Challenges

Written 11 October 2021:

The first step to accreditation is to become a member of the Alliance, which has a financial component. “Three membership tiers, beginning with a pay what you can option, allow you to select your ideal level of benefits.” (AAM, 2021). This may prove difficult for smaller institutions without any real source of funding. It is a tough cycle as becoming an AAM member opens opportunities for more funding but if institutions cannot buy their way into accreditation, how accessible are those additional funding opportunities?

For example, The Kurt Vonnegut Library and Museum in Indianapolis is a small institution that opened in 2011. The institution runs off volunteers and donations. However, due to serious lack of funding (even before the pandemic), the library had to put an emphasis on the space for event rental and put more resources into the cafe. I had heard from a colleague who works in the arts sector of Indianapolis that this institution was really struggling. This was also evident from the face that it was always closed. How is an institution so small supposed to acquire the proper resources to keep their museum standards to the level of accreditation when it can barely afford to stay open?

***I found this article while working on this post, but apparently the library and museum has recently become the first literary landmark in Indiana and received a $50,000 grant (IBJ, 2021).***

Update 30 November 2021:

In the week 9 MSPP panel with representatives from Museum Galleries Scotland and the National Lottery, there was a brief discussion on how grants and funds are awarded. The pandemic has changed and created opportunities to fund the arts whether in small or large institutions. I found the number of small institutions on the GMS list of 2020 funded projects encouraging. The reason I bring this up in conjunction with the Kurt Vonnegut Library is that I wonder what kind of COVID relief has been put in place, if any, for institutions in the United States? Are such relief funds supported by the government? Is it determined on a state by state basis?

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