Museum Store Association

News Items:

The MSA News Page

Bill Yee Associates Closes its Doors
April 23, 2008
An MSA Exhibitor Affiliate for more than 40 years, Bill Yee Associates has decided to close its business. Read Bill and Katherine Yee's farewell letter to MSA members (PDF).

Board Member Ricker Changes Museums
April 7, 2008
Elizabeth (Beth) Ricker, current Director at Large on MSA's board of directors, has left the Public Museum of West Michigan in Grand Rapids, MI, to start a new position with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque, NM. Her last day in Grand Rapids was April 4 and she starts her new job in Albuquerque on April 21.

2009 Program Resource Group Selected
April 7, 2008
Members of the volunteer committee responsible for determining educational topics and learning objectives for the 2009 MSA Retail Conference & Expo were recently selected. The 2009 Program Resource Group is composed of the following MSA Museum Members:

Candace Allen, Museum of New Mexico Foundation, Santa Fe, NM
Kelly Boyd, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA
Constance McCulloch, White House Historical Assn., Washington, DC
Joe Sporcic, The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport, RI
Stacey Stachow, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Gwen Benner, Incoming President, MSA Board of Directors

How to Prove the Value of Attending the MSA Conference
(Hint: You’re actually making money!)
March 25, 2008
Sometimes being a reformed accountant is a real pain, but thinking like one might have some advantages – especially when it comes to negotiating with your boss. For example, is your CFO or management skeptical of the benefits of coming to the MSA Conference? Do you need additional ammunition? I’d like to propose several ways that the expense of attending the conference is likely to be recouped for the institution over the next six to 12 months in cost savings and revenue ideas. So, allow me to put on my financial hat.

Let’s assume your projected cost for attending the MSA Conference is $1,200. All it would take to recoup this cost — and more — for your institution is some combination of the following:

Savings / discounts from leaving orders at Expo – if 5% on $5,000 = $250
Promotional ideas for an event, customer loyalty program, e-commerce, etc., translating to incremental sales = $500
Networking ideas for maximizing inherently low margins on a merchandise category like books and catalogues – 1% points on $20,000 annual sales of books = $200
Add-on sales from Web site if not currently doing e-commerce – at 2% of current sales if $100k annually = $2,000
Finding better price for staple product for your store via networking or Expo vendors – just 5% on one item that you spend $1,000 per year = $50
Enhanced knowledge through workshop or networking for inventory control – just a 1% reduction in inventory cost value of $100k = $1000
Finding vendor sources for low minimums on product development opportunities you could not do in the past, providing incremental sales = $1,000
Your time saved from exposure to a full array of vendors versus surfing the Internet – hours! You plug in the value = $xxxx
Collaboration on an idea with stores from your community, i.e., sharing an event to save and make more money. The value is limited only by your imagination = $xxxx
Value of the education, personal development and networking relationships with vendors and fellow members, applied in future months and years – priceless.

You only need to benefit from two or three of the above to recoup your out-of-pocket costs for the MSA Conference. You can even commit to document these types of hard cost-saving and revenue ideas for your institution when you return home.

And to make it even easier for you, MSA has put together a Word template, based on the ideas above. Feel free to customize the document so that it works best for your situation – then plan to share this information with your management. And at the risk of sounding like an infomercial … but wait there’s more! You can still save $70 on conference registration if you sign up by March 28, 2008. It’s just another way you can show your fiscal responsibility! Get more information about the MSA Conference and register now.

If you need more time to put your plan together, you can always register on site in Tampa, or if scheduling conflicts just don’t allow you to be away from the institution this April, keep these ideas in mind for Phoenix in 2009! I hope to see you soon!

Gwen Benner
Incoming MSA President and Reformed CPA

Lauren Chapin, President, MSA Board of Directors

The Knowledge Standards Are Coming!
March 12, 2008
To say that our jobs as cultural commerce professionals are multifaceted is to make an understatement. From managing the store to coordinating special events to overseeing visitor services – we wear many hats!

This became very evident during the development of MSA’s Knowledge Standards. The Knowledge Standards Work Group has been working for more than a year to create a body of knowledge that reflects the complexities of our responsibilities. And now I’m excited to announce the unveiling of the Knowledge Standards at this year’s Membership Meeting in Tampa, FL! Join me on Sunday morning April 13 at the 2008 MSA Retail Conference & Expo to learn more about this exciting initiative.

The Knowledge Standards identify eight core competencies with specific responsibilities for each, as well as the necessary skills required for success. Whether we work in small or large institutions, we play an astonishing and varied number of roles – all of which are reflected in the standards. And even though we are a diverse group, you’d be amazed at how many similarities we share. Later this month you’ll be able to see how similar when MSA publishes a summary of the results of the Knowledge Standards Survey that Museum and Allied Members took in November.

What do the Knowledge Standards mean for MSA? The standards will be used to create a framework for MSA’s educational programming.

What do the Knowledge Standards mean for you? We all know how important our work is. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our institutions recognized our significance as well? Application of the Knowledge Standards Program will give you the skills to achieve success thus adding value to your institution and making the store a more integral part of the institution’s overall goals.

If you’ve already registered for this year’s Conference, make sure you plan to attend the Membership Meeting on Sunday. If you haven’t signed up yet – what are you waiting for? In addition to witnessing the world premiere of the Knowledge Standards, you’ll experience four indispensable days of learning, buying and networking. Register today – I hope to see you in Tampa!

Lauren Chapin Salazar
MSA President

MSA Hires Two New Staff Members
Feb. 27, 2008
The Museum Store Association would like to introduce two new staff members, Tina Eichner and Terri-Ann Stoeckle.

Tina Eichner, Managing Editor
Tina recently joined MSA as managing editor and will oversee all publishing and communications functions at the Association. Tina is a communications professional with 17 years of experience as a writer and editor in fields ranging from high-tech to healthcare. She has been on the launch team for several print and online publications. Tina is a Colorado native who lives near Boulder with her husband and two daughters. She is also on the board of directors for a nonprofit preschool for children with disabilities and typical children in a blended learning environment.

Terri-Ann Stoeckle, Director of Operations
As MSA's new Director of Operations, Terri-Ann comes to us with 18 years of nonprofit executive management experience, including business alignment, managing customer databases, and user needs analysis and solution evaluations. Most recently, Terri-Ann worked as the chief information officer at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). Prior to leaving NJPAC, Terri-Ann’s most recent challenge was working on the establishment and implementation of their customer relationship management-based operating strategy and supporting technology platforms.

Welcome Tina and Terri-Ann

MSA Board Election Results
Jan. 29, 2008
The MSA board election results are in: Leslie Hartman of Sauder Village in Archbold, OH, has been elected to serve as the Second Vice President and Elizabeth (Beth) Ricker of the Public Museum of West Michigan in Grand Rapids, MI, has been elected to serve as Secretary. In addition, David Duddy of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA, and Valerie Troyansky of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY, have been appointed as Directors at Large. They will all take office at MSA's Membership Meeting in Tampa, FL, on Sunday, April 13, 2008. Congratulations!