Funded projects will provide professional development to the current museum workforce, train and recruit future museum professionals, and identify and share effective practices in workforce education and training.

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has announced the FY24 recipients of its 21st Century Museum Professionals Program (21MP). Awarded institutions will receive up to $500,000 each for projects that support a workforce that is prepared to address contemporary challenges in the museum field. In this funding cycle, eight institutions have been awarded a total of $2 million.

The 21MP program was relaunched this year after a twelve-year hiatus. The relaunch was result of the IMLS Museum Leadership in Dynamic Times convening (2023), a gathering of nearly 100 museum leaders to discuss and strategize around the needs of the museum field and the communities it serves. At this convening, a critical need for workforce investment was identified, including development of strong recruitment and retention practices, resources for new models of effective governance, and innovative strategies for organizational design. This iteration of 21MP also considers the needs defined in IMLS’s Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills Report.

The need for museum workforce enhancement has been demonstrated through the response to the 21MP funding cycle. Forty-eight eligible applications were submitted, requesting a total of $13 million.

"A robust, responsive workforce is the heart of America's museums,” said IMLS Acting Director Cyndee Landrum. “Through the 21st Century Museum Professionals Program, we are investing in a vibrant and dynamic museum workforce at all levels to amplify our diverse history and culture, disseminate knowledge, and champion innovation in service to the public."

All awarded 21MP projects can be found on the IMLS website. Three of this year’s awardees are detailed below:

• Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts
  The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) will develop a pilot on an alternative training pathway for conservation technicians. The project responds to an identified need to expand sustainable job opportunities in conservation for professionals without a graduate degree. CCAHA will partner with Drexel University’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships. Over the course of the pilot, four Drexel students will participate in experiential learning as conservation technicians working on Drexel collections. Under the direction of CCAHA staff, students will learn key competencies and techniques, as well as specific skills needed to perform their work (basic treatment, housing, and digitization) and assist with preventive tasks. The project will result in a guide, which shares findings on effective practices for implementing similar initiatives between higher education institutions and conservation laboratories, so that undergraduates at other colleges may also benefit.

• Oglebay Good Zoo (Wheeling Park Commission)
  The Oglebay Good Zoo will develop a paid experiential development program to remove affordability barriers for future zoo professionals seeking applied work experience. The zoo will partner with West Liberty University to conduct three annual virtual workshops introducing academic, career, and financial aid opportunities to regional high school guidance counselors and their students. The project will also create application guidelines and curricula to support paid stipends annually for 6 undergraduate students to intern at zoos across the country, 5 undergraduate students to participate in animal husbandry or conservation fellowships, and for 4 post-graduate apprenticeships at the Oglebay Good Zoo. As a result of the project, students will be introduced to zoo academic and career opportunities and financial barriers will be lifted for students to gain the work experience necessary for obtaining entry-level positions in the zoo, aquarium, or conservation professions.

• Vermont Historical Society, Inc.
  The Vermont Historical Society, Inc. will work with local historical societies around Vermont to help develop advanced skills among staff at these mostly all-volunteer organizations. The project will help organizations find the right direction for their collections work, break daunting tasks down to doable sizes for those without professional training, and prepare for further work in digitization and collections access. Project components include an Online Resource Center, workshops, and intensive work with two cohorts of historical societies to provide training, resources, and direct assistance on self-selected components of collections-based projects. The materials and frameworks resulting from this project will serve as a model for similar organizations in other states to increase institutional sustainability and ensure the continuing preservation of local history.

The 21st Century Museum Professionals Program is the third IMLS Museum Services program to announce its FY24 awardees. Recipients of the American Latino Museum Internship and Fellowship Initiative, Inspire! Grants for Small Museums, Museums for America, Museums Empowered, and National Leadership Grants for Museums programs will be announced later this summer.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.