Changes in Small Museum Professional Development and Outreach in the Internet Age

M. Susan Barger

M. Susan Barger

Abstract

Professional development in collections care offered for people in small museums has traditionally been offered through site visits, face-to-face conferences or workshops given by experts, and classes offered through various organizations. This is now changing to online contact offered through webinars, listservs, social media, and online courses. On the one hand, online contact offers the possibility of reaching a much larger audience for instructors and it can significantly lower the cost for participants. This talk will look at the changes in professional development for smaller institutions including the advantages and disadvantages of online professional development over face-to-face contact using real-world examples.
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Author Biography

M. Susan Barger

M. Susan Barger is a museum scientist and spent many years in research and education on a university level. Living in New Mexico, she found one of the biggest problems facing the museum community was how to assist smaller museums and cultural organizations to improve the care of their collections in cost effective ways both for providers and participants in professional development activities. She became involved in small museum outreach almost by accident and over the past two decades has been involved on many levels in addressing methods to provide professional development opportunities to those in smaller institutions. She helped to found and run a museum services organization, Museum Development Associates, (2005-2011). Currently, she is the Community Coordinator for Connecting to Collections Care, a program of the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation.