1. FINDINGS

MARGIN OF ERROR AND STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

When we estimate characteristics of an entire population, based on examining a sample of the population, there is some uncertainty in our estimates. Margins of error and statistical significance help you interpret our estimates in light of this uncertainty. For example, if we estimate there are 15 million red cars in the U.S., with a margin of error of ±2 million, we mean there is a 95% probability that the actual number of red cars is between 13 million and 17 million. If we estimate there are 15 million red cars and 13 million blue cars, and we say the difference is statistically significant, we mean there is less than 5% probability that the estimates would show so many more red cars if the actual numbers of red and blue cars were equal.

1.1 NUMBER OF MUSEUMS

Table shows our estimates for the number of museums in each group, based on the survey data.

                                TABLE :
           NON-PROFIT  NON-FEDERAL MUSEUMS IN THE U.S., 1992

                        Count   Share of
                              all museums
All museums             8,934    100%
Small                   6,660     75%
Emerging                4,674+    52%+
Minority                  441      5%
Rural                   3,842     43%

Because there were few or no respondents in some museum disciplines (for example, no respondents were planetariums) we could not produce reliable estimates of the number of museums in each discipline.

1.2 ATTENDANCE AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Museums report a mean number of general visits by the public (attendance) of 38,543 annually for the period ending January 1992. The only statistically significant difference between all museums and any group is that small museums report a mean annual attendance of 16,073. Table shows the share of museums that report conducting several types of specialized programs.

        TABLE :  DID YOUR MUSEUM CONDUCT THESE ACTIVITIES DURING
                             1990 OR 1991?

                                            Share    Statistically
                                            of all   significant
                                            museums  differences
Scheduled school visits or programs             73%  Small  70%
Scheduled adult visits or programs              66%
Held a special event for general public         70%  Small  66%

1.3 SIZE OF STAFF

Museums report a mean full-time staff of 7 people, and a mean part-time staff of 28 people, including both paid and unpaid staff. The only statistically significant difference between all museums and any group of museums is that small museums report fewer full-time staff, with a mean of 2 people.

1.4 OPERATING BUDGET

Museums report an average operating expenditure of $367,000 as shown on Table.

      TABLE :  MEAN 1991 OPERATING EXPENDITURE REPORTED BY MUSEUMS

All museums         $367,000
Small                 86,000
Emerging             468,000
Minority             342,720
Rural                161,000

Difference between all museums and each group except minority museums is statistically significant.

1.5 LOCATION

Table shows the estimated number of museums in each geographic region.Geographic regions are those used by IMS for statistical purposes, and are defined as follows:

New England         CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
Mid-Atlantic        DC, DE, MD, NY, NJ, PA, PR, VI
Southeastern        AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
Midwest             IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI
Mountain/Plains     CO, KS, MT, NE, NM, ND, SD, OK, TX, WY
Western             AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT, WA, AS, GU

            TABLE :  NUMBER OF MUSEUMS, BY REGION AND GROUP

               New    Mid-    South-  Mid-  Mountain Western Margin
             England Atlantic eastern west  /Plains          of Error

All museums     832   1,554  1,748  1,720   1,748   1,332     ±498
Small           640   1,163  1,221  1,309   1,425     902     ±440
Emerging        422     901  1,126    732     901     591     ±363
Minority          0      77     96     58      96     115     ± 92
Rural           409     613    672    730   1,022     497     ±339

Difference in regional distribution between all museums and each other group is not statistically significant. All figures for Emerging Museums are low-end estimates. See section. Almost half of museums describe their location as a rural area, but only a quarter say they are more than an hour's drive from a major urban area, as shown in Tables and.

      TABLE :  SHARE OF MUSEUMS THAT GIVE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF
                             THEIR LOCATION

                     Share of     Share of
                     all museums  rural museums

Rural area                43%       100%
Suburban area             23%       13%
Urban area                33%        3%
Inner city                13%        1%

Some museums selected more than one description.

        TABLE :  SHARE OF MUSEUMS THAT SAY THEY ARE MORE THAN AN
                           HOUR'S DRIVE FROM:

                           Share of all  Share of
                          museums  rural museums

A major urban area            26%     45%
A college / university        13%     21%
Another museum                11%     19%
A major airport               25%     44%

The difference between all museums and rural museums is statistically significant for each item in the tables above. The other statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are:

Small museums are more likely to describe their location as a rural area (49% versus 43% for all museums), less likely to describe their location as an urban area (28% versus 33%), and less likely to describe their location as an inner city (11% versus 13%).
Emerging museums are less likely to describe their location as a rural area (37% versus 43% for all museums), more likely to describe their location as suburban (28% versus 23%), less likely to say they are more than an hour's drive from a college or university (9% versus 13%), and less likely to say they are more than an hour's drive from another museum (8% versus 11%).
Minority museums are more likely to describe their location as an inner city (30% versus 13% for all museums).

