City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MAY 3, 2022
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: GRETCHEN BULOVA, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF HISTORIC ALEXANDRIA
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution for the American Alliance of Museums Accreditation Process of the Office of Historic Alexandria. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a resolution for the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Accreditation process of the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA).
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Approve the attached resolution (Attachment 1) supporting the Office of Historic Alexandria's Strategic Plan, Code of Ethics, Collections Management Policy, and Archaeology Collections Management Policy; and
(2) Authorize the Director of the Office of Historic Alexandria to submit the application for reaccreditation to the American Alliance of Museums and execute all necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: The American Alliance of Museums' accreditation is a widely recognized seal of approval that brings national recognition to museums, regardless of their size or location. Since the first museums were accredited in 1971, the AAM Accreditation Program has recognized a museum's commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.
DISCUSSION: The Office of Historic Alexandria was last accredited in 2012 and the reaccreditation process is completed every 10 years. The core architecture of the reaccreditation process consists of an online Self-Study, a site visit from peer reviewers, and review by the Accreditation Commission. The Self-Study is an online form for organizational and operational data and the submission of 8 required documents; half of this documentation is City approved financial and administrative documents including the current fiscal year budget, prior fiscal year end of year financial statements, departmental organizational chart, and OHA Director job description.
The attached policies fulfill requirements for additional core documents and are developed and updated to be consistent with AAM and industry standards and best practices. These documents include the OHA Strategic Plan, revised Code of Ethics, and Collection Management Policies. The departmental Strategic Plan was created in 2020 with input from all OHA stakeholders.
Finally, the Accreditation Commission requires museums operating within a parent organization to submit evidence (issued/approved by the parent organization’s governing body) documenting the importance of the museum, and the collections in its care, to the parent organization. A resolution of support from City Council expressing a commitment to support the City-owned museums fulfills this requirement.
FISCAL IMPACT: There will be no net new fiscal impact outside of the current OHA budget
of accreditation.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Resolution
Attachment 2: OHA Strategic Plan, 2020-2025
Attachment 3: OHA Code of Ethics
Attachment 4: OHA Collections Management Policy
Attachment 5: Alexandria Archaeology Collections Management Policy
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Gretchen Bulova, Director, Office of Historic Alexandria