Hearings on museum funding

Museums of all kinds, from art to zoos, are encouraged to
participate in an important new study on public funding in the
United States. The survey will provide a detailed look at the size
and scope of public support for museums from federal, state, and
local governments. The 30-minute confidential survey is being
conducted by The Urban Institute, a non-partisan economic and social
policy research organization based in Washington, DC through a
cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS). The survey is part of a larger study which will
examine how public funding impacts museum services in the United
States. To fill out the survey, please go to
<URL:http://www.museumpublicfinance.org> by December 21, 2007, 5 pm
EST.

IMLS, the primary source of federal support for the nation's museums
and libraries, embarked on the study to examine how the country's
museums are being encouraged and supported in significant ways, and
how closely they follow the expectations set forth in the Museum
Services Act. The study will examine the way in which public funds
are used, and whether there are gaps between expectations for the
Institute's authorizing legislation and the capacity for museums to
meet their public service role.

Public Hearings to be Convened:

As part of the same study, IMLS also announced today that it will
hold public hearings in three cities to collect opinions and
perspectives about the impact and effectiveness of museum services
from museum professionals, community leaders, educators, public
officials, and representatives of regional, state, and local
organizations. The hearings will be open to the public and, in
addition to invited testimony, time will be provided for comments
from the public. Details about participation in the hearings will be
released in early February 2008. The hearing schedule, subject to
change, is as follows:

    March 10, 2008
    The Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH

    March 12, 2008
    The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO

    March 14, 2008
    The Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA

About the Study: In addition to the information collected from the
online survey, the study includes an analysis of data by the Urban
Institute about federal funding for museums provided by IMLS and
other federal agencies; federal appropriations legislation that
directs funding to particular museums; and information from the
Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics, which
tracks finances of non-profit organizations. The Urban Institute is
also conducting interviews with museum professionals and museum
funders in selected states to compare the impact of different
funding mechanisms. The public hearings will be the last in the
series of information-gathering efforts that will be part of a
report IMLS will issue in the summer of 2008. This report will
examine the following questions:

    What mechanisms are currently used to deliver public funding to
    museums from the federal government and the state government in
    selected states?

    For what purposes are state and federal public funds allocated
    to museums in those states? How do delivery mechanisms impact
    the quality of services? Are there gaps?

    Are there alternative funding models that could make a
    significant impact in addressing any identified gaps in museum
    services?

The report will describe the extent to which museums are encouraged
and supported in their formal and informal education roles, and will
include perspectives about the expectations of the museum-going
public as well as the experiences of museum professionals and
recommendations.

For questions about the online survey, please e-mail or call one of
the Urban Institute principal investigators:

    Carlos Manjarrez
    202-261-5821
    cmanjarr [at] ui__urban__org

or

    Carole Rosenstein
    716-645-2437 ext: 1468
    crosenst [at] buffalo__edu

For questions about the public hearings, please contact Mamie
Bittner <mbittner [at] imls__gov> or Celeste Colgan
<celestecolgan [at] comcast__net>.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:33
                Distributed: Wednesday, December 5, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-21-33-004
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