ABSTRACT
In 1990, the American Association of Museums and the Institute of Museum and Library Services introduced a new program to help museums improve their public service—the Public Dimension Assessment (PDA). The PDA is the third module in the AAM's Museum Assessment Program (MAP), which was started in 1981 to promote professional standards, institutional assessment, and peer review. The PDA ambitiously sets out to address the entire scope of the public's perception and experience of, and involvement with, the museum. MAP continues to evolve through a process of feedback from participating museums, MAP surveyors, and assessments conducted by AAM or IMLS. The public involvement activity facilitates a dialogue with the community through a community meeting, focus group, or mass-mailing questionnaire. MAP self-studies are intended to increase institutional self-awareness and result in both new knowledge and increased information sharing among museum staff, but MAP staff believe that the success of these studies in the initial modules has been limited.
