It was recently announced that the Champaign County Forest Preserve District’s Early American Museum has again achieved the highest national recognition for a museum – accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Accreditation signifies excellence achieved by about 1/3 of the nation’s nearly 17,500 museums. The EAM is one of just 23 such institutions in Illinois, with only a handful being in Central Illinois.
Accreditation is a very rigorous process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation, a museum must first conduct a year of self-study and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. Museums are evaluated in categories such as Accountability, Collections Stewardship, Education and Interpretation, and Financial Stability, among others. While the time to complete the process varies by museum, it generally takes as much as three years. This is the fourth time the Early American Museum has attained this distinguished status.
"This achievement is the result of the hard work and incredible talent and expertise that Cheryl Kennedy and her staff bring to their jobs every day," said CCFPD Executive Director Jerry Pagac. "Accreditation enables us to constantly strive for improvement and professionalism."
The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional, and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.
