About

overview

Who we are and how we serve our community

committees

The people who make it all happen

board of directors

Meet MSA leadership

contact us

Get in touch with us

staff

Your Museum Store Association contacts

donate

Ways to support our nonprofit organization

membership

Join or renew

How to join MSA or renew Membership

shoptalk

Our  online community platform

membership Directory

Members only access

chapters

Leadership at the local level

MSA MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

An opportunity for professionals with budget challenges to attend MSA FORWARD

RECOGNITION AWARDS

The 2023 MSA Recognition Award winners

MSA NEXT

Emerging industry professionals

BUYER'S CHOICE AWARDS

Recognizing creativity and innovation in retail products showcased at MSA FORWARD

JOB SOURCE

Your one-stop career resource center to find and prepare for your next opportunity

education

Educational Recordings

Searchable downloads of all educational
sessions for members and non-members

publications

Providing ideas and methods to help store operators and employees

msa forward

Past conferences with links to session recordings, awards, exhibitors, and more. 

resource library

Curated content library for our members

Upcoming Live Webinars

What is ON for live digital events

MSA Blog

Articles written by subject matter experts to inform and educate

Knowledge standards

The foundation of nonprofit retail

Events

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

The schedule of webinars and events with descriptions and links to registration pages

msa forward conference

Where to find information about MSA FORWARD Conference and Expo

market Events

MSA events at wholesale gift markets

museum store Sunday EVENT

Annual Museum Store Advocacy Day

Museum store magazine

Museum Store magazine, MSA’s biannual publication, is the leading source of ideas, interviews, and information for store operators at nonprofit and cultural institutions.

For information about advertising in the magazine, click the “Reserve Your Ad Today” button.

For more than 40 years, Museum Store magazine has provided readers with stories and features to inspire them, give them ideas, and extend the profession. Articles in Museum Store support MSA’s eight Knowledge Standards—those core skills and abilities operators need to be the best nonprofit retail professional possible. Authors include members and retail industry experts. You will find an extensive Buyer’s Guide, highlighting products available for your store.

Click here to view the Fall/Winter 2023 edition of Museum Store magazine.  Click here to see recent issues of the magazine (please note this is a members-only page and you will need to log in to see past issues).

If you are interested in advertising in Museum Store magazine (print or digital issue), please click here to view the 2024 Media Kit.

How would you like it delivered?

  • PRINT EDITION – Become an MSA member or a magazine subscriber to receive two issues annually delivered to your mailbox.
  • ONLINE EDITION – MSA members can access the online edition to peruse on computers and tablets any time.
  • MAGAZINE APP – MSA members can have download Museum Store magazine app on iTunes, an interactive way to take in the latest issue on your iPad.

SUBSCRIBE!

Become an MSA member to receive Museum Store magazine print and electronic editions FREE!

Not an MSA member?
Subscribe today for only $35/year.

MSA News Brief

MSA News Brief is a monthly e-newsletter just for MSA members. It features important updates, event information, announcements, industry news, and more. There is no need to subscribe; when you join the MSA as a member, you’re automatically registered to receive the MSA News Brief.

Current Issue

Click here to read the February 2024 News Brief.

Past Issues

Click here to see past issues of MSA News Brief. (Please note this is a members-only page and you will need to log in to view past issues.)

Advertising Opportunities

Promote your business or products to a targeted audience of nearly 1200 MSA members! The majority of our membership consists of museum store buyers and other nonprofit retail professionals.

Available News Brief Display Ads and Current Rates:

AD TYPE SPECS MEMBER PRICE NONMEMBER PRICE
Clickable header advertisement 1100 x 180 pixels $250 each or $500 for 3 $300 each or $550 for 3
Clickable sidebar advertisement 121 x 351 pixels $200 each or $450 for 3 $250 each or $500 for 3
Clickable footer advertisement 1100 x 180 pixels $125 each or $350 for 3 $175 each or $400 for 3
Clickable mid-email advertisement 1100 x 180 pixels $125 each or $350 for 3 $175 each or $400 for 3

Average News Brief open rate: 51%
Average News Brief click rate: 10%

For more information or to inquire about advertising in a future News Brief, please contact Karen Raudabaugh at info@museumstoreassociation.org.

MSA FORWARD Conference Guide

The Museum Store Association partners with E&M Consulting, Inc. to produce our MSA FORWARD Conference & Expo Guide. E&M manages the project, including advertising sales and layout/graphic design.

E&M Consulting, Inc. is highly professional and produces a high-quality publication. The publication is available in both print and digital formats. The publication is mailed to all registered attendees of the conference – a great opportunity to promote and give your company additional exposure.

