GHM Recognized for Excellence
Geneva History Museum has passed the American Alliance of Museums’ Core Documents Verification, an important milestone in its ongoing efforts to demonstrate excellence, meet standards and best practices, and ultimately achieve national accreditation.
Earning Core Documents Verificationmeans the national professional organization for the museum industry has verified, through a thorough expert review, that the museum has an educational mission; and ethics, planning, emergency, and collections stewardship policies in place that reflect standard practices of professional museums. These elements were evaluated because they are deemed essential for every institution that identifies itself as a professional member of the museum field.
“One reason we submitted our core documents to AAM was to demonstrate to the community that the museum follows the policies and plans that are essential to good museum management,” said Terry Emma, Geneva History Museum Executive Director. “These core documents provide our staff and governing authority the structure, ethical grounding, and accountability needed to make informed and consistent decisions in support of our mission and sustainability.”
A few more steps are required to achieve national accreditation including an application to complete a self-study, a peer review visit and a final decision from the AAM team. It is estimated that these last steps take about 18 months to complete. Out of all the history museums in America, only 22% are nationally accredited and currently there are none in Kane County, Illinois. Only 8% of museums with similar annual operating budgets have achieved national accreditation.
The Geneva History Museum is an independent non-profit organization started in 1943 with a mission to preserve and share Geneva’s evolving story while inspiring and engaging the community. Their vision is to be an accredited, sustainable museum, connecting globally as the premier source of Geneva’s history.
The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional, and 300 corporate members, the Alliance is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.