Membership

Learn what it takes to become a CAMM member

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Benefits of CAMM Membership

Whether you are thinking about strategic planning or worrying about artifacts’ preservation, CAMM colleagues nationwide will share insights and experience;
Join a collegial group of peers and mentors who face similar challenges and opportunities;
Participate in a network of over 90 maritime museums, institutions and individuals across North America and beyond;
Attend the annual meetings for face-to-face networking, learning opportunities, and sharing expertises;
Promote your museum in our directory, which can be viewed by member institutions and the public at large;
Receive Reciprocal Admissions Cards for your top members, which entitle the bearer to free admission at CAMM member museums. CAMM full and affiliate members typically issue reciprocal admissions cards as a membership benefit at the $100 level and above.

Types of Membership

CAMM is an association of member museums and associated organizations. There are two categories of membership.

Full Members are entitled to vote, hold elected and executive office, and constitute a quorum for CAMM business.
Affiliate Members are also entitled to participate in CAMM activities, except they may not vote or hold elected or executive office, or make nominations for offices, and they may not constitute a quorum. Affiliate Members may serve on committees and in advisory capacities.
Maritime museum professionals not currently affiliated with a member organization may participate in CAMM as Individual Members.
Students and interns may join CAMM at an introductory Student Member rate. Individual and Student members have the same status as Affiliates.

Criteria for Membership

All Members are approved by the Board and pay yearly dues.
All Members must abide by the Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM) By-laws, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Code of Ethics; the policies of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Protection of Underwater Heritage 2001.

CAMM member institutions shall adhere to archaeological standards consistent with those of AAM/ICOM, and shall not knowingly acquire or exhibit artifacts which have been stolen, illegally exported from their country of origin, illegally salvaged or removed from commercially exploited archaeological or historic sites in recent times.

For Full Membership in CAMM

To become a Full Member of CAMM, an institution must meet the following criteria:

Be a maritime museum or museum with significant maritime collections, located within the United States and holding 501(c)(3) status, or museum with significant maritime collections, located outside the United States and meeting all requirements of Sec. 170(c)(2), [except Sec. 170(c)(2)(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.];
Be open to the general public on a regular basis for a minimum of 120 days per year, for at least two years from the time of application;
Be an institution which abides by the policies of the AAM, its By-laws, and its Code of Ethics.

For Affiliate Membership in CAMM

To become an affiliate member of CAMM, an institution must abide by the policies of the AAM, its By-laws, and its Code of Ethics and meet any of the following criteria:

Museums with maritime collections which are not predominantly ‘maritime museums’ or which do not qualify for full membership;
Emerging maritime museums, as a preliminary to full membership;
Historic vessels, lighthouses, and lifesaving stations;
Maritime preservation societies;
Oceanographic, marine biological, and scientific organizations with historical interests harmonious with the maritime preservation interests of CAMM;
Accredited educational entities regularly engaged in fields related to maritime preservation;
Maritime museums and preservation institutions elsewhere in the Americas and outside the United States;
Libraries or archives with maritime collections;
Maritime-focus publishers.

For Individual and Student Membership in CAMM

Independent maritime museum professionals who are not currently affiliated with a member institution and other individuals with an interest in North America’s maritime heritage may join as Individual Members or Student Members. Those elected to individual and student membership receive a CAMM reciprocal card, which entitles them to free admission to CAMM member institutions. Individual and Student Members are entitled to participate in CAMM activities, except they may not vote or hold elected or executive office, or make nominations for offices, and they may not constitute a quorum. Individual and Student members may serve on committees and in advisory capacities.

Applying for Membership

CAMM’s mission includes insuring that “the highest professional standards are adhered to in the preservation and interpretation of maritime history, as reflected in collections, site, vessels, and projects.” Because of this, we ask each member museum to adopt the archaeology by-law stating that a maritime museum “shall not knowingly acquire or exhibit artifacts that have been stolen, illegally exported from their country of origin, or illegally salvaged or removed from commercially exploited archaeological or historic sites in recent times.”

Click Here to Apply