The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), formerly the American Association of Museums, is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community. AAM 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.
AAM is the only organization representing the entire scope of museums and professionals and nonpaid staff who work for and with museums. AAM currently represents more than 25,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, 4,000 institutions and 150 corporate members. Individual members span the range of occupations in museums, including directors, curators, registrars, educators, exhibit designers, public relations officers, development officers, security managers, trustees and volunteers.
Every type of museum is represented by the more than 4,000 institutional members, including art, history, science, military, maritime, and youth museums, as well as public aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, historic sites, and science and technology centers.
At the 2014 American Alliance of Museums conference, the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced there are now at least 35,000 museums in the US.
An informal meeting was held at the National Museum in Washington, D. C. on December 21, 1905, for the “purpose of discussing the advisability of endeavoring to establish an association of the museums of America.”
1906: Foundation
1911: Directory of North and South American museums published
1923: Headquarters established in Washington, D.C. (offices in the tower of the Smithsonian Castle)
1925: Code of Ethics for Museum Workers adopted
1925: $2,500 grant from the Carnegie Corporation for research on museum fatigue
1927: Laurence Vail Coleman, President (1927–58)
1958: Joseph Allen Patterson, President (1958–67)
1961: Museum directory published (4,600 institutions)
1964: Museums included in the National Arts and Cultural Development Act
1966: National Museum Act passed
1968: Belmont Report recommends developing accreditation program to help support museums, Kyran M. McGrath, President (1968–75)
1969: Accreditation program created on recommendation of a committee chaired by Holman J. Swinney
1969: 1975: Richard McLanathan, President (1975–78)
1971: The Public Museum of Grand Rapids and fifteen additional museums are the first accredited
1976: New constitution adopted
1978: Lawrence L. Reger, President (1978–1986)
1980: Museum Assessment Program (MAP) created on recommendation of a committee chaired by E. Alvin Gearhardt, with MAP supported through a cooperative agreement with IMS, the Institute of Museum Services (later renamed IMLS, the Institute of Museum and Library Services)
1986: Edward H. Able, President (1986–2006)
2006: Year of the Museum – 100th anniversary of AAM
2007: Ford W. Bell, President (2007-2015)
2009: First Comprehensive Strategic Plan “The Spark” adopted
2012: Name changed to "American Alliance of Museums"
2015: Laura L. Lott, President (2015- )
Media&Technology (M&T) is a Professional Network of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), a leading museums organization in the United States. The M&T Network is the AAM link between museums and media technologies. As such, it identifies, examines, and advocates appropriate uses of media technologies in helping museums meet the needs of their diverse publics. Membership is limited to institutions or individuals that are members of AAM. The mission of the M&T is "to identify, access, and advocate a broad variety of program uses for media and technology in helping museum professionals meet the needs of their diverse publics".
"The Spark" is the first comprehensive strategic plan in AAM’s recent history. It articulates a vision for museums, the field and AAM. The mission highlights AAM's commitment to leadership, advocacy, collaboration and service.
"The Spark" contains four goals: excellence, advocacy, sustainability and alignment.
Hermon Carey Bumpus (1906–07), director of the American Museum of Natural History
William M.R. French (1907–08), director of the Art Institute of Chicago
William Jacob Holland (1908–09), director of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Frederic A. Lucas (1909–1910), director of the American Museum of Natural History
Frederick J.V. Skiff (1910–11), director of the Field Museum of Natural History
Edward S. Morse (1911–12), director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Henry L. Ward (1912–13), director of the Milwaukee Public Museum
Benjamin Ives Gilman (1913–14), secretary of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Oliver C. Farrington (1914–16), curator, Field Museum of Natural History
Henry R. Howland (1916–18), director of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences
Newton H. Carpenter (1918–19), executive secretary of the Art Institute of Chicago
Paul M. Rea (1919–21), director of the Charleston Museum
Frederic Allen Whiting (1921–23), director of the Cleveland Museum of Art
Chauncey J. Hamlin (1923–29), president of the Buffalo Society of Natural Science and a founder of ICOM
Fiske Kimball (1929–32), director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Paul J. Sachs (1932–36), associate director of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Herbert E. Winlock (1936–38), director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Clark Wissler (1938–45), curator of the Department of Anthropology, Yale University
David E. Finley (1945–49), director of the National Gallery of Art and chairman of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
George H. Edgell (1949–51), director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Albert E. Parr (1951–53), director of the American Museum of Natural History
William M. Milliken (1953–57), director of the Cleveland Museum of Art
Edward P. Alexander (1957–60), vice president for interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Froelich G. Rainey (1960–63), director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania
Charles Van Ravenswaay (1963–66), director of the Missouri Historical Society
Charles Parkhurst (1966–68), director of the Baltimore Museum of Art
William C. Steere (1968–70), president, the New York Botanical Garden
James M. Brown III (1970–72), director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Charles E. Buckley (1972–74), director of the Saint Louis Art Museum
Joseph M. Chamberlain (1974–75), director and president of Adler Planetarium
Joseph Veach Noble 1975–78, director of the Museum of the City of New York
M. Kenneth Starr (1978–1980), director of Milwaukee Public Museum
Craig C. Black, director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Dan Monroe, director of Portland Art Museum
Robert MacDonald (1985–1988), director of the Museum of the City of New York
W. Richard West (1998–2000), director of the National Museum of the American Indian
Louis Casagrande (2002–2004), director of the Boston Children's Museum
Jeffrey Rudolph (2004–2006), director of the California Science Center
Irene Hirano (2006–2008), director of the Japanese American National Museum
Carl R. Nold (2008–2010), president and chief executive officer of Historic New England
Douglas G. Myers (2010-2012), executive director of San Diego Zoo Global
Meme Omogbai (2012-2014), chief operating officer of the Newark Museum
Kaywin Feldman (2014-2016), director and president of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Charles R. Richards (1923–27), director of Cooper Union
Laurence Vail Coleman (1927–58)
Joseph Allen Patterson (1958–67)
Kyran M. McGrath (1968–75)
Richard McLanathan (1975–78)
Lawrence L. Reger (1978–1986)
Edward H. Able (1986–2006)
Ford Watson Bell (2007-2015)
Laura L. Lott (2015- )
