During the last AAM annual meeting in Houston, I asked our EMP advisor Guzel if I could rejuvenate the blog, and make it a forum for EMPs to share knowledge and discuss current events. She gave me a resounding yes, and I set to work on several proposals for how the blog could fill a need for EMPs across the country. After a few months of working with the national EMP Advisory Council on the format and scheduling, we’re finally ready to re-launch the blog.
The idea that stuck was to make the blog a place that was by EMPs, for EMPs. For the contributors (and we welcome all of you to become contributors), it’s a place to present ideas, practice writing, or shed light on an issue that you’re passionate about. For the readers, hopefully they will be inspired and enlightened.
Our new blog theme is “Shared Knowledge,” and we hope that eventually this blog will become a repository of information for anyone hoping to learn more about the museum field. But we also want it to be relevant, engaging, and thought-provoking here and now, and as such we’ve developed five categories that our posts will revolve around:
- Career Paths: one of the things on every EMPs mind. We’ll discuss the career paths for directors, exhibit designers, curators, educators, and many more.
- Professional Development: this category will include networking tips, the difference between a resume and a c.v., cover letter advice, etc.
- Curatorial Corner: What’s a museum without content? This is where you can let everyone know about the amazing topics you’ve been researching in the fields of art, history, science, anthropology, and more.
- EMP blogshops: The intention of this category is to have small activities that you can do from your computer, that either teach you about a new topic or reinforce previous knowledge. Our first, upcoming blogshop? Twitter!
- Current Events: this category is what it sounds like – discussion/debates about current events in the field. Examples may include the future of technology in museums education, issues in repatriation, disaster responses, etc.
To start, the blog will be updated on Tuesdays and Friday, with posts rotating between these categories. We’ll also be evaluating our progress in a few weeks so that you can let us know how we’re doing.
Already have questions? Topic suggestions? Want to get on board? Feel free to leave us a comment here on the blog, or get in touch with me, Caitlin, by e-mail. We’re happy for any and all feedback in these beginning stages.
Thanks, and happy reading!
Caitlin Lill
EMP Blog Administrator
