MuseumsNewEngland.org is an online marketing initiative being developed by the New England Museum Association as a free benefit to its Institutional Members. Through this website, the general public and other interested parties can discover and learn about museums throughout New England. It allows visitors to search museums by location and type and displays information and photographs from the museums that fit the search criteria, along with links to the museums’ own websites. It is also expected to serve as a resource for researchers, event/wedding planners, film and photo location scouts, and for politicians and the media looking for information about the cultural resources in the area.

Two factors were the catalysts for NEMA taking on this initiative. First is the consistent message NEMA heard from its members through surveys that they would like NEMA to help promote their museums to the public. Second, the NEMA website usually ranks first in the results of a Google search of “New England Museums” – however nemanet.org is designed to meet the needs of its members, not the general public. These two facts pointed to an opportunity for NEMA to connect its members with tourists and other parties interested in learning more about New England museums and the resources they provide.

Currently there are several websites through which tourists and others can find information about area museums. But all of these offerings either include a broad array of tourist attractions such as beaches, shopping, and sporting events in addition to museums (e.g., visitnewengland.com), and/or have a smaller geographic focus (e.g., massvacation.com, museumsofboston.org). There are currently no websites that provide an easy way to explore museums of all disciplines in all of New England.

Museums New England provides an easy to navigate, one-stop shopping website for people looking for museums. Currently, we are in the first phase of marketing to the NEMA membership to ensure broad participation and promotion of our member institutions. In the next phase of marketing beginning this spring, NEMA will promote the site to travel and tourism boards, cultural organizations, event planners, and local media outlets.

To take advantage of this new, free benefit, please start by logging in to nemanet.org. If you have not logged into the NEMA site before, click the “Create Basic Account” link at the bottom of NEMA’s login page and complete the simple registration process. Once you have logged in, click the “List Your Museum” box on the left side of the page, and complete the simple listing process.  To do so, you will need:

• Basic information about your museum, including contact information, a brief description, and links to selected pages on your website.  The form will walk you through the specific information and the links requested.

• Your logo and up to five high-quality images of your museum, such as highlights from your collection, spaces available for event rental, and/or students or the public visiting your institution.

We currently have over 90 museums listed! With your help, we hope to reach 100% participation of all of our institutional members. It’s free and it’s easy, so we hope to see your museum online soon!