Rate Sheet

If you have any questions or want to advertise, please contact an E&M sales associate at 800-572-0011 ext. 8005 or advertising@eandmsales.com.  As always, your support is greatly appreciated!

MORE PUBLICATIONS

Working with our publishing partner Routledge, we continually work to bring you these specialized publications. Routledge produces a wide range of products in a targeted set of fields, including anthropology, archaeology, museum studies, and qualitative research.

Museum Store Association Retail Industry Report, 2022 Edition, eBook Financial, Operations, Salary, and Best Practices Information for the Nonprofit Retail Industry

Member Price:  $350 (must log into member account to receive member rate)

Non-Member Price:  $480

Institutions who participated in the study are eligible for special pricing; please contact MSA at (202) 367-1106 or by email at info@museumstoreassociation.org.

The 2022 MSA Retail Industry Report, the first edition since 2018, provides benchmarks and insights that enable nonprofit retail professionals and institutions to make smart business decisions and maximize sales in museum stores. It includes hundreds of pages of actionable information and over 200 tables, including comparisons by geography, size, gross sales and museum type against which you can compare your own store.

To purchase your digital copy, click HERE.

Museum Store: The Manager’s Guide, Fourth Edition Basic Guidelines for the New Museum Store Manager

February 2018 | 184 pages | 6.00 x 9.00
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62958-031-9
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62958-032-6

The revised and updated Fourth Edition of Museum Store: The Manager’s Guide includes invaluable new tools not available in previous editions. Look for:

  • Updated information on social media and mobile shopping to help you maximize the value of these important channels
  • How-to’s for analyzing and measuring financial performance, visual merchandising, marketing, managing personnel and more
  • BONUS: Forms found in the book that you can download from the MSA website
  • New insights into unrelated business income tax (UBIT) and copyright issues

This practical guide is a “must own” resource for every back office. The eight-chapter volume includes a wealth of advice on best practices compiled by the MSA to help members become more successful in every aspect of their business. Get guidance from experienced store manager pros to help you correctly evaluate your store’s performance and get on track to boost every aspect of performance. If you add just one educational resource to your library this year, this book should be it! The information it contains is that valuable.

The current Museum Store: The Managers Guide is COMING SOON!

The New Store Workbook, Third Edition The Essential Steps from Business Plan to Opening Day

 

The New Store Workbook, Third Edition
The Essential Steps from Business Plan to Opening Day

September 2014 | 200 pages | 6.00 x 9.00
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62958-033-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62958-034-0

Here’s the resource that begins where the rubber meets the road in store performance. In 13 information-packed chapters, you’ll get all the forms, formulae and background information you need to successfully ramp up a new enterprise, taking it from a great idea to a successful opening day. Material is organized so that you can find the exact information you need fast – no getting bogged down learning about areas you already have under control. Step by step, this book will walk you through each and every process so you end up with a store far superior to what most start-ups are able to offer.

  • Build a social media presence that increases loyalty
  • Locate and move your operation to the best e-commerce platform
  • Understand the best practices for selecting merchandise and developing products
  • Manage the perils and potential of satellite stores and online selling
  • Get tools you need to build a workable timeline for ramping up your operation

The New Store Workbook will quickly become the go-to, dog-eared guide everyone in your store is always referring to and following. The information in this volume can quite literally change your trajectory to success. Order your copy today!

For the current The New Store Workbook, Revised Edition, click here.

Numbers by the Book A Financial Guide for the Cultural Commerce & Specialty Retail Manager

January 2014 | 96 pages | 5.50 x 8.50
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61132-876-9
Paperback + CD-ROM ISBN: 978-1-61132-875-2

Numbers by the Book is a step-by-step guide to the financial side of planning, opening and operating a successful museum retail operation. This 96-page gem is lavishly illustrated with tables and charts to guide you through the process of creating budgets, choosing a POS system, purchasing and measuring success. It includes 14 worksheets and forms to launch your museum store towards profit!

Marketing Cultural and Heritage Tourism A World of Opportunity

Rosemary Rice McCormick (Author)
January 2014 |180 pages | 6.00 x 9.00
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-61132-877-6

Innovative tourism industry leader Rosemary Rice McCormick guides the reader through the basics of marketing and tourism know-how for museum store managers and other museum and heritage marketing professionals. Packed with valuable ideas and case studies, it will teach you how to build your business in the fast-growing, global tourism market, increase museum visitation and museum store sales, leverage business partnerships, and tap into that “drive market” that consists of 85% of U.S. travelers. This valuable resource is a must for all those in the business of connecting people with the cultural wealth of our museums and parks. The book received a 2011 SASI-ONE Gold Award from the Shop America Alliance.