Big Changes Coming for County Museum

San Bernardino County supervisors last week directed county staff to implement a series of improvements to the San Bernardino County Museum. The museum, which includes a main facility in Redlands, the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley, and historic sites in Chino, Colton, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, and Yucaipa, has faced low attendance, revenue, association membership and staff reductions in recent years. A series of recommendations was made to the board by Museum Management Consultants, Inc., based in San Fransisco, hired last year to assess the museum. One of these recommendations included filling a vacant director position with someone experienced in business and management. The goal is to forge a more productive relationship with the independent nonprofit Museum Association. San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chair James Ramos said the unanimous decision by county supervisors to approve the recommendations was "a new beginning for the San Bernardino County Museum. We are on our way to build upon the great facilities we have today and create a moder, fiscally healthy and respected educational and cultural institution that will attract and engage visitors in record numbers, compete with all other Southern California museums and responsibly preserve our county's heritage." Immediate focus, officials said, will be the recruitment of a director and the development of a short-term plan to implement changes in the museum and then develop a long-range strategic plan under the leadership of the new director. Consultants recommended 29 changes at the museum - including fundraising efforts; grant acquisition; better marketing strategies; new programs that could include summer camps; completion of exhibits like the Hall of Geologic Wonders, which broke ground in 2007; and an increase in the size of the Museum Association's board, among others.