This past fall we had the opportunity to interact with many of our cultural clients and museum colleagues at the annual meeting of the AASLH held here in Richmond. At our booth, we posted a question for comment and discussion:

What are the Most Important Trends for Museums in the Next Five Years?

Here are some of the responses we received:

• Engaging Youth and New Communities
• Being an Entrepreneur
• Engaging Visitors – Making Material seem Alive/Exciting
• Social Media
• Engaging Audiences with the Semantic Web
• Having the “Real” Stuff
• Diversifying Revenue Streams
• Exhibits Authored by the Community
• Mobile
• $

What is interesting about this list is that nearly every response addressed either financial conditions or a focus on visitor engagement. This points out to us that while funding streams are always an issue for museums, there may in fact be a shifting dynamic with an increasing focus on the visitor and visitor engagement at our cultural institutions. This is consistent with discussions that we have had with many of our cultural clients. With the economic changes happening in the last few years, enhancing the visitor experience, and engaging our visitors in new or unique ways is becoming a greater focus. Is the curatorial department taking a back-seat? We hope not, we all know that there is a fine balance to be maintained between increased visitation and good stewardship of collections. This is an interesting point of discussion, about which we hope to hear more from all of you in the museum community.

Steven Blashfield is the Director of G&HA’s Cultural Studio and was recently certified as CAP Assessor by Heritage Preservation for assessment of historic properties. He will be presenting at the Virginia Association of Museums, held March 17-20 in Newport News, VA.

Recognizing that conservation can and should apply to more than just our collections; trends in sustainability, when correctly applied, can have a real financial benefit to long range operations of our facilities. Going “green” is more than just jumping on the bandwagon – it is about forging new partnerships, using precious resources wisely, and setting a good example as leaders in our communities. We hope to see you at one of these venues.

The Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto recently achieved LEED Silver certification and is already demonstrated a dramatic improvement in energy conservation.

As a part of Washington & Lee Universities historic Colonnade, Newcomb Hall has achieved both historic preservation tax credits and LEED – Silver certification, demonstrating that effective preservation and energy efficiency can be achieved in tandem.

The Alexander Black House and Museum is one of G&HA’s most recent efforts in sustainable preservation – pursuing LEED Silver certification.