Reposted from EMR-ISAC

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T’s) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) released a new Video Security Systems Technology Handbook.

Video security systems (VSS) provide surveillance capabilities used to protect people, assets, and systems. VSS equipment is often used to support comprehensive security systems by incorporating video coverage and security alarms for barriers, intrusion detection, and access control. The new handbook serves as a reference for emergency responders, law enforcement security managers, and other security specialists to aid in planning, designing, and purchasing VSS products.

This handbook was first published in July 2013 and was originally called the “CCTV Technology Handbook,” since the leading video surveillance technology at that time was closed-circuit television (CCTV). This 2025 edition has been updated to reflect current terminology and modern VSS technologies, including cameras, lenses, monitors, multiplexers, recorders, and transmission systems, and internet protocol-based systems. It includes systems that incorporate technologies like edge analytics, cloud storage and artificial intelligence. The handbook provides considerations for implementing a VSS. An overview of video analytics and programmatic considerations such as design, data storage and retention, cyber security strategies, and system integration is also included. The Video Security Systems Technology Handbook is available in NUSTL’s System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) library.

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

For years, emergency managers have lacked an objective way to understand and analyze effects to their community when disaster strikes. The Community Lifeline Status System (CLSS) emerges as the solution, designed to operationalize real data for real-time decision making. It operationalizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Community Lifelines construct. It allows states, localities, tribal nations, and territories (SLTT) nationwide to assess and report on their own lifelines, which are, as FEMA describes, “the most fundamental services in the community that, when stabilized, enable all other aspects of society to function.” The CLSS is a no-cost project envisioned by DHS S&T and developed through a partnership between DHS S&T and G&H International Services, Inc. (G&H). The project began in 2022 and will be made available to all state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management agencies in April 2025.

G&H International Services will host a webinar on Wednesday, March 26 at 12 p.m. EDT, Community Lifeline Status System Data & Decision Making Panel. The event will be moderated by the former director of Kentucky Emergency Management, and will feature a panel including the Secretary of Emergency Management for the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, the Chief of Emergency Management for Lee County, Florida, and the 311 Director and Innovation Officer for the town of Cary, North Carolina.

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Reposted from AMM

Not two, but three associations are teamed up to support the Midwest in 2025!

This year—perhaps more than ever—we will all be seeking the support of our peers, to find strength in solidarity and courage in our convictions.

That’s why the Association of Midwest Museums, the Illinois Association of Museums, and the Iowa Museum Association are collaborating to provide you a whole year of affordable opportunities to connect with your museum community close to home!

Here’s a preview of what's in store - stay tuned for program and registration announcements coming soon!

This Spring: Building Value in Communities-

Join the Iowa Museum Association for their 2025 Conference on April 27-29 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa! Featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. John H. Falk, the conference seeks to redefine the museum experience, focusing on the true value of what museums offer: transformative experiences that enrich the lives of our visitors and our communities.

AMM members have access to member rates for IAM 2025! All you have to do is create an IMA account and select the member rate.

This Summer: Navigating “Crosscurrents”-

Come be our guest in the Midwest, virtually and/or in-person, during Crosscurrents!

We’ll kick off this year’s conference with a joint Virtual Day on Wednesday, July 23, organized in collaboration with both state association partners. This robust day of programming will feature a keynote session inspired by “The Generosity Report”, 4 sessions, 2 virtual Quad Cities museum tours, and a networking roundtable to chat with your peers on timely topics. Crosscurrents in-person programming, developed with the Illinois Association of Museums, will take place July 30-August 2. We'll get to learn from the experiences of Quad Cities nonprofit and tourism leaders, local movers and shakers, and museum peers from eight states of the Midwest and beyond. With 40+ sessions, 14 amazing museums, and a chance for 400+ connections, you won’t want to miss it! 

Registration for Crosscurrents, the AMM-IMA 2025 Joint Conference opens soon. Stay tuned!

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Reposted by Cuseum

You're juggling a lot, and finding the time and resources to connect with members in a meaningful way isn't easy. You're not alone- many of the organizations we work with face similar struggles: Communication channels that don't reach members when it matters. Difficulty connecting with younger audiences in a way that feels natural

Limited resources to focus on engagement, leading to low participation and renewals. Thats why we created Cuseums Member Lifecycle Engagement Solution to help museums like yours build stronger, lasting relationships with members in a way that's simple and effective.

