Working and volunteering for a small museum can be tough. You wear many hats. There are always five different projects (or disasters) demanding your attention. And you frequently work alone or with just a handful of people.
Thirty years ago, workers in small museums formed the Small Museum Association and began holding annual conferences in Ocean City, MD to address our community’s particular challenges and needs. Word has since spread, generating many positive comments, and attracting more than 200 professionals from across the country.
This conference encourages people who work in small museums to talk with each other. The presenters discuss their own triumphs and challenges. And the banquet is the perfect opportunity for everyone to let loose a bit.
Networking at the SMA conference also has many benefits:
– we’re reassured that we’re not alone;
– we discover that we share the same problems;
– we learn that we can discover ways to resolve those problems; and
– we find new, different, or broader career opportunities.
The SMA is an all-volunteer organization serving small museums in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. This conference advances our mission: to develop and maintain a peer network for people working for small museums. It gives all of us opportunities to learn, share knowledge and support each other, so that we, in turn, can better serve our institutions, our communities and our profession.
If you are interested in registering for this year’s conference, or learning more about SMA, check out our website: http://www.smallmuseum.org/
