Silver City Museum (Photo by Mary Alice Murphy)One of Just 6% of Municipal Museums to Earn Accreditation in the U.S.
The Silver City Museum has been reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, according to an AAM press release.
"Recognized as the field’s gold standard for museum excellence for nearly 50 years, AAM accreditation signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, AAM accredited museums have demonstrated they meet highest quality standards and best practices, and are educational entities that are appropriate stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust," said AAM Accreditation Commission Chair Amy Bartow-Melia.
There are an estimated 33,000 museums in the United States, and just 1,083 are currently accredited.
Bart Roselli, Silver City Museum director, said the accreditation is "a recognition among our peers at the national level that we are operating a museum that meets the highest professional standards - we are doing things right and carrying out our mission to the best of our ability."
Accreditation often is a requirement for private foundation funding, and will help generate new resources for the museum. This is the museum's first accreditation in 15 years, when former Museum Director Susan Berry and staff earned the museum's first AAM accreditation.
Roselli congratulated his staff, town management, volunteers and the Silver City Museum Society for their hard work and support throughout the reaccreditation process. "This is a stellar accomplishment on the part of our staff and town leadership," he said. "We received wonderful support from the town manager, town councilors and the mayor to meet the requirements of accreditation. This honor sets us apart from most other museums and brings notice to Silver City that our museum is among the best in the country."
In addition to Roselli who was recently named museum director by Town Manager Alex Brown, staff members of the Silver City Museum are:
• Joseph Bryce, Curator
• Melody Collins, Museum Store Manager
• Amanda Gomez, Administrative Assistant
• Erin Griffith, Interim Educator
• Jo Lutz, Volunteer and Events Coordinator
• Ashley Smith, Collections Manager
The Silver City Museum is located at 312 W. Broadway, and is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4:30 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is $5. For more information, please visit www.silvercitymuseum.org.