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Reposted by Tim Richardson

Are we headed toward a recession? 

JPMorgan Chase reported this week that there is a 40% chance of a downturn and Goldman Sachs increased their recession forecast from 15% to 20% in the next year. Layoffs have already occurred in some U.S. companies.  If a worry index were real, it would be rising too. 

Ironically, it was five years ago that the bottom fell out. What started as ”two weeks to stop the spread” turned into a massive disruption of our economic and social lives. We were afraid. We panicked. Our routines were disrupted. Many lost friends and loved ones. Every normal thing we did changed almost overnight. Fear drove many of our decisions. Organizations went through massive changes overnight. It was eerily like 9/11 in a lot of ways.  Everyone in my business lost all in-person speaking engagements on their schedules, devastating the lives of countless colleagues and depriving conference attendees of much needed inspiration, instruction, and education. I spoke with a friend yesterday who shared that he went into a deep depression. I’ll admit it, it was tough for me too. I hardly had any business for almost 18 months.  I wasted a lot of time in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis. I was waiting and hoping for a quick turnaround. When that didn’t happen, I had my own private pity parties. I sure would like to have that time back. A do-over would be nice.  My smart peers pivoted quickly. They set up virtual studios in their homes and continued to do what they had always done, but just online. Some had their best year ever. While I continued to wait, they adopted a “adversity creates opportunity” mindset.  No matter what you do, having a contingency plan is a good idea. 

Whether we enter a recession or not, taking a careful look at your business practices and policies is a valuable exercise. Reaching out to your customers, members, or clients is always a good idea, but scheduling regular times to check in during rough times may be particularly prudent. Spending time with your staff or colleagues listening to their concerns is always helpful, but especially in times of uncertainty. Eliminating or changing aspects of your business that waste time or cause frustration will be appreciated internally and externally at any time. Examine expenses and see where you could trim unnecessary costs. Making all these practices a regular part of your thinking could be critical to thrive in times of chaos. 

Most important of all – stay strong.

Push fear aside and adopt the mantra that opportunities are created through adversity. Have a mindset that whatever the challenges, you’ll navigate them with a positive mindset and help others do the same. Warren Buffet is famous for taking advantage of economic downturns from an investing perspective. He famously says, “Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.”  Take ground when others retreat. Let uncertainty and downturns motivate you into action. Things may look foggy now but taking thoughtful action may result in clarity and help alleviate the fear.

Let adversity create opportunity.

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Reposted from Northern States Conservation Center

Volunteer Management- Is your museum really ready?

Volunteers are an important part of many museums. Volunteers do work for us; they educate visitors; they answer questions; they bring in money. But having a successful volunteer program means laying some strong foundations.

Start with the main foundation of the museum itself - its mission. Volunteers' main reason for existing should be to support the organization's mission, no matter what their job. Every staff and volunteer should be able to state exactly how what they do directly supports the mission. It is not enough to say they do some job to support the mission, but they must know how they support the mission. For example, someone working at a gift shop supports the mission by making additional information supporting the resource available to visitors; a person leading tours unlocks the resource to visitors; and a person stuffing envelopes sends out opportunities for interested individuals to interact with the resource.

Once everyone embraces that volunteers support the mission, it is time for staff to acknowledge the cost of volunteers. Contrary to the hope of many, volunteers are not free. They require resources of which time and money are two. What resources is your organization willing to commit to managing volunteers? Begin with which staff person will be the overall manager. Depending on the number of volunteers needed, a full-time volunteer manager can be hired, diverting some funds to management or the task of volunteer managing can be given to an existing staff person and adding on to job responsibilities, diverting time to volunteer management. Staff also need to understand the impact volunteers might have on their own work. If volunteers congregate near other staff work areas, noise levels increase. Some staff easily can tune this out and others will be totally distracted.

Volunteers have social needs which can affect staff. While many reasons exist for individuals to volunteer, two are high at the list: the need for a social network and the desire to learn from the experts. When volunteers need social connection, they can get that from other volunteers and from staff. As volunteers come in at varying times throughout the day and week, if every one of them stopped by staff desks and talked only 5 minutes each time, that adds up to several hours of the staff person's day. When the desire to learn from experts is what draws an individual to volunteer, interruptions to the staff day can be thirty minutes or more at a time. Managing these interruptions takes planning. Staff might post designated "open office" hours where they plan their workday to welcome volunteers stopping by or a volunteer staging area might be provided away from the main area of paid staff.

