Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission

Office of Museum Services

www.dced.state.ut.us/museum

Astaff member of a Utah museum that recently participated in a technical outreach project conducted by the Office of Museum Services and its partners ExhibitsUSA and the Utah Museums Association commented, “There is simply no better way to learn.” Funding was provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The key objectives of the outreach project are:

Provide practical training to museums in areas of acute need Emphasize basic principles of museum professionalism Utilize and develop professional museum resources within the state Establish informal networks among Utah museums to facilitate routine resource sharing

OMS has established State Performance Goals in an effort to raise the professional level of Utah museums. These goals will also be used by OMS in developing new programs to improve the quality of Utah museums. Three steps have been established for a museum to implement the goals:

Internal self-evaluation On-site visit with OMS representative to discuss self-evaluation results Formulation of an action plan and time line to achieve goals. Once a museum has met the recommended goals, it will receive certification from OMS

As part of the continuing process of assisting museums in meeting State Performance Goals, the following on-site visits were made:

Cedar City: Iron Mission State Park and Museum Hill Air Force Base: Hill Aerospace Museum Hurricane: Hurricane Valley Heritage Park Layton: Heritage Museum of Layton Moab: Dan O'Laurie Canyon Country Museum Nephi: Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum Orem: SCERA Park City: Park City Historical Museum Payson: Peteetneet Art Gallery Roy: Roy Historical Museum

Highlights