The HRC thanks Nina Zannieri for serving as guest author for the following entry. Nina has been the Executive Director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association in Boston, MA since 1986.  She served on the Board of the American Association of Museums from 1999-2002 and as Vice Chair from 2002-2003. She also was President of the New England Museum Association from 1998 - 2002. Nina recently completed a 4-year term on the Governing Council of the American Association for State and Local History and is currently Chair of the AASLH StEPs Advisory Committee.

So there you are sitting at your desk wondering, "How can I get my board to understand that professional standards are actually important to our success rather than being something onerous that we have to do?"

Or perhaps you know that you need to create a collections policy or a strategic plan but you aren't sure how to start or where to look for resources.

Or you feel isolated in your job and want to find a network of folks who face the same issues you do day in and day out.

One solution is the new StEPs program from AASLH. It's not free but it could turn out to be the best $150 you ever spent on behalf of your institution ($250 for non-AASLH members, but that includes a one-year membership).

First, full disclosure. I have been involved in this program from its beginnings and have a stake in the success of the program. However, I am also in the field with you - almost 30 years, 23 of those as a director of a historic site/history museum. So while I do have a horse in this particular race, my ultimate goal is to get you to take a look at this new program and see for yourself whether or not it makes sense for your organization.

The Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (StEPs) is a voluntary, self-assessment tool created by AASLH with funding from IMLS. The self-study program encourages awareness and achievement of national standards for small- to mid-sized history organizations. Organizations that enroll in this new self-paced program use assessment questions and performance indicators - Basic, Good, Better - to rate their performance in six standards sections.

I believe you will discover that the program can help you identify opportunities for improvement and, as you share your results and progress with key stakeholders, other benefits will become apparent. By participating you will educate your staff, volunteers, and board about standards and their importance; find tools to make the case for improvement; make meaningful progress; improve your policies and procedures; increase credibility, and set the stage for participation in other programs.

By signing up and paying the ONE TIME fee, you will have access to the program forever. You will receive the StEPs workbook; certificates to promote your participation; discounts on key resources; access to an online network; and the sense that you are working towards an achievable goal that fits in with the work you are already doing.

I encourage you to go to http://www.aaslh.org/steps.htm and learn more about StEPs. You will find some helpful resources if you are still on the fence about whether this program is for you including sample workbook pages, information on other assessment programs so you can see what else is available, and even an "is you organization ready for StEPs" tool to help you determine if the program is the right fit for you.

So go ahead and take a look.  You will be glad you did.