This issue covers information on changes in museums (president report), additions to the CWAM archives, 2013 annual meeting, scholarship recipients' articles, and exhibit supplies.  I hope everyone had a great summer. The next issue will come out in December.

Many museums, including the one you may be working with now, have had or are having the conversation about change. Whether it is the way information and artifacts are presented or the image the museum portrays to the community. Sometimes museums evolve to create a new image and name such as my former place of employment, Dallas Heritage Village, once Old City Park. When these changes take place a range of thoughts emerge from the fear of change to the excitement of new possibilities. As a strong supporter of AAM, CWAM is excited to discover how the organization's new identity and name will impact the work of staff, volunteers and trustees in museums and cultural institutions across America. Below is an excerpt from the American Alliance of Museums web site -

After more than 100 years as the American Association of Museums, the organization is adapting and evolving to play a more central role in advancing the cause of museums. As the American Alliance of Museums, we are working to unite the country's museums from A to Z, art museums to zoos and everything in between, to make a broader impact.  

Membership Changes at a Glance

• Tiered institutional membership so you can choose your level of engagement and benefits
• Dues based on your museum's staff size, or what you can pay, so all museums can belong
• An all-staff package of individual memberships at one low price
• An opportunity to pass on discounts (20-50% off) to staff to purchase individual memberships
• A new, easy-to-navigate website with thousands of resources to help you and your museum succeed
• Access to 22 professional networks at no additional cost for Individual Professional members

The Continuum of Excellence

Multiple entry points and customized assistance to reach higher levels of recognition. 

• Two new programs to prepare for accreditation-Core Documents Verification and the Pledge of Excellence-encourage professionalism through standards of excellence and recognition of participating museums with different levels of achievement
• A streamlined, online accreditation program taking about 50% less time to complete
• Cooperative partnerships with other museum associations reducing the time and steps needed to become accredited

Bring CWAM to Your Community in 2015

Robert Hoot, Registrar, Loveland Museum/Gallery

This year's conference in Dubois was my first experience with CWAM and I was truly impressed by the range of sessions that were available, especially in collections related subjects. I also enjoyed meeting my colleagues in Colorado and Wyoming as well as learning how they have dealt with common collections management issues.

The session that impacted me the most was "A Complete Inventory: Making the Overwhelming Manageable," presented by Mariah Emmons and Mandy Langfield of Wyoming State Museum. Both of these curators of collections demonstrated how a team of only two people accomplished a major inventory project by staying focused and being highly organized. Considering the numerous distractions that can occur in the museum environment , they managed to complete an inventory of over 28,000 objects in a year and a half.

As the new registrar at Loveland Museum and Gallery, I plan to undertake an offsite collections relocation project where I can apply some of the ideas from the inventory session. Given our current understaffed collections department, one part-time position and one full-time position, I am confident that we can accomplish our goal of reviewing an inventory of approximately 10,000 objects, relocating the objects based on color coded groups, and tracking location changes in our database in less than a year.

Many thanks to everyone who organized the Dubois conference and made the scholarships possible. It was a pleasure meeting my colleagues in this region and I look forward to seeing you in Golden next year!

April Miller, Head Librarian and Archivist of the Helen Fowler Library at Denver Botanic Gardens

As a recipient of the 2012 CWAM Annual Meeting scholarship , I was given the opportunity to attend the annual CWAM conference this May in Dubois, Wyoming-and it was during this meeting that I was elected to a Colorado-at-Large position and appointed as Services Team Leader.

Due to a very limited budget within my institution for travel and professional development, I would not have been availed of the opportunity to attend the conference and begin a role of greater involvement within the organization without the help of CWAM's scholarship program. Not only is the annual meeting invaluable regarding the chance to meet regional colleagues face-to-face and to share information about our institutions, it's a once a year opportunity to teach one another some of the things we've learned through our work and study during the year in an effort to improve the state of museums in Colorado and Wyoming. The support of CWAM as a community and as a cohesive entity is reinforced by the ability to join together once a year for learning, networking, and general fellowship.

I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to become an active participant in the organization, am excited about the quality of program that was offered, and I look forward to many more meetings to come.

Again, thank you to the committee for deeming me worthy to receive this gift and I look forward to meeting new scholarship recipients next year!