And space is another resource volunteers need. They need an area to hang coats, leave purses or backpacks, record their hours, and receive communications. Maybe this is a nook with just a desk and bulletin board or maybe it is an entire room designed for volunteer use. Space is often at a premium in museums, so designating some for volunteers is sometimes challenging.

Yet one more foundational block to consider is the main role volunteers have within the organization - fundraising, work force, idea bank. Each purpose requires a separate set of strategies for recruiting, training, communicating, and rewarding.

Finally, decide who is in charge, who has the authority to make decisions, and who has final responsibility. The overall structure greatly influences the relationship of the volunteer program with the organization. At the most basic level, volunteer programs are either staff guided, or volunteer guided. This is determined by the answer to two questions: first, how much input do the volunteers need in order to provide the resources as defined in the purpose of the volunteer program, to accomplish the defined tasks, and to feel valued; second, how much time is staff willing to put into discussions and compromises? In a staff-dominated structure, a staff person makes decisions, initiates communication, matches jobs with volunteers, solves problems, recruits volunteers, etc. It is time-consuming, but one person always knows everything going on and can keep the pieces connected. Change is easier to manage, and communication is more streamlined. Processes are simplified and fewer personalities need to be considered. Volunteers primarily do an assigned job. Volunteers might not feel connected or that their voices are heard - this can lead to high turnover.

In a volunteer-dominated structure, volunteers manage themselves in most situations. They might have a leadership board and several committees to share the work and make sure everything is done. Volunteers have a strong sense of ownership and commitment. However, they can lose sight of their role to support the organizational mission and finding leadership each year can be challenging.

No matter what structure is in place, it should be clear and effective. Drawing up an organizational flowchart can be helpful. Does it make sense? Is leadership clear - who is in top decision-making positions?

Once all the above foundational aspects are determined, orientation for new paid staff should include time on the role of volunteers to the museum and the expected culture of staff/volunteer relationships. If all the foundational elements are firmly in place, you are now ready to start recruiting volunteers.

The Volunteer Handbook-

Volunteers should be considered unpaid staff and, like a staff handbook, a strong volunteer organization should have a volunteer handbook. This course goes beyond understanding various aspects of a volunteer program to putting the volunteer program to paper. Create an outline and some draft text for a handbook providing consistency within the volunteers as well as legal support if ever needed.

__________________________________

Thinking of starting or updating a Volunteer Program? Do you need to create a Volunteer Handbook? Learn all about how to create an effective volunteer program by joining Karin Hostetter for MS259 The Volunteer Handbook starting April 7, 2025.

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Reposted from NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Save the Date

PastForward 2025

Date: September 16-18 in Milwaukee

If you’ll be joining us in person, the Schedule at a Glance will allow you to map out your travel plans to Milwaukee. You can also reserve your hotel room now at the headquarters hotel, Hilton Milwaukee City Center.

Stay tuned for more details about programming, speakers, and Field Studies.

Registration will go live in July.

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Reposted from Walden Security

Theft, trespassing, and vandalism are costly distractions that drain time and resources from businesses.

Many businesses need to supplement their physical security with 24/7 video and audio monitoring. Event-based monitoring is one service Walden Security offers that provides 24/7 monitoring of sites through the use of event-based alarms.

Read this month's security guide to learn how event-based monitoring works!

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Reposted from Safehaven

You've probably heard the phrase 'Make America Great Again.' As business professionals, our mission is to Make Our Workplace Safe Again – and that's no laughing matter.

Workplace safety has become a critical concern in today's increasingly complex world. The unfortunate reality is that workplace violence is more common than many people realize. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 392 workplace homicides in the United States in 2020 alone. That's a sobering statistic, and it highlights the importance of proactively addressing the top threats that you must address to ensure a safe and secure workplace for all employees.

Read our recent article Make Our Workplace Safe Again to learn more.

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Reposted from AAM

2025 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo

May 6-9, 2025- Los Angeles

THE PROGRAM IS OUT NOW!

At AAM 2025, you are bound to find answers, ideas, and support you need for whatever challenges or opportunities you are facing.

Register Now!

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