MCN Community Update

Hello MCN Community! 

It’s been a while since our last update. We know we are not alone in being challenged by the past two years, and as an organization that has sustained itself through an annual in-person conference, the challenges have been acute. In light of all this, we want to share our ambitions for the year ahead. The MCN board has been actively reimagining a sustainable operating model for MCN. We are grateful to you, especially our members, volunteers, and sponsors, for your continued commitment to our community.

The MCN Annual Conference

MCN has made the difficult decision not to host an annual conference in 2022. This is a year to recalibrate how future MCN events can best support you. In place of a conference, the board is excited to explore options for future events while creating sustainable models to serve our community for another 55 years. We’re eager to design new ways of gathering that connect, inform, and delight attendees—just as MCN has done in years past!

We look forward to returning to in-person gatherings in the near future and are thankful to the countless volunteers, partners, and sponsors who have made our past two virtual conferences possible. Until then, you can connect through the MCN Member Portal, MCN Forum, and MCN Slack.

Virtual Town Hall and Planning for the Future

We want you—MCN’s most devoted supporters—to provide feedback and ideas about how the organization can serve you best. You will help to shape our future, and we want to know: What is MCN for you now? What do you want MCN to be?

The board is working to sustain our vibrant community and build upon its 55-year legacy of supporting museum technology professionals. We have been shaping the value proposition for MCN, and, given the constraints of the past two years, the expression of this network may evolve and support for it may come through different channels. Since 2015, the MCN board has developed multi-year strategic plans every three years. The process is about to begin again, and we will focus on a reevaluation of MCN’s services, mission, and goals, with a continued aim toward stability and long-term sustainability. 

MCN members, please watch your inbox for an email invitation to participate in a virtual town hall in June 2022. This will be your opportunity to share with the board your questions, comments, and ideas about the future of MCN. This town hall will be the beginning of more opportunities to support the development of our next three-year strategic plan.

The upcoming town hall will be followed by surveys and conversations with the entire MCN community, and especially key supporters, including MCN members, past program volunteers, SIG chairs, mentorship program leaders, and sponsors. 

Let’s Stay Connected!

Over the past year we have also been engaged in an ambitious project to rebuild our entire digital platform to unify our offerings and bring everything under one virtual roof at mcn.edu. MCN members have access to SIGs and the generative conversations our dedicated SIG Chairs help to encourage; the MCN Member Portal with access to conference content and the member directory; and the mentorship program, which continues to be MCN’s cornerstone professional development program.

The MCN Forum is a resource for everyone to share announcements, job openings, and RFPs, and engage in discussions and offer support; and MCN Slack enables members and past conference attendees to connect quickly with the MCN musetech community. As always, you can reach the board at [email protected].

Thank You, Members!

MCN remains the leading musetech membership organization created by the community, for the community, and always sustained through the community. Thank you to our members—we value your support. If your membership has lapsed, we invite you to renew your membership to show your support for MCN.

Sincerely,

Yvonne Lee (MCN President), 

Seema Rao (MCN Vice President), 

and the MCN Board