1.6 DAYS OPEN

Museums report that their exhibits or programs were open to the public an average of 241 days in 1991, as shown in Table.

         TABLE :  DAYS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AS REPORTED FOR 1991

                      Mean     Margin
                              of error

All museums           241       ±13
Small                 221       ±16
Emerging              246       ±18
Minority              277       ±47
Rural                 218       ±22

The difference from all museums is statistically significant for small and rural museums, but not for emerging or minority museums.

1.7 SOURCES OF INCOME

Museums report that earned income (such as admissions and sales) was their most important source of operating income, as shown in Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are:

Small museums are less likely to cite earned income as a major source of operating income (56% versus 60% for all museums). [Graphs removed from on-line edition.]
Emerging museums are more likely to cite foundation or corporate donations as a major source of operating income (28% versus 23% for all museums) and more likely to cite city government (23% versus 19%).
Minority museums are less likely to cite interest or investment income as a major source of operating income (5% versus 27% for all museums), more likely to cite the federal government (14% versus 5%), and more likely to cite tribal government (19% versus less than 1%). Rural museums are more likely to cite individual donations as a major source of operating income (60% versus 53% for all museums), less likely to cite foundation or corporate donations (17% versus 23%), and less likely to cite city government (14% versus 19%).

When asked what should be their main sources of financial support, museums' most frequent response is earned income, as shown in Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are:

Small museums are less likely to say that earned income should be a main source of financial support (53% versus 58% for all museums), and more likely to choose individual donations (45% versus 41%).
Emerging museums are more likely to say that foundation and corporate donations should be a major source of financial support (55% versus 45% for all museums), less likely to choose county government (7% versus 11%), and less likely to choose the federal government (7% versus 10%).
Minority museums are less likely to say that individual donations should be a main source of financial support (14% versus 41% for all museums), more likely to choose the federal government (38% versus 10%), and more likely to choose tribal government (14% versus 1%). Rural museums are more likely to say that individual donations should be a main source of financial support (50% versus 41% for all museums).

We see that what museums say should be their major sources of funding are what are currently their major sources. By subtracting the number of museums that say a source should be major from the source that say it is major, we get a measure of the net number of museums that want to increase (or decrease) the importance of each source, which is shown on Graph.

1.8 APPLICATIONS FOR SUPPORT

Two-thirds of museums say they applied to a foundation or corporation for financial support during 1990 or 1991, while fewer than half of museums say they applied to the Federal government. More than a third of museums say they didn't apply to any government, foundation or corporation during the two years. For all sources, most museums that applied report receiving funding at least once during the two years, and this "win rate" was highest for city government funding. Graph shows the results. [Graphs removed from on-line edition.] The most notable difference between groups of museums are that minority museums are much more likely to say they applied to the Federal government than other museums, and much less likely to say they didn't apply to any of the funding sources. Minority museums that applied to county government are less likely to have received funding than other applicants. Note, however, that the survey question only asked whether a museum applied to a source at least once and whether it received funding at least once, so we cannot draw conclusions about the share of applications that were funded. Table compares groups of museums.

            TABLE :  HAS YOUR MUSEUM APPLIED TO ANY OF THESE
               FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT SINCE JANUARY 1990?

                All
              museums    Small    Emerging  Minority   Rural

SHARE OF MUSEUMS THAT APPLIED TO:

City             40%       36%       47%      n.d.      n.d.
County           30%      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.
State            59%       52%       66%      n.d.      n.d.
Federal          44%       35%      n.d.       72%      n.d.
Tribal            2%      n.d.      n.d.       42%        3%
Foundation or
Corporation      66%       58%       77%      n.d.       60%
Applied to none
of the above     38%      n.d.       25%       10%       47%

SHARE OF APPLICANTS THAT RECEIVED FUNDING FROM:

City             93%       89%      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.
County           91%      n.d.      n.d.       67%      n.d.
State            74%      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.
Federal          65%      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.      n.d.
Tribal           67%      n.d.        0%      100%      100%
Foundation or
Corporation      85%       80%      n.d.      n.d.       77%

n.d. means we found no statistically significant difference between the group of museums and all museums. [GRAPHS REMOVED FROM ON-LINE EDITION.]

1.9 SATISFACTION WITH FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

41% of museums say they are somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with Federal assistance. The share of satisfied museums varies very little between groups, as shown in Graph. When museums were asked what would make federal funds easier to get or use, the most popular choices were more information about federal programs, and making the programs easier to apply for, as shown in Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Small museums are more likely to choose "being eligible for federal programs" as one of the three most useful improvements (24% versus 21% for all museums). Emerging museums are more likely to choose "additional federal programs" (17% versus 13% for all museums). Minority museums are less likely to choose "easier to apply for federal funds" (30% versus 52% for all museums), less likely to choose "more information about federal programs" (20% versus 44%), and more likely to choose "fewer restrictions on use of funds" (35% versus 20%). Rural museums are more likely to choose "easier to apply for federal funds" (59% versus 52% for all museums), more likely to choose "more information about federal programs" (51% versus 44%), less likely to choose "more money in federal programs" (28% versus 40%), and more likely to choose "more assistance in applying" (38% versus 30%). [Graphs removed from on-line edition.]

