Museum Program Survey, 1979 [United States]

This survey collected data from 1,373 nonprofit museums in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The sample was drawn from a universe of museums developed in a 1978 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) museum universe study. The purpose of the study was to estimate the characteristics and educational roles of the nonprofit museum universe. For the purpose of this survey, a museum was defined as an institution organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes, which utilizes a staff, owns or uses tangible objects whether animate or inanimate, cares for these objects, and exhibits them to the public on a regular basis. A stratified, random sample was drawn from a sampling frame of 4,408 museums identified by the 1978 Museum Universe Survey. The survey instrument was mailed to museum directors on December 12, 1979. Non-respondent follow-ups included a reminder letter, telephone follow-up and a second survey mail-out, followed by a final telephone follow-up.