’t hurt.


First, assess your talents. What can you share with us? Second, query us. Contact the Webmaster with your ideas. If this is your first article and you want support from us you won’t be writing it alone. The webmaster will help you by being your editor if you want.  Your article can be of any length. It must address an issue in museum security and offer solutions, not just state a problem.


I’ve included a list below of articles bulleted lists and White Papers we currently need. Consider writing one of these.  But if you don’t see something on this list that interests you, suggest something else. Build your resume. Establish your expertise. Impress your boss. Help your colleagues.


•Assessing Risks:  Conducting a Risk Assessment Survey in a Small Museum (article or checklist)

•Emergency Procedures: What Emergency Procedures Do Museums Need? (bulleted list)

•What Essential Museum Documents Need Copies Stored Off Site for Disaster Preparedness? (list)

•Security for Collections on Display (article)

•Security for Collections in Storage (article)

•Security for Collections in Transit and on Loan (article. How about a Registrar volunteer!)

•Key Control and Retrieval (article)

•What is in an Emergency Operations Plan? (article)

•How to Conduct a Fire Drill (article on planning and implementing a drill)

•How to Set Up and Administer an Emergency Response Team Plan (article)

•How to Liaison with Local Emergency Responders (article)

•A Code of Ethics for Museums (A concise list)

  1. •   Job Descriptions: (of the museum professional in charge of security, first line supervisor and other key security managers)

  2. •   Job Description wording to be added to the job description of a non-security museum professional such as a registrar who is in charge of security in a small to mid-sized museum.

  3. •   Prepare a generic security training booklet for museum volunteers and docents.

  4. •   Prepare a Security Orientation Brochure for New Museum Employees

•A Small Museum Alarm System Audit Checklist

•Security Department Forms Retention Schedule (List of all security department forms and how long they should be retained).

  1. •   Securing the Small House Museum (comprehensive article)

  2. •   List of Disaster Supplies A Small to Mid-Sized Museum Needs to Have On Hand

  3. •   How to Resolve the Many Unique Problems of College Art Museums


If you have other topics, we’ll consider them. And we will be adding to this list in the future. Help!


“This is the type of guidance this committee needs to proactively develop in conjunction with our outside resources”.

Join The Team


You do not need to be an AAM member to contribute an article or PowerPoint but you do need to be a member of both AAM and this committee to serve on other capacities. We are currently in need of someone with security training experience to be in charge of the planned traveling training program for small museums. You do not need to travel yourself You would set up the programs, arrange the volunteer instructor, etc.


We also need a Membership Coordinator to help contact people who used to be members but no longer are, tell them of our new programs, and recruit them to join AAM and the committee. This work involves a couple of phone calls each week.


I also need an experienced editor or at least someone who can help proof and critique the submissions we receive for articles and training materials and help the authors put them in a final format. This is a great job for one of our “non-security” members, i.e., curator, registrar, etc.


Call the Committee Chair if you want to help!