Finding Aid
Submit Reference RequestPrintDownload PDF

Reference Request

* required
Please succinctly provide us with any information pertinent to your inquiry. If you are writing to us about a research request, provide as much detail as possible about the collections in which you are interested (including collection numbers, box numbers, and folder titles).
(if known)

The Smithsonian Institution Archives is using Constant Contact, a third-party contact management software vendor, to manage contacts and send eNewsletters. Please be advised that Constant Contact's Privacy Statement and Terms and Conditions apply to your use of these services. The Smithsonian Institution Archives has access to your name and email address which is subject to our privacy statement.

Finding Aids to Records of Professional Societies in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7450

American Association of Museums

Records, 1906-1985

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:American Association of Museums
Title:Records
Dates:1906-1985
Quantity:43 cu. ft. (43 record storage boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 7450
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These records comprise the working files of the American Association of Museums. They include correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, proceedings, copies of Museum News, 1931-1962, copies of Museum Work, 1919-1925, and a large number of other publications and guides relating to museums in the United States and around the world. There are also records relating to the AAM Commission on Museums for a New Century, which sponsored a number of colloquia and educational projects for museum professionals in the early 1980s.

Historical Note

The American Association of Museums (AAM) was established in 1905. Its mission as described in its constitution is to promote the welfare of museums, to increase and diffuse knowledge of all matters relating to museums, and to encourage helpful relations among museums and those interested in them. The association is governed by a board of trustees, a president, an executive committee, and a council. The committees of the association include public relations, nonprint media, curators, education, small museum, security, opportunities for minorities, credentials, and one concerned with the handicapped.

Top of Page

Descriptive Entry

These records comprise the working files of the American Association of Museums. They include correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, proceedings, copies of Museum News, 1931-1962; copies of Museum Work, 1919-1925; and many other publications and guides relating to museums in the United States and around the world. There are also records relating to the AAM Commission on Museums for a New Century, which sponsored a number of colloquiums and educational projects for museum professionals in the early 1980s.

Top of Page

This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

Top of Page

Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7450, American Association of Museums, Records

Top of Page

Container List

Box 1

General Correspondence, arranged alphabetically by subject, 1960-1968

Accessioning and Cataloguing, 1960 - Associated Council of the Arts. Includes an American Historical Association pamphlet, 1906.

Box 1 of 43

Box 2

Association of American Dance Companies - College and University Museums

Box 2 of 43

Box 3

Columbia (Howard County Development) - Education in Museums (Smithsonian Conference, August 1966)

Box 3 of 43

Box 4

Education (Sketch proposals for Studies in Museum education) - HEW (Office of Vocational Rehabilitation - Blind Services)

Box 4 of 43

Box 5

Herbariums - Museums (General)

Box 5 of 43

Box 6

Museums in United States Trust Territories - Outdoor Museums

Box 6 of 43

Box 7

Packaging Works of Art - School (Related Programs)

Box 7 of 43

Box 8

Science Museums - Wax Museums

Box 8 of 43

Box 9

Youth Corps in Museums - Zoos

Box 9 of 43

Unfiled material follows.

Box 9 of 43

General Correspondence, A-Z, 1906, 1950-1968

Accreditation (British Museum Association) - AAM Publication. Includes the agenda and minutes of the Executive Committee, 1956, 1960-1968; minutes of the first AAM meeting, May 15-16, 1906, with list of AAM presidents.

Box 9 of 43

Box 10

AAM Regional Conferences - Final Report on a Museums Documentation Center to AAM, July 1960. Includes 1965 trustees meeting; proceedings of Belmont Conference, 1967; exhibition catalogue of AAM exhibition at the Industrial Exposition of Modern Decoration and Industrial Art, Paris, 1925.

Box 10 of 43

Box 11

Kyran McGrath, records: Memoranda of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1967-1968

Box 11 of 43

Box 12

Kyran McGrath, records: Includes photographs, information on the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, and the Children's Museum.