1.10 NEED FOR MORE PEOPLE

Only six percent of museums say they don't need more people to accomplish their activities. The most frequently cited need for more people is to accomplish educational programs, as shown in Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Small museums are less likely to cite education programs as a priority need for more people (65% versus 68% for all museums). Emerging museums are less likely to say they have no need for more people (3% versus 6% for all museums), more likely to cite education programs as a priority need for more people (76% versus 68%), and more likely to cite the "other" category as a priority need (14% versus 10%). Rural museums are more likely to say they have no need for more people (11% versus 6% for all museums), less likely to cite exhibitions as a priority need for more people (39% versus 45%), and less likely to cite education programs (61% versus 68%). [Graphs removed from on-line edition.]

1.11 NEED FOR MORE TRAINING

Only thirteen percent of museums say they don't need more training to accomplish their activities. Their highest priority needs for training are in educational programs and collections care and management, as shown in Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Small museums are more likely to cite collections care and management as a priority need for more training (63% versus 59% for all museums). Emerging museums are more likely to cite the "other" category as a priority need for more training (8% versus 6% for all museums). Rural museums are more likely to cite research about collections as a priority need for more training (37% versus 31% for all museums). [Graphs removed from on-line edition.]

1.12 NEED FOR BETTER EQUIPMENT

Only six percent of museums say they don't need better equipment. Their highest priority need for equipment is in collections care and management, as shown Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Emerging museums are less likely to say they have no need for better equipment (3% versus 6% for all museums), and more likely to cite educational programs as a priority need for better equipment (67% versus 61%). [GRAPHS REMOVED FROM ON-LINE EDITION.]

1.13 NEED FOR MORE MONEY

Only three percent of museums say they don't need more money. Their highest priority needs for money are educational programs, exhibitions, and collections care and management, as shown in Graph. The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Small museums are less likely to cite educational programs as a priority need for more money (63% versus 67% for all museums), less likely to cite exhibitions (60% versus 64%), and less likely to cite research about collections (13% versus 16%). Emerging museums are more likely to cite educational programs as a priority need for more money (73% versus 67% for all museums), and more likely to cite general administration (33% versus 28%). Minority museums are less likely to cite maintenance as a priority need for more money (9% versus 33% for all museums). Rural museums are more likely to cite maintenance as a priority need for more money (39% versus 33% for all museums). [Graphs removed from on-line edition.]

1.14 NEED FOR MORE SPACE

Seventeen percent of museums say they don't need more space. Among the remainder, the greatest need for more space is for collections care and management, as shown in Graph. [GRAPHS REMOVED FROM ON-LINE EDITION.] The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Small museums are less likely to cite educational programs as a priority need for more space (50% versus 55% for all museums). Emerging museums are more likely to cite educational programs as a priority need for more space (60% versus 55% for all museums), and more likely to cite general administration (29% versus 24%). Twenty-seven percent of museums say they don't need to expand their building or move to a new building. Among those who say they need to expand or move, the most often reported need is to be able to raise funds, as shown in Graph. [Graphs removed from on-line edition.] The statistically significant differences between each group of museums and all museums are as follows. Small museums are less likely to choose "more support from local businesses" as a priority (15% versus 19% for all museums). Minority museums are more likely to choose "more support from the federal government" as a priority (43% versus 20% for all museums), and more likely to choose "more support from tribal government" (4% versus less than 1%). Rural museums are less likely to choose "more support from local businesses" as a priority (14% versus 19% for all museums), and less likely to choose the "other" category as a priority (less than 1% versus 1%).

1.15 MINORITY INVOLVEMENT

Table shows how museums characterize their minority involvement.

         TABLE :  SHARE OF MUSEUMS THAT REPORT VARIOUS TYPES OF
                          MINORITY INVOLVEMENT

                                                     All    Minority
                                                   museums  museums

Most of staff and governing body are minorities         5%   100%
Most visitors are minorities                           10%    57%
Main purpose is to serve, or
interpret culture of, minorities                       14%    83%

The difference between all museums and minority museums is statistically significant in all cases. The only other statistically significant difference we found between all museums and any group of museums is that rural museums are more likely to report that most of their visitors are minorities (14% versus 10% for all museums). Most museums that principally serve minorities, in terms of the museum's visitors or its purpose, do not qualify as minority museums for this study, because less than most of their staff and governing body are minorities. The following table shows the figures.

                  TABLE :  ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MUSEUMS
                    BY TYPES OF MINORITY INVOLVEMENT

                                                   Minority  Other
                                                    museums  museums

Most of staff and governing body are minorities         441   17
Most visitors are minorities                            249  670
Main purpose is to serve, or
interpret culture of, minorities                        364  850

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