Online courses

Six online courses cover topics in exhibits, storage, collections
management policies, disaster preparedness and volunteer programs.
There is still room in the six courses that start on March 9, 2009.
To reserve a spot in any course, please pay at
<URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html>. If you have
trouble, please contact Helen Alten at helen<-at->collectioncare<.>org or
Eric Swanson at eric<-at->museumclasses<.>org .  For more details on each
course, please go to <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

Two Disaster Planning Courses

MS002:
Collection Protection - Are you Prepared? (short course)
<URL:http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms002.html>

Instructor: Terri Schindel
Mar 9-13, 2009
Price: $75
Location: <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

    Disaster planning is overwhelming.  Where do you start? Talk to
    Terri about how to get going. Use her checklist to determine
    your level of preparedness.  What do you already have in place?
    Are you somewhat prepared?  What can you do next? Help clarify
    your current state of readiness and develop future steps to
    improve it. Participants in Collection Protection will read
    literature and participate in two one-hour chats to discuss
    their institutions disaster preparedness. Each student should
    read course materials and prepare questions or comments to share
    with the other students in the chat. This is a mini-course and
    takes no more than 10 hours of a student's time.

MS205/6:
Disaster Plan Research and Writing
<URL:http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms205.html>

Instructor: Terri Schindel
Mar 9 - Apr 17, 2009
Price: $425
Location: <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

    Every museum needs to be prepared for fires, floods, chemical
    spills, tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters. But surveys
    show 80 percent lack trained staff, emergency-preparedness plans
    for their collections, or both. Disaster Plan Research and
    Writing begins with the creation of disaster-preparedness teams,
    the importance of ongoing planning, employee safety, board
    participation and insurance. Participants will learn everything
    they need to draft their own disaster-preparedness plans. They
    also will be required to incorporate colleagues in team-building
    exercises.

    A written disaster-preparedness plan is not only a good idea,
    it's also a requirement for accreditation. In the second half of
    the course, instructor Terri Schindel reviews and provides input
    as participants write plans that outline the procedures to
    follow in various emergencies. The completed plan prepares
    museums physically and mentally to handle emergencies that can
    harm vulnerable and irreplaceable collections. You will have a
    completed institutional disaster-preparedness and response plan
    at the end of the course.

    Course Outline

        Introduction to Disaster Planning
        Disaster Team
        Risk Assessment and Management
        Health and Safety
        Insurance
        Documentation
        Prioritizing Collections
        Writing the Disaster Preparedness Plan
        Emergency Procedures
        Disaster Response
        Emergency Procedures  Recovery
        Emergency Procedures  Salvage
        Emergency Procedures - Salvage Techniques and Guidelines
        Emergency supplies and location of regional resources
        Appendices:  What to put in them
        Next steps: planning drills and further resources
        Conclusion

    Participants in Disaster Plan Research and Writing work at their
    own pace. Instructor Terri Schindel is available at scheduled
    times for email support. Opportunities for interaction include
    forums and scheduled online chats. Each section includes a
    written assignment that becomes support material for drafting an
    actual disaster preparedness plan. Materials include readings,
    lecture notes, links to relevant web sites and handouts. The
    course is limited to 20 participants.

One Exhibit Course

<URL:http://collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms011a.html>
MS011:
Gallery Guides (new)
(short course)

Instructor: Karin Hostetter
Dates: March 9 - 20, 2009
Price: $75
Location:  <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

    Set aside some blocks of time and end up with a strong rough
    draft of a self-guided gallery guide for the exhibit of your
    choice. Learn about the power of themes and universals.  Develop
    techniques for layering information.  Empower readers to do more
    on their own after leaving the exhibit.  Create information that
    really "sticks" with the guest. Karin shares her 30 years
    experience with you as you develop a useful document for your
    exhibit. Participants in Gallery Guides will read literature and
    participate in four one-hour chats to discuss what is in an
    effective guide. Each student should read course materials and
    prepare questions or comments to share with the other students
    in the chat. This is a mini-course that lasts two weeks and
    takes no more than 20 hours of a student's time. This is an
    opportunity to brain-storm with colleagues about what works and
    what doesn't work.

