Reposted from Threshold

Threshold Joins Security Leaders at IFCPP Annual Conference

Farmington, CT – May 14, 2025 – Threshold, a leading provider of visitor management solutions, is proud to announce its participation at the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection (IFCPP) Annual Conference, that took place May 5-8, 2025 in New Haven, CT. As a trusted partner in safety and security, Threshold was selected to provide official event badges for all attendees, presenters, hosts, and staff.

This year’s IFCPP conference brought together security professionals, cultural property protection experts, and thought leaders from across the country to share insights, best practices, and innovations in the field. Threshold’s presence underscores its commitment to supporting institutions that protect our most treasured assets—museums, libraries, universities, historic landmarks, and more.

“Our mission has always been to make people feel safe, welcomed, and accounted for,” said Noel Turner, Director of Sales & Marketing. “We’re honored to contribute to the success of the IFCPP conference by ensuring seamless identification with our high-quality, professionally produced badges.”

In addition to providing conference badges, Threshold exhibited on-site, showcasing its visitor management systems, including customizable visitor badge solutions and electronic visitor sign-in technology for organizations of all sizes.

Attendees who visited the Threshold booth learned more about how the company’s products and services can enhance access control by identifying and tracking all visitors, vendors, and contractors, and help secure daily operations within cultural institutions.

About Threshold: Founded in 1961 as Data Management, Inc., the company built a strong reputation for producing high-quality business forms and identification products. In 2019, it rebranded as Threshold to reflect its focus on visitor management solutions that help organizations enhance security. In April 2023, Threshold was acquired by Avery Products Corporation, joining a family of trusted brands and gaining expanded resources to better serve customers across education, healthcare, corporate, and government sectors. For more information about Threshold and its range of security solutions, visit www.ThresholdSecurity.com.

Reposted from CUSEUM

We just published a new report that I thought you might be interested in. The report is called: “Navigating Rising Costs: How Museums & Cultural Attractions Are Using Digital Tools to Overcome Economic Pressures” and it’s a free resource we’ve put together. It’s filled with real insights from the field: what’s working, what’s not, and how institutions like yours are adapting.

From digital membership tools to hybrid programming and mobile engagement, this report breaks down how museums are:

Offsetting increases in operating costs
Adapting to lower or inconsistent in-person attendance
Making data-driven decisions to stay resilient

You’ve likely already seen the impact of some of these shifts. I’d love for you to take a look, and if you find it useful, we’re happy to send over companion resources like Membership 2.0, The Hybrid Report, or our Guest Pass Referral Guide.

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Reposted from Abigail G Manning

Welcome to my monthly newsletter. You are part of a strong and growing community, and I'm here to support your path forward with helpful insights, opportunities, and encouragement.

My mission is to empower individuals with actionable guidance and authentic encouragement to keep building:

COURAGE to recognize and remove limiting beliefs of #PurpleThreads

STRENGTH to prevent setbacks and the downward #AdverseSpiral

CONFIDENCE to think bigger and use #ThinkSayDo skills to get after it!

Unleash your potential, begin your journey today!

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Reposted from AMM

Crosscurrents 2025 Conference-
Association of Midwest Museums 
Illinois Association of Museums
IOWA Museum Association
Virtual July 23rd
In-person July 30- August 3rd

The success and sustainability of museums is dependent on many factors and, in a world where word-of-mouth is ever more influential, there’s no denying that our approach to visitor experiences and managing operations have a critical role to play. How can a shift in our approach to online and onsite experiences help us attract and foster connections with new audiences?  How can we build a more collaborative, positive work environment to retain talent and strengthen operations?

 Find out how to increase attendance by removing your audience’s perceived barriers during the in-person Concierge Content session by marketer and technologist Despi Mayes.

  Gather scalable strategies for operations, community engagement, and visitor experiences from Chris Morehead at Newfields during the in-person Building Strategic Operations That Deliver Exceptional Experiences session.

 Chat with visitor services staff from the Putnam Museum at their conversation station Uphill Battles in Visitor Services to find out how they have managed operations and maintained a positive visitor experience through a variety of disruptions.

 On Virtual Day, catch Staff Up! Leveraging the skills of part-time employees to meet the needs of multiple departments by Figge Art Museum staff. Then follow it up with a chat with leadership from another Quad Cities gem, the Family Museum, during their conversation station Managing Blurred Lines in Museum Roles.

