AAM Reports Expanded Services, Decreased Funds

An April 2011 report by the American Association of Museums outlines the major findings of a survey completed by 383 AAM members. Drawing from a cross-section of U.S. museum and collection types, the authors of U.S. Museums Continue to Serve Despite Stress identify a series of common practices and challenges:

• Half of the museums experienced an increase in attendance, with one-third reporting a significant increase. Asked to explain the changes in attendance, many respondents noted that “people are staying closer to home, and are taking advantage of parks, historic sites and museums nearby.” Other common reasons offered for the boost in attendance include new “blockbuster” exhibits and better marketing.
• 51% expanded K-12 education programs.
• The majority of museums also saw a reduction in funding last year, especially in government support (decreased at 52% of museums and held steady at just 36%) and investment income (decreased at 37% and held steady at 27%).
• Museums adopted a variety of budget-saving measures to meet their economic challenges in 2010, including hiring freezes (reported by 35% of museums in the survey), relying more on volunteers (34%), deferring building maintenance (30%), and relying more on their own collections for exhibitions (29%).