Press Release (12/15/2023): NMA Collaborating with Senator Aguilar to change Museum Property Act
The Nebraska Museums Association is working with District 35 Senator Aguilar to modernize the Nebraska Museum Property Act, a set of statutes for how Nebraska museums manage their collections. Many museums across the state have items in their collections that were never properly accessioned into the collection at the time of donation or were given to the museum on loan and never reclaimed. Without proper documentation, these pieces must lie in limbo in museums for an extended period, during which museums cannot properly treat, research, exhibit, or rehome them to a more appropriate nonprofit, as the museum does not legally own the item. Under the current Act, the process to find the original donor or lender of an item takes a minimum of 10 years and relies on a singular, outdated method to attempt to find said donor or lender. The Act currently states that after a period of at least seven years in the collection, three written notices must appear in the local newspaper, and only after waiting an additional three years, can any action be taken with the item.
Museums across the state agree that posting a notice in the newspaper is no longer as effective as it was when the original Act was written and are asking for the addition of digital media alongside the posting in the newspaper to be added to the Act. They feel the addition of digital media has a higher probability of finding the appropriate person, and will increase the efficiency of this process, meaning the wait time after publishing notifications can decrease from three years to one year before action can be taken.
“Museums across the nation have undocumented items in their collections. The changes that the Nebraska Museums Association is proposing for the Museum Property Act are intended to help museums across the state to properly care for all items in their possession, not just store them. Nebraska is not alone in requesting assistance to change legislation regarding museum property,” states NMA President Rebecca Matticks. The Nebraska Museums Association’s membership currently includes eighty museums. The NMA Board is comprised of eighteen museum professionals that fully support the change in legislation.
NMA Members, please share the press release with your local media:
As we prepare for the 2024 travel season, we would like to invite you to join the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation’s free WanderNebraska program! This statewide travel adventure program encourages travelers to visit Nebraska museums, libraries, and other historical points of interest across the state.
In its third year of programming, we continue to learn how we can best serve participant sites. As a result, this year we plan to offer both a digital and physical booklet option. Travelers will have the option of tracking their historic site visits in our booklet, on the WanderNebraska.com website, or both. We also plan to offer prizes to incentivize Nebraska travelers’ participation Travelers will be able to win lottery tickets, ballcaps, t-shirts and totes.
We will admit that program participation will not guarantee an increase in visitors at your site (although we hope it will!). We appreciate your understanding as we continue to increase the effectiveness of this free, experimental program with your generous insights and feedback.
If you are interested in participating in WanderNebraska 2024, please complete and mail or return via email to [email protected] the attached form by February 15, 2024. While we can update and add sites to our website throughout the duration of the program, if you would like your site printed in our booklet option, we will need to have received your form before February 15. If we do not receive the completed form or hear back from you, we will assume you are opting-out of the 2024 program.
Thank you for your consideration. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2024! Leslie
PS: Please remember that NSHSF offers FREE Nebraska Museum Association members to all statewide grant applicants. Contact Director of Special Projects Sue Quambusch [email protected] for more information.
Meet the 2026 NMA Conference Keynote Speaker, Melea Hoffman: My Name is Tse-sa-ru-ra-ka-ri-ku, My English name is Melea Hoffman and I am a member of the Otoe-Missouria and Pawnee Tribes. I am Beaver clan, I am the daughter of Georgia and Ralph Hoffman and I come from the William Atkins and Sam Carsonfamilies. I hold a degree in cultural Anthropology, I use it to teach and share Otoe-Missouria history and culture. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma. I am a researcher and author. I serve as a member of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, and on an advisory committee for the Walking in theFootsteps of our Ancestors project. I have had the honor of being a cultural consultant for Nova. I’m an avid collector be it antiques, relics, fossils and mini pottery. My passions are studying the history of the Otoe-Missouria people, reading, and spending time with my animals on my small farm.Register today for the 2026 NMA Conference this April 13-14 in Beatrice, Nebraska. www.nebraskamuseums.org/conference-and-annual-meeting/... See MoreSee Less
Our spring Caring for Museum Collections Online Course will cover how collections age and deteriorate, handling collections, storage requirements, environmental considerations, housekeeping, and risk management. Register at tinyurl.com/yeyjfj7s. ... See MoreSee Less
Join us tomorrow Friday, February 27 at 10:30 am Central Time for NMA Monthly Museum Musing. Alyssa Smith will talk about Textile Storage and Display. Alyssa Smith, MA in Material Culture and Textile Studies, and learn about ways you can better care for the textiles in your collection. Alyssa will walk you through steps that all museums can take to improve how we care for historical textiles, including the basics of textile storage and budget-friendly ways your site/museum can improve your textile displays in exhibits, and how to make a padded hanger.To join the Zoom discussion, email [email protected]... See MoreSee Less
