Museum Associations

State, regional, and thematic museum associations are valuable resources for small museums. If you don’t know what resources are available to you, this is a good place to start! These associations may provide support systems, assist in the development and dissemination of professional standards, post job listings, offer skill-building and training workshops, offer advice on best practices, host conferences, and serve as a forum for collaboration between institutions. Don’t see a museum association you find valuable on the list? Please send us an email at museumstudies@udel.edu so we can include it!

The National Alliance of State Museum Associations (NASMA) acts as a support system for state museums collectively, and regional and state museum associations can help support member organizations.

There are currently six major regional museum associations serving their respective geographic areas.

Most states also have their own museum association, so please check with yours for more resources and programs!

Beyond geographically-defined associations, there are also ones organized around thematic content because the best practices for sharing different content and their related collections can differ. The list below is not exhaustive but can provide a starting place:

Science, Medicine and Technology

Disabilities 

Oral History

Environmental

Culturally Specific Associations

Administration