Oklahoma Museums Association

THE OKLAHOMA MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION (OMA), IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MOUNTAIN PLAINS MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION (MPMA), WILL SUPPORT TRANSFORMATIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR NEWLY EMERGING MUSEUM ADMINISTRATORS IN SMALL AND MID-SIZED MUSEUMS ACROSS THE TEN-STATE REGION BY CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING AN IN-PERSON INSTITUTE AND READILY AVAILABLE OPENLY ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL CONTENT MODULES. THE IN-PERSON TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED TO 30 APPLICANTS SELECTED FROM ACROSS THE TEN-STATE REGION THAT INCLUDES TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, OKLAHOMA, KANSAS, COLORADO, NEBRASKA, WYOMING, SOUTH DAKOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, AND MONTANA. THIS PROJECT WILL FORMALLY ASSESS THE NEED FOR NEW LEADER TRAINING IN THE REGION, PROVIDE INSIGHT FOR DEVELOPING IN-PERSON LEADERSHIP TRAINING, CREATE REUSABLE DIGITAL LEARNING MODULES FOR ON-DEMAND ACCESS FOR BOTH OMA AND MPMA TO DISTRIBUTE, AND FOSTER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING COLLABORATION WITHIN THE REGION.

MUSEUM ACCESSIONING AND REGISTRATION OF COLLECTIONS ONLINE COURSE FOR RURAL AND ISOLATED MUSEUMS (MARC ONLINE) [THE MUSEUM ACCESSIONING AND REGISTRATION OF COLLECTIONS (MARC) COURSE, DEVELOPED BY THE OKLAHOMA MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION (OMA) HISTORICALLY HAS BEEN OFFERED AS AN IN-PERSON TWO-DAY COURSE, BUT DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, OMA PLANS TO CONVERT IT TO AN ONLINE COURSE. OMA BELIEVES THE ONLINE FORMAT WILL MAKE THE INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE, ESPECIALLY TO RURAL AND ISOLATED MUSEUMS, COLLECTING LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA. THIS COURSE TEACHES A SOLID FOUNDATION OF BASIC MUSEUM COLLECTIONS KNOWLEDGE. MARC IS GREAT FOR STAFF WORKING WITH MUSEUM COLLECTIONS, ARTIFACT DONATIONS, EXHIBIT LOANS, AND MUCH MORE. THE MARC COURSE WILL COVER MISSION STATEMENTS, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, ETHICS, COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT POLICIES, COLLECTING PLANS, COLLECTIONS COMMITTEES, AND LEGAL ISSUES RELATING TO MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND DEACCESSIONING AS WELL AS THE PROCESS OF ARTIFACT DONATIONS INCLUDING DOCUMENTATION, THE PHYSICAL APPLICATION OF A NUMBER AND MORE.] [PURPOSE:?THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO SUPPORT FOUR POSITIONS INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF A FREE, ONLINE COURSE FOR MUSEUM PROFESSIONALS?ADDRESSING FUNDAMENTALS OF?MUSEUM COLLECTIONS?MANAGEMENT.  ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE STAFF WOULD BE INVOLVED IN PRODUCING, PROMOTING, AND EVALUATING A CLOSED-CAPTIONED ONLINE VERSION OF A MUSEUM ACCESSIONING AND REGISTRATION OF COLLECTIONS (MARC) COURSE FOR RURAL AND ISOLATED MUSEUMS COMPRISED OF?TEN?60-MINUTE VIDEOS.?  EXPECTED OUTCOMES:?THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES ARE TEN 60-MINUTE VIDEOS TO BE POSTED ON THE OKLAHOMA MUSEUM ASSOCIATION?S YOUTUBE CHANNEL CONTAINING THE ENTIRETY OF THE MARC COURSE.  INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE AUDIENCE WHICH WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS COMPREHENSIVE COURSE BEING AVAILABLE ONLINE WOULD BE RURAL AND ISOLATED MUSEUMS, AS WELL AS COLLECTING LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, OR ANY MUSEUM PROFESSIONAL WHO WANTS TO LEARN AND USE BEST PRACTICES FOR THEIR COLLECTIONS.  SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:?THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.? ]

IMPROVING INTERPRETATION FOR 20 SMALL HUMANITIES-BASED MUSEUMS ALONG HISTORIC ROUTE 66 IN OKLAHOMA [THE OKLAHOMA MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION (OMA) IS PLEASED TO DESCRIBE OUR INITIATIVE THAT WILL SPARK INTERPRETIVE IMPROVEMENTS AMONG EAGER SMALL MUSEUMS ACROSS OKLAHOMA. THE PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES OF OUR PROJECT COMBINE AN ONSITE ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR 20 SMALL HUMANITIES-BASED MUSEUMS ALONG HISTORIC ROUTE 66. IMPORTANTLY, OMA WILL BENCHMARK THE MUSEUMS STANDING OF HUMANITIES INTERPRETATION AND STORYTELLING. OMA'S CONTRACT INTERPRETIVE/MUSEUM SPECIALIST WILL VISIT EACH MUSEUM TO LEARN HOW THEY CAN STRENGTHEN AND BROADEN THEIR INTERPRETIVE NARRATIVES, IMPROVE INTERPRETIVE EXCELLENCE, ENGAGE THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND EXPAND THEIR PUBLIC AUDIENCES. THE REPORT GENERATED FROM THE SITE VISITS WILL STRENGTHEN OMA AS IT DESIGNS AND IMPLEMENTS ITS FUTURE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING, SPECIFICALLY IN RESPONSE TO THE INFORMATION GAINED FROM THE MUSEUMS. THIS PROJECT WILL STRENGTHEN HUMANITIES IN BOTH THE 20 MUSEUMS AND OMA.]