 Catch a session by leaders from Minnesota Historical Society and Missouri Historical Society on breaking down silos and improving operations during Paddling Your Own Kayak? How to get your teams into the same boat for more efficiency and impact.

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Recording now available: "When Disaster Strikes: Lessons Learned from Lahaina and Los Angeles"

WEBINAR ANNOUNCEMENT (free, online): "When Disaster Strikes: Lessons Learned from Lahaina and Los Angeles", ICOMOS-USA – World Heritage USA

"This year's theme for the 2025 International Day of Monuments and Sites is "Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage." To spotlight this important topic, World Heritage USA invites you to join us for an insightful webinar exploring the complex and urgent work of preserving historic structures and heritage sites in the wake of devastating wildfires.

This event will bring together preservation professionals from Lahaina, Hawaii and Los Angeles, California who will share their experiences and discuss the efforts taken to safeguard what remains of these historic communities after the recent wildfires.

During the webinar, we will highlight the resilience of these communities and provide preservation professionals, local stakeholders and the general public with the opportunity to learn about strategies that can be employed to protect our most cherished landmarks."

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Reposted from CISA/DHS

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation and other US government (USG) partners published a fact sheet urging critical infrastructure entities with operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) to implement five primary mitigations that will improve their cybersecurity posture and reduce risk to unsophisticated cyber threat activity. The authoring agencies also encourage critical infrastructure entities to regularly communicate with their third-party managed service providers, system integrators, and system manufacturers who may be able to provide system-specific configuration guidance.

In addition to this fact sheet, CISA and USG partners published an operational alert warning of unsophisticated cyber actor(s) targeting ICS/SCADA systems within U.S. critical Infrastructure sectors (Oil and Natural Gas), specifically in Energy and Transportation Systems. These actors often use basic and elementary intrusion techniques because they target organizations with poor cyber hygiene and exposed public facing devices. The presence of poor cyber hygiene and exposed assets can escalate these threats, leading to significant consequences such as defacement, configuration changes, operational disruptions and, in severe cases, physical damage.

CISA strongly urges critical infrastructure asset owners and operators to review the fact sheet, Primary Mitigations to Reduce Cyber Threats to Operational Technology, for detailed guidance on reducing the risk of potential intrusions.

Reposted from Connecting 2 Collections

Recording Now Available! C2C Care/MayDay 2025 Webinar "So Now What? Dealing with Materials After a Disaster"

The recordings, resources and presentations are now available for the C2C Care/MayDay 2025 Webinar "So Now What? Dealing with Materials After a Disaster"

Access those items here: https://connectingtocollections.org/event/so-now-what-disposal-of-materials-after-a-disaster

Recent disasters across the country have presented small and mid-sized institutions with the unique challenges of not only dealing with health and safety for people but how to deal with the collection materials. During this special May Day 2025 webinar, participants will: 

• Learn ways to protect volunteers, staff, and themselves 
• Find out ways to properly dispose of items in their community 
• Hear a case study from the 9/11 Memorial Museum for examples of health hazards associated with disaster response and recovered artifacts. 

Presenters

Brandy Howard, PE, CIH, CSP, is the Group Manager of Industrial Hygiene and Asbestos at Terracon’s Denver office. Brandy holds a BS in Engineering and a MS in Environmental Science and Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Brandy has been a consultant for over 15 years and works with clients in various industries to deliver cost-effective environmental, health, and safety solutions to support their operations. Brandy currently serves as the Vice Chair for the AIHA Museums and Cultural Heritage Industry Working Group and was a research partner on the Museum Poisons Test Kit project.

Tara Kennedy is the Head of Preventive Conservation at the Yale Library Center for Preservation and Conservation. She holds a MLIS and a certificate of advanced studies in Library and Archives Conservation from the University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven, and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Northwestern University. Before coming to Yale, she worked at the National Archives, the Smithsonian, and the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a Professional Associate with the American Institute of Conservation (AIC). She is an active member of the AIC National Heritage Responders, and former co-chair of the AIC Health and Safety Network. Outside of her preservation work, she is a volunteer for the Doe Network, the Online International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons.

