Museums, universities, public libraries, and hospitals seek accreditation from national institutions. Accreditation is a process of internal staff review and external peer evaluation of an institution's standards of management and program operations. The purpose is to determine the quality and accountability of programs and services provided to the public. For museums, the American Association of Museums is the nationally recognized institution which grants accreditation.

National Park Service museums are established by the Congress. The Senate and House of Representatives pass a bill designating a geographic area as an NPS park. The bill is then signed into law by the President. Funding for its management and program operations are paid out of the National Treasury. Consequently, the NPS is held accountable to the Congress and the public for the quality and accountability of the programs and services it provides to its visitors. Accreditation is one of the tools which provides this accountability.

The National Park Service has had a long association with the AAM. The first NPS museum was established as the Mesa Verde National Park in 1918 and exhibited objects in one room of a log cabin. In 1924, Chauncey J. Hamlin, then President of the AAM, recognized the NPS's need for parks to not only preserve, exhibit, and interpret their cultural, natural, and archeological resources in museum exhibits but also to manage them in accordance standards accepted by the museum community. They established an AAM Committee on Museums in the NPS to build and equip the next round of museums, such as Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Parks.

In 1985, Independence National Historical Park became the first museum accredited in the NPS. Today, there are 9 NPS parks that have been accredited by AAM. In the Greater Washington Metropolitan area, there are 4 -- the White House, Frederick Douglass and Clara Barton National Historic Sites, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. In 1997, Ford's Theatre and the House Where Lincoln Died will apply for acceptance into the program. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is currently undergoing reaccreditation. Reaccreditation occurs every 10 years. Other museums in our area will undergo the accreditation process in the near future.

The process takes about two years. It includes the initial application submission; receipt from AAM of a "Self-Study Booklet", which the staff reviews, drafts responses, compiles support documents and photographs and then returns to AAM (usually contained in about eight 2" binders). AAM's Accreditation Commission reviews the information and determines whether or not the park is worthy of interim accreditation; if so, the park selects a visiting committee for an onsite two-day visit to conduct a peer evaluation. The committee submits to AAM their evaluation report and the AAM Commission reviews the report and the supporting documentation to make their final determination for accreditation. Upon receipt of final accreditation, the park notifies the appropriate NPS officials, all NPS Museum Directors, local political dignitaries, sends out public announcements, and commemorates the event with a ceremony in which the Regional Director presents the park Superintendent with the Certificate of Accreditation.

AAM Accreditation

Accreditation: A Photo Essay

Frederick Douglass: A Park in the Process

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Last Updated: June 4, 1997
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