One Volunteer Management Course

MS108:
Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
<URL:http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms108.html>

Mar 9 - Apr 3, 2009
Instructor: Karin Hostetter
Dates: Mar 9 through Apr 3, 2009
Cost: $425
Location: <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

    Volunteers are essential for most non-profit institutions. But
    good volunteers aren't born  they are made. Even though they
    don't get paychecks, it takes time and money to have effective
    volunteers. Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs teaches
    the basics of a strong volunteer program. Topics include
    recruiting, training and rewarding volunteers, as well as
    preparing staff. Instruction continues through firing and
    liabilities. Participants will end up with custom forms tailored
    to their institutions, an understanding of liability issues and
    a nine-step process to troubleshoot an existing volunteer
    program or create the best one for a particular institution.

    Course Outline

        Introduction
        Laying the Foundation: preparing staff, job descriptions
        Determining Program Structure: who's in charge
        Recruiting Volunteers
        Selecting Volunteers
        Training Volunteers
        Evaluating Volunteers
        Saying "Thank You"
        Keeping Records
        Communicating Information: including handling change
        Liability
        Conclusion

    Participants in Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs work
    at their own pace through sections and interact through online
    chats. Instructor Karin Hostetter is available at scheduled
    times during the course for email support. Fundamentals of
    Museum Volunteer Programs includes online literature and
    student-teacher/group-teacher dialog. The course is limited to
    20 participants.

Two Collections Management and Preservation Courses

MS202:
<URL:http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms202.html>
Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture

Instructor: Helen Alten
Dates: Mar 9 - Apr 3, 2009
Cost: $425
Location: <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

    The storage building and its furniture are your first line of
    protection for the most valuable asset in your museum, the
    collection. Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture concentrates
    on building systems and furniture for storing and protecting
    collections. Topics include environmental controls, insulation,
    floor coatings and predicting space requirements. Museum Storage
    also compares commercial and homemade furniture and provides a
    blueprint for planning the redesign of your facility. Storage
    philosophy, construction requirements, safety and security and
    planning. A unit details how commercial museum-quality cabinetry
    is constructed. Blueprints are provided for high-quality,
    homemade cabinets.

    Course Outline

        Storage Philosophy
        Agents of Deterioration and Preservation Planning
        Storage Facilities
        Storage Furniture
        Conclusion

    Participants in Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture work at
    individual paces through five sections. Instructor Helen Alten
    is available at scheduled times during the course for email
    support. Resources include forums and scheduled online chats,
    PowerPoint lectures, reading materials and lecture notes and
    links to relevant web sites.

MS209:
Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
<URL:http://museumclasses.org/training/trol_classes_ms209.html>

Instructor: William (Bill) Tompkins
Mar 9 - May 22, 2009
Price: $425
Location:  <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

    Acquiring and holding collections impose specific legal, ethical
    and professional obligations. Museums must ensure proper
    management, preservation and use of their collections. A
    well-crafted collections management policy is key to collections
    stewardship. Collections Management Policies for Museums and
    Related Institutions helps participants develop policies that
    meet professional and legal standards for collections
    management.

    Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related
    Institutions teaches the practical skills and knowledge needed
    to write and implement such a policy. The course covers the
    essential components and issues a policy should address. It also
    highlights the role of the policy in carrying out a museum's
    mission and guiding stewardship decisions. Participants are
    expected to draft collections management policies.

    Course Textbook: John E. Simmons, Things Great and Small:
    Collections Management Policies, American Association of
    Museums, 2006, $40 non-member, $30 member, 208 pages, ISBN:
    1-933253-03-7, available from the AAM bookstore

    Course Outline

        The Principles of Collections Management
        Collections Stewardship: The Role of a Collections
        Management Policy
        Policy Versus Procedure
        Issues to Consider When Developing a Collections Management
        Policy
        Essential Components of a Collections Management Policy
        Monitoring and Revision
        Potential Problems
        Emerging Issues
        Drafting a Collections Management Policy

    Participants in Collections Management Policies work through
    sections at their own pace. Instructor Bill Tompkins is
    available for scheduled email support. Materials and resources
    include online literature, textbook readings, slide lectures and
    dialog between students and online chats led by the instructor.
    The course is limited to 20 participants.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:50
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-50-012
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