Mission Statement and Goals
The mission of the Special Beings Doll and Toy Museum is to provide global education and cultural services to women and their families through the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of the visual arts using dolls and toys.
Our major goals to best carry out our mission are:
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To create educational exhibits with relevance to the lives of museum visitors and members highlighting the social and cultural history of dolls and toys.
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To provide cultural arts education to children globally, while working especially hard to reach those children who would normally not have an opportunity to engage in museum education experiences.
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To establish ongoing education within the organization and the creation of a culture of learning.
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To increase involvement of local doll and toy collectors, clubs, and special interest groups.
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To be a consistent resource to our community.
Collection Development Policy
The Special Beings Doll and Toy Museum seeks to collect dolls and toys. This policy is designed to create a collection which enhances the psychological and sociological development of children throughout the world. The collection will be amassed by outreach to doll and toy makers, collectors, related cultural organizations, and historical societies. Collection management is determined by curator, executive board and user surveys.
SBDTM provides a wide range collection of dolls and toys for users interested in exhibitions, education, research and collection. We are a public membership repository whose primary users include educational institutions, children organizations and researchers. Academic institutional users will include, but not be limited to those in education, literature, library science, psychology, counselling, history, and womens' studies areas.
Those working in schools and other child service organizations will use the collection for curriculi and program development. Research outside of academia will also encompass users working as doll and toy manufacturers, and related product developers.
Our collection includes a broad range of items dating from before Christ in Egypt to current holdings in the United States. Specific African, African diaspora and dolls of color will make up the primary targetted collection. Dolls will range from small figurines to full-size figures. Toys will be related specifically to the African or African diaspora historical experience.
Our policy also includes a needs assessment to assist us in the further expansion of our collection.