NEWSLETTER

Volume 9, #2                       August 23, 2006
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DENVER MEETINGS

TENTATIVE DENVER AGENDA 

1. Call to Order
2. Introductions
3. Approval of the Tucson Meeting Minutes
4. Treasurers Report
5. Membership Report
6. Collections/Curators Committee Report
7. Education Comm. Denver exhibit, Tucson exhibit & program
8. New Business

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

The fall frenzy that is Denver is about to start. I hope everyone had an enjoyable and productive summer. Messages over the SMMP list server have been relatively few and I take that to mean the old saying, no news is good news, is in effect. Accordingly, this newsletter will be relatively short (perhaps suffering a bit from the dog days of August.)

I have already heard from a couple of our members that they will be absent from the show for various reasons. It only serves to remind me, and should all of us, that we are at the mercy of our institutions and/or funding organizations. Exhibition openings, research deadlines, and lack of travel money all conspire to keep us home when we arguably should be flying our institutions flag at the major mineralogical events. I think some of the less talented supervisors tend to view these shows as funded vacations. However, I find the big shows an invaluable opportunity for accomplishing important museum business. Important pieces make their appearances, appraisals get arranged, and prospective donors identify themselves at these events. I went back into my museums records over the last 12 years and discovered that almost 30% of our major donations can be linked to attendance and exhibiting at either Denver or Tucson. This is an important message that our supervisors/governing boards need to know if the collection is to remain active and vital.

I think the information shared above illustrates how useful SMMP can be for its members. If you are having issues with your institutions leadership on any museum topic, like travel to shows, query the collective consciousness of our group via the list server. We have all faced similar situations and our experience/data might provide the kind of information that individual curators can use to educate their institutions leadership on various topics that we face.

I hope to see you in Denver.

Virgil W. Lueth, President

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SMMP LIST SERVER

You are encouraged to interact with your fellow SMMP members via our list server:

smmp@listserv.nhm.org

Please remember that when you reply to an email sent via our list server, you will be replying to the sender, although you have the option of copying the membership.

Tony Kampf processes additions to and deletions from the list server. That way we can limit the list to our membership and if a member decides that they want to be dropped from the list, Tony will know whether to send them the SMMP Newsletter by snail mail. Note that you are only be able to send via the list server by using your email address that is on the list server. This should be the same one that is used in our on-line roster.

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Click on the link below to go to the minutes:

MINUTES OF THE TUCSON MEETING
February 2006

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SMMP AFFILIATIONS

American Geological Institute (AGI)
Committee openings:
Government Affairs Program
International Geoscience Advisory Committee

Natural Science Collections Alliance NSCA)

Although the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals maintains no official ties with the Commission on Museums (CM) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), the Commission resolved at its December, 2000, meeting in Melbourne, Australia, to support SMMP's efforts in uniting mineral museum professionals worldwide.

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Colorado School of Mines
Museum Mineral Gala

A pre-Denver show mineral event highlighting will be held on Wednesday night, September 14, 2005, from 7 10 p.m. at the Geology Museum of the Colorado School of Mines.  The facility is located at 1310 Maple Street in Golden, Colorado.  Hors doeuvres, cash bar and silent auction will be available.

The Museum is located across from the Steinhauer Field House. A detailed CSM map is available at www.mines.edu/csm_maps/. For further information, contact: Paul Bartos (303) 273-3823 or pbartos@mines.edu

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smmp grant program

Awards are to support curatorial research and methodologies that address one or more of the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP) mission statement goals: 1) foster recognition of mineral science collections as essential scientific, educational and cultural resources, 2) promote support for growth, maintenance and use of collections and exhibits and, 3) advance museum practice through cooperation in the development, review and dissemination of information. Amounts vary up to a maximum of $1000 per grant. Grant awards determined by SMMP Board of Directors. Grant applications are available on request.

For more information, go to the SMMP Grant Program webpage.

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TRACKING DUES

SMMP dues are $10.00 U.S., payable to Anna Domitrovic, treasurer, 6118 W. Lazy Heart Street, Tucson, AZ 85713. Any directory changes or additions should be sent to Tony Kampf. In Europe, dues can be remitted to Peter Davidson, National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, SCOTLAND.

Note that you can check your dues payment status on the SMMP on-line roster. The year shown in the last column indicates the last year for which you have paid. If you are delinquent, please remit your dues payment as soon as possible.