On behalf of the Sarpy County Historical Society Board of Directors, thank you to everyone who has reached out since we announced the permanent closure of the Sarpy County Museum facility in Bellevue. We know this announcement caught a lot of people off guard and elicited a lot questions from our members, volunteers and generous donors. And, quite frankly, you deserve more answers than we have been able to give you thus far. The last three months have brought monumental change to not only our staffing structure, but also our Board of Directors. Our full-time director retired at the end of 2025 and around that same time we lost several long-time board members, including the board president. As our board and staff resources shrunk, so did our communication. And for that, we are sorry. We have added three new board members since November, and we are getting up to speed on the issues you have been asking about. Here is what we can tell you about the capital campaign for the new museum facility: the historical society engaged with two different paid fundraising companies to assist with the capital campaign. The museum expanded its staff to ensure it had the necessary resources for operating the existing museum as well as planning for the new project. It became apparent that even with a great location, the campaign donations were not flowing to the extent needed to make the vision a reality. At that point, the museum adjusted its focus to organizing the collection and moving things online. Also during this time the museum’s director resigned and the other staff member picked up the slack, but the capital campaign suffered. According to what board members can recollect, the Wimmers were notified that fundraising was going to pause so the museum could focus on getting the current collection sorted and cataloged. It was then that the Wimmers wanted/needed to house their collection elsewhere since the new facility wouldn’t be constructed as soon as originally hoped. While there may be some disagreements on what transpired, this is what the Board of Directors has pieced together, and we will be moving on from here. At this time we are not ready to provide any more detailed answers, because we are still putting all the pieces together, but please know this: we promise transparency, accountability and open communication with our members, volunteers and donors. The history of Sarpy County is a rich, important story to tell and we look forward to working with the community to do just that in the near future. Sarpy County Historical Society Board of Directors ... See MoreSee Less
The Durham Museum is honored to partner with the Institute for Holocaust Education as part of its annual Week of Understanding, a week of programming where more than 6,000 people hear moving testimonies of survivors of the Holocaust as told by second- and third-generation survivors.We are excited to welcome Steve Goldberg on Wednesday, March 25, to The Durham. Steve will share the story of his friend Abe Piasek, a Holocaust survivor. Abe was 13 when he was sent to Nazi labor camps, later liberated from a cattle car in 1945. Abe lost his entire family, but never his spirit of perseverance. Before his passing in 2020, Abe asked Steve to “keep telling his story,” and telling he has, sharing Abe’s life of tremendous courage in the face of tragedy to more than 10,000 people.𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲• Wednesday, March 25• 6:30-7:30PM• Free for museum members• Regular-admission rates for non-members• Advanced registration requiredRegister: DurhamMuseum.org/holocaust-education ... See MoreSee Less
🎂 This Saturday, enjoy free admission to NSHS museums and historic sites in celebration of Nebraska's 159th Birthday! We'll have activites for the whole family including Nebraska-themed bingo, scavenger hunt, history lectures, and more! history.nebraska.gov/event/nebraska-statehood-day-celebration-2026/.Special thanks to the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation for sponsoring this special day! ... See MoreSee Less
The one-day onsite workshop, "Reimagining the Historic House Museum" includes an analysis of the most important opportunities and threats facing historic sites in America based on the latest social and economic research, with a discussion on how they may relate to the participants' house museum. Register at tinyurl.com/ye9c73jf. ... See MoreSee Less
Coming up this weekend!Sunday, February 22, 2-4 pmHard History: Through Grief and AfflictionsThe History of Women and Mental HealthcareThis lecture-style program blends storytelling, recorded music, and historical visuals to explore how women’s mental health was understood and treated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Centering women’s voices, the program examines changing perceptions of mental illness and shares stories of women from the local area.The program also explores the legal and social realities that allowed male heads of household to commit women to asylums. Audiences will learn about conditions inside Nebraska’s state insane asylums and how institutional care shaped women’s lives.Conversations about mental health can be difficult, but looking honestly at the past can help reduce the stigma that persists today. This program invites audiences to connect with people of the past, reflect on progress in mental healthcare, and consider women’s history from a new perspective.This program is included free with regular daily admission. For more information regarding this program and other upcoming events, visit our calendar: me-qr.com/8UY1UQ8p... See MoreSee Less
