Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums

The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums may have started as an advocacy group in 1991, but it has grown to include other programs to serve the local history community in Minnesota. At the heart of our mission, we believe that we are stronger together than we are separately and that we all benefit from "peers helping peers."

Mutual Assistance

After calling 911 during a fire, flood or other natural disaster, MALHM members can call in their peers in the local history community to help with recovery of historic artifacts. Fellow local historians will assist keeping property safe from theft and minimize damage from the elements.

Online Library

MALHM members live up to our motto of "peers helping peers" by sharing their knowledge with each other in an online library. You can access everything from a housekeeping schedule for a historic house museum to sample board job descriptions to our "Collections Initiative" collections manual for small museums.

History Awards

Minnesota has been a national leader in public history but did not have a sanctioned awards program to identify this work until 2009, when the Minnesota History Awards were created by the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums. Not only do the awards give community recognition to great work, but they also provide a role model for other history organizations. 

Advocacy

Local history groups who felt that small organizations were getting short changed in state funding formed The Alliance in 1991. MALHM continues to be the voice of local history and advocate for the local history community in Minnesota.

Annual Conference

What began as an annual workshop has grown into a two-day conference packed with sessions geared to small- and medium-sized history organizations. Participant evaluations tell us the annual conference is the highlight of the year, with opportunities to learn from each other in both formal sessions and informally over lunch or evening mixers.