A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MUSEUMS TO THE STATE'S CULTURAL LEGACY AND SUPPORTING OUTREACH EFFORTS OF THE MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO.

WHEREAS, 2009 will be the centennial of the museum of New Mexico and 2012 will be the centennial of New Mexico's statehood, and these major milestones will provide unique opportunities to celebrate New Mexico history and cultures; and

WHEREAS, museums play an important role in the economic vitality, quality of life and education of their communities; and

WHEREAS, local and private museums in New Mexico hold a rich diversity of collections that are part of the state's artifactual and archival history; and

WHEREAS, most local or private museums in the state have small staffs and depend on volunteers to operate, and, despite their best efforts, collections often remain uncatalogued, disorganized and inaccessible to the public; and

WHEREAS, the museum of New Mexico secured national funding to initiate a statewide museum outreach project to prepare small, rural museums to become local cultural heritage leaders and to provide assistance to the museums in upgrading facilities, providing better care for collections, improving professional practices and strengthening financial sustainability; and

WHEREAS, the museum outreach program provides consultations; professional support and training; high-quality, affordable traveling exhibitions; and the means whereby small, rural museums can conduct research and document collections, expand access to the collections and provide good management of historical collections; and

WHEREAS, over the last century, the museum of New Mexico helped establish museums and visitors' centers in Roswell, Carlsbad, Farmington, Lincoln, Mountainair, Las Vegas, Raton, Las Cruces, Silver City, Portales and Clovis; and

WHEREAS, its outreach program currently serves museums in ten counties, and over one hundred additional museums have participated in outreach training workshops or received information via the museum's online services; and

WHEREAS, outreach to small, rural museums is a labor-intensive and costly endeavor, and creating permanent, positive change will require a long-term commitment by the museum of New Mexico and local museums;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it recognize the outreach efforts of the museum of New Mexico and support its work with local and private museums in the state to maintain New Mexico's cultural heritage; and