NEWSLETTER

Volume 12, #1                       January 27, 2009
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TUCSON MEETINGS

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TENTATIVE TUCSON AGENDA 

1. Call to Order (Lueth)

2. Introductions

3. Approval of the Denver Meeting Minutes (Lueth)

4. Treasurer's Report (Domitrovic)

5. Membership Report (Domitrovic)

6. Collections/Curators Committee Report (Lueth)

7. Education Committee - Tucson 09 and Denver 09 exhibits, (DeMouthe)

8. Best Practices Initiative (Lueth/Johnson)

9. SMMP Europe Report

10. New Business

11. Board of Directors Election

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

What a difference a year makes…

Last year at this time we were making preparations for the "American Mineral Treasures" show. Museums had an extra burden of exhibiting their own specimens while simultaneously providing specimens for the special cases. Many of us were also charged with coordinating some of the American Treasure displays. Some say it was the show of a lifetime. Perhaps that is a good thing, I don't think many of us want to repeat the performance. More importantly, the economy was still on two legs although they were starting to wobble.

This year we are preparing for "Mineral Oddities." I found this year's topic much more challenging than last. Not with respect to the work burden but with finding an interesting and diverse display. Bringing out your best is easy, the "best odd thing" is hard! Sadly, the economy is continuing downward and has yet to reach bottom. A new president has been sworn in, just in time to face some of the biggest problems since the 1930's. I've already heard of a number of curators who will not be attending due to budget issues. My own organization is facing some cutbacks, thankfully none slated for the museum.

I'm looking forward to this year's program. Jaime Newman, pursuing an excellent suggestion from Terry Huizing, has arranged for Alan Hart to present a short talk on donating to museums. Following the talk a panel discussion, open to all in attendance, will be moderated by Gail Spann. This program should provide some very practical information of importance to all museums.

Every year some of our members continue to support SMMP not only with their dues, but also with their time. Thanks to Jean DeMouthe for coordinating the SMMP educational display at Tucson and Denver. Tony Kampf for his continued excellence in  "webmastering" and with the coordination of our listserver. And don't forget our tireless treasurer, Anna Domitrovic who keeps the financial wheels on the society.

Remember, the terms of three board members (myself included) are up. If a regime change is what we need to get SMMP going in the right direction, now is the time!

Virgil Lueth, President

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2009 Board of Directors election

Three board member terms will be expiring this year. Please be prepared to nominate candidates and vote. Board members whose terms expire this year are:

Anna Domitrovic      Virgil Lueth     Jamie Newman

Note that the term expiration dates of the board members are provided in parentheses in the sidebar.

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BEST PRACTICES PROJECT

 "Best Practices" documents are posted on the SMMP website at:

http://www.agiweb.org/smmp/rept-practices.htm

We are actively looking for more volunteers to author other best practice documents.

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SMMP RESEARCH STUDY GRANTS

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 and more details are posted on our website. http://www.agiweb.org/smmp/support-SMMP.htm

Grant proposals are due: August 1, 2009.

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MINUTES OF THE DENVER MEETING
September 2008

Click on the link above to view the minutes.

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SMMP AFFILIATIONS

American Geological Institute (AGI)

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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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 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 able to send via the list server from 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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PAYING 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.

To make paying your dues easier (especially for non-US members), a PayPal account has been established and installed on our website. You can use your credit card or your own personal PayPal account. Just go to our Dues webpage.

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.

Remember to renew your membership. If you are planning to pay dues at the Tucson meeting, help Anna by filling out a membership application with your dues payment. Do it beforehand and save time at the meeting!