Box 12 of 43

AAM Survey Files - National Science Foundation (science museums)

Box 12 of 43

Box 13

National Science Foundation; Guidelines for the Improvement in Wealth - Data and estimates, 1965; White House Conference on the Arts, 1965

Box 13 of 43

Box 14

Proceedings and Session Reports of AAM: Vol. 1, 1907; Vol. 4, 1910; Vol. 6, 1912; Vol. 8, 1914

Box 14 of 43

Box 15

Museum Work, AAM: May 1919; December 1919; January 1920; January 1921; February 1921; March 1921; July-August 1921; September-October 1921; November-December 1921; January-February 1922; May-June 1922; January-February 1925; September-October 1925

Box 15 of 43

Miscellaneous AAM Publications; Who's Who. . . AAM, 1933; List of Officers and Members of AAM, 1928; Obituary of William Powell Wilson

Box 15 of 43

Minutes of AAM Meetings: 1921-1922; 1924-1934

Box 15 of 43

Minutes of AAM Council, Executive Committee, and Monthly Reports and Budget, 1924-1930

Box 15 of 43

Minutes of AAM Council and Financial Reports, 1930-1954 (includes sporadic Executive Committee minutes)

Box 15 of 43

Council Minutes, 1938-1948

Box 15 of 43

Proceedings of the 1924 Annual Meeting

Box 15 of 43

Treasurer's Reports, 1939-1948

Box 15 of 43

Box 16

UNESCO, 1950s - 1960s

Box 16 of 43

ICOM, 1950s - 1960s

Box 16 of 43

Smithsonian materials

Box 16 of 43

Box 17

The Museum News: 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938, 1941-1942, 1945-1946, 1948-1949, 1951

Box 17 of 43

Box 18

The Museum News: Vol. 17 (1939) - Vol. 25 (1947); Vol. 28 (1950)

Box 18 of 43

Box 19

The Museum News: Vol. 29 (1951) - Vol. 36 (1958)

Box 19 of 43

Museum News Letter: Vol. 1 (1917-1918)

Box 19 of 43

The Museum News: Vol. 1 (1924) - Vol. 8 (1931)

Box 19 of 43

Box 20

The Museum News: Vol. 9 (1931) - Vol. 15 (1938)

Box 20 of 43

Museums for a New Century, circa 1982-1985

Box 20 of 43

Box 21

Museums for a New Century. Includes briefing materials.

Box 21 of 43

Box 22

Museums for a New Century

Box 22 of 43

Box 23

Museums for a New Century

Box 23 of 43

Box 24

Museums for a New Century (audio and video tapes)

Box 24 of 43

Box 25

Museums for a New Century

Box 25 of 43

Box 26

Museums for a New Century

Box 26 of 43

Box 27

Museums for a New Century

Box 27 of 43

Box 28

Museums for a New Century

Box 28 of 43

Box 29

Museums for a New Century

Box 29 of 43

Box 30

Museums for a New Century

Box 30 of 43

AAM Director's Correspondence, 1978-1979

Box 30 of 43

Box 31

AAM Director's Correspondence, 1980-1982

Box 31 of 43

Partners for Livable Places (Reger was on the board)

Box 31 of 43

Box 32

Institute of Museum Services, 1978-1983

Box 32 of 43

National Endowment for the Arts, 1980-1982

Box 32 of 43

National Endowment for the Humanities, 1980-1983

Box 32 of 43

AAM Executive Committee Files, November 1981 -November 1983

Box 32 of 43

AAM Council Files, January 1981 - June 1984

Box 32 of 43

AAM Public Relations Committee

Box 32 of 43

AAM Nonprint Media Committee

Box 32 of 43

AAM Curators Committee

Box 32 of 43

AAM Education Committee

Box 32 of 43

AAM Small Museum Committee

Box 32 of 43

AAM Security Committee

Box 32 of 43

American Town Meeting on the Arts

Box 32 of 43

Mountain Plains Museum Association

Box 32 of 43

New England Museum Association

Box 32 of 43

Mid-West Museum Conference

Box 32 of 43

Box 33

ICOM Magazine

Box 33 of 43

ICOM News, 1941

Box 33 of 43

NEA Conservation Grant Summary

Box 33 of 43

Committee on Public Relations

Box 33 of 43

Committee on Opportunities for Minorities

Box 33 of 43

Energy Committee

Box 33 of 43

Handicapped Committee

Box 33 of 43

Credentials Committee

Box 33 of 43

Credentials Committee on Public Relations

Box 33 of 43

Credential Committee, ALH FAM

Box 33 of 43

Box 34

Credentials Committee, Museum Store Association

Box 34 of 43

Credentials Committee, AABGA

Box 34 of 43

Credentials Committee, Museum Computer Network

Box 34 of 43

Credentials Committee, 1979 (general)

Box 34 of 43

Litigation Files, Vanderbilt Museum, Long Island, New York, 1980-1982

Box 34 of 43

Box 35

Litigation Files, Vanderbilt Museum

Box 35 of 43

AAM Trustees Committee, 1982-1985

Box 35 of 43

Box 36

AAM Trustees Committee, 1982-1985 (continued)

Box 36 of 43

AAM Trustees Committee, 1977-1981

Box 36 of 43

Box 37

AAM Trustees Committee, 1977, 1984-1985. Includes budget material and Committee newsletter.