Kerith Koss Schrager is an objects conservator and Head of Conservation at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Kerith specializes in occupational health and safety for cultural heritage workers and has degrees in both Environmental Health Sciences (2022) and Conservation (2007) from New York University. Prior to her current position, she was the owner of The Found Object Art Conservation, LLC and has also held positions with the Brooklyn Museum, Field Museum, and National Museum of Asian Art of the Smithsonian. Kerith also serves as adjunct faculty at the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is a Professional Associate member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and a former Chair of both their Health & Safety Network and Conservators in Private Practice (CIPP) Specialty Group.

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Reposted from Art Sentry

Modern artworks, like kinetic and immersive pieces, present unique security challenges. Traditional systems often trigger false alarms or fail to detect genuine threats. Art Sentry’s AI-powered technology interprets movement rather than reacting to it, providing seamless protection for unconventional installations.

In The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide for Museum Security, we explain how advanced monitoring adapts to dynamic collections without disrupting the visitor experience.

Discover how Art Sentry enhances protection for kinetic and immersive art.

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Reposted from Tim Richardson

If you see something, DO something

There are so many questions today after a Florida State University student killed two men and injured seven others on campus yesterday. I never imagined that the campus where my wife and I spent many classroom hours learning, researching, writing papers, and in my case teaching others as a graduate student, would make the news in this horrible way. When tragedies like this happen, I wonder what, if anything, could have been done to prevent them. Were there signs that the shooter was unstable or that he needed professional help? Did a friend or family member notice a recent behavior change? Was he experiencing an unusual amount of stress or anxiety? Anxiety related illnesses has skyrocketed since smartphones and social media use became popular – particularly among young people. There has been trend of rising anxiety and depression diagnoses among U.S. college undergraduates with the spread of smartphones (2010–2018). Anxiety climbed from ~10% to ~24% (a 134% increase since 2010), and depression rose ~106%. Source: American College Health Association.

Studies at Columbia University Department of Psychiatry have shown a clear link between heavy social media use and negative mental health outcomes like depression, anxiety, loneliness, and even suicidal ideation. While nothing has been reported about the shooter’s motive, this situation is yet another reminder that these terrible incidents aren’t going away. In fact, they are becoming more and more common. This is the 6th school shooting in Florida this year.

Of course, we don’t know all the reasons why these tragedies continue to occur. But we do know that stress, rapid rates of change, and smartphone and social media use are all affecting our mental health in a big way. Every form of anxiety is increasing and increasing dramatically. And it’s not just college students who are affected. Our workplaces employ people of all ages. Until yesterday, I had no awareness that April was Workplace Violence Month. Not only should awareness increase in April, but awareness also needs to be ongoing. Don’t get caught up in the idea that, “it can’t happen here.” Most organizational leaders probably didn’t sign up to be counselors, protectors, or referees in the workplace but it’s becoming increasingly clear that those skills are needed in today’s world. We all need to have more awareness. I would encourage leaders to learn more about what causes anxiety and mental illness and provide internal training and education. Make sure employees have options for counseling services and regularly remind your team that if they need a minute, or an hour, or a day, give them opportunities to pause and let them know it’s okay to struggle and that it is okay to ask for help. If you have a story, share it. We need to normalize and prioritize mental health issues in our schools, colleges, and the workplace. For several years, we have heard this: If you see something, say something. Sadly, yesterday proved again how important that statement has become. Today, I would add that if you see something, don’t just say something, do something too. You can start with prayers for the entire FSU community.

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Reposted from CISA/DHS

The National Threat Assessment Center Presents
First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs: A Case Study on the Link Between Domestic Violence and Mass Attacks

Event Date: April 23, 2025

Event Time: 1:00-2:30 PM EST

The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) is pleased to announce a presentation on our latest publication, First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs: A Case Study on the Link Between Domestic Violence and Mass Attacks. Releasing on April 23, 2025, this behavioral case study examines the background and behavioral history of a gunman who killed 26 people, including his wife’s grandmother, and wounded an additional 22 others in an attack at a church in Texas. In this presentation, NTAC researchers will discuss this attacker’s long history of domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual violence perpetrated against friends, family members, and others.

Registrants will be emailed a Microsoft Teams link prior to the event.

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