How do museum professionals learn how to do their jobs? There are museum studies programs, of course, including one at the University of Georgia, but a lot of learning happens on the job. We also learn from each other. The Georgia Association of Museums is a statewide organization that facilitates those kinds of connections. Its goals are to establish a responsive network, provide a resource base and promote professionalism so that Georgia's museum community is strong, effective and proactive. One way it does all this is through organizing an annual meeting of its members, which takes place in a different Georgia city each winter. The last G A M conference took place in January in Cartersville and focused on “the (fill in the blank) frontier” as its theme. Museum professionals from all over the state joined for fellowship and learning, with different conference tracks for administration and operations, education, career development, fundraising, collections, curators and DEAI issues.
The next G A M conference will take place in Athens in January 2024, but the organization is active in between meetings, too. The Museum Services Exchange program provides consulting services from experienced museum professionals to those in need of their aid. G A M pays the consultants, and the museums requesting help get it at no cost, so everyone benefits. G A M also organizes virtual events several times a year at which members can learn about topics like improving accessibility or how to be successful at a conference. For more info, visit G A museums dot org.