Box 37 of 43

Trustee Membership Directory, n.d.

Box 37 of 43

Trustee Membership Directory, 1983

Box 37 of 43

Box 38

Proceedings of the AAM, Vols. I-XI (1907-1917)

Box 38 of 43

AAM Annual Reports (summaries of reports), 1925-1958

Box 38 of 43

Box 39

Museum Work: November 1919; June 1920; July-August 1921; November-December 1921; January-February 1922; September-October 1922; July-August 1923; November-December 1924; January-February 1925; March-April 1925; May-June 1925; July-August 1925

Box 39 of 43

Programs for the Annual AAM Meetings: 1908, 1909, 1913, 1979

Box 39 of 43

AAM Committee on Urban Museums, Meetings, 1971

Box 39 of 43

Papers and Reports read at the 21st Annual Meeting, AAM, 1926

Box 39 of 43

Program, 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeast Museums Conference of AAM, 1952

Box 39 of 43

AAM Museum Directory, United States and Canada: 1961, 1965, 1978/1979

Box 39 of 43

Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, A Directory of American Museums of Art, History, and Science, compiled by Paul Marshall Rea, 1910

Box 39 of 43

Proceedings of AAM, 1907-1909. Includes organization and minutes of the 1906 meeting.

Box 39 of 43

Directory of Museums and Art Galleries in the British Isles, 1948

Box 39 of 43

Box 40

Coleman, College and University Museums, 1942

Box 40 of 43

Japanese Museums, 1967

Box 40 of 43

Art Centers of the World, 1967

Box 40 of 43

British Isles Public Museums, 1928

Box 40 of 43

Problems of Contents, Didactics and Esthetics of Modern Museum Exhibitions, 1978

Box 40 of 43

Museums and Young People, 1952

Box 40 of 43

The Problems of Museums in Countries Undergoing Rapid Change, 1962

Box 40 of 43

Temporary and Traveling Exhibitions, 1963

Box 40 of 43

Museums of India, 1936

Box 40 of 43

Coleman, Museums in South America, 1929

Box 40 of 43

Danish Museums, 1966

Box 40 of 43

Mouseion, 1946 and n.d.

Box 40 of 43

The Museums and Art Galleries of the British Isles, 1938

Box 40 of 43

Museographie; Architecture and Management of Art Museums, Madrid, 1934

Box 40 of 43

Guide to the Museums of Southern Africa, 1969

Box 40 of 43

Directory of Asian-Pacific Museums, 1969, with 1971 Supplement

Box 40 of 43

Key to the Museums of Sweden, 1960

Box 40 of 43

Box 41

Mouseion: 1938; 1939 (nos. 3-4); January-June 1940; December 1945; February-July 1946; November- December 1946

Box 41 of 43

Coleman, Museums in South America, 1929

Box 41 of 43

Museums and Handicapped Students, 1977

Box 41 of 43

Coleman, The Museum in America, Vol. III, 1938

Box 41 of 43

AAM, Museum Directory, 1971

Box 41 of 43

Museum Accreditation: Professional Standards, 1973

Box 41 of 43

American Museums Professional Tour of the People's Republic of China, 1972

Box 41 of 43

China: Mansfield-Scott Trip, 1972

Box 41 of 43

AAM Convention Proceedings, 1927

Box 41 of 43

Minutes of the 1923 AAM Annual Meeting

Box 41 of 43

Box 42

Coleman, Manual for Small Museums, 1927

Box 42 of 43

Coleman, Historic House Museums, 1933

Box 42 of 43

Notes and Records Regarding the Art Technical Section of the AAM, 1957

Box 42 of 43

Arts and Education Bibliography, 1967

Box 42 of 43

Chronological Correspondence Files, January-May 1972, January-May 1974, May-November 1976

Box 42 of 43

Goode, Half-Century Book

Box 42 of 43

Box 43

Museum News: January 1, 15, 1959; February 15, 1959; March-June 1959; September 1959; November 1959-June 1960; September 1960-June 1961; Summer 1961-June 1962; September 1962-December 1962

Box 43 of 43

Top of Page