[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 84 (Tuesday, April 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34277-34278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09276]


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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

Institute of Museum and Library Services


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Request: National 
Museum Survey

AGENCY: Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Foundation 
on the Arts and the Humanities.

ACTION: Notice, request for comments, collection of information.

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SUMMARY: The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, 
conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general 
public and federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed 
and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. This pre-clearance consultation program helps 
to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The 
purpose of this Notice is to request a three-year clearance for the 
National Museum Survey (NMS). The NMS will be a voluntary collection 
that seeks to measure and understand the scope and scale of the role 
that the nation's diverse museums play in American society. IMLS will 
use the data collected through the NMS to provide museum practitioners, 
the public, and policymakers with essential baseline statistics 
regarding the museum sector. A copy of the proposed information 
collection request can be obtained by contacting the individual listed 
below in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted to the office 
listed in the Addresses section below on or before June 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Julie Balutis, Director of Grants Policy 
and Management, Institute of Museum and Library Services, 955 L'Enfant 
Plaza North SW, Suite 4000, Washington, DC 20024-2135. Ms. Balutis can 
be reached by telephone: 202-653-4645, email: [email protected]. Office 
hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing (TTY users) 
can contact IMLS at 202-207-7858 via 711 for TTY-Based 
Telecommunications Relay Service.

[[Page 34278]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jake Soffronoff, Survey Methodologist, 
Office of Research and Evaluation, Institute of Museum and Library 
Services, 955 L'Enfant Plaza North SW, Suite 4000, Washington, DC 
20024-2135. Mr. Soffronoff can be reached by telephone: 202-653-4648, 
email: [email protected]. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing 
(TTY users) can contact IMLS at 202-207-7858 via 711 for TTY-Based 
Telecommunications Relay Service.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IMLS is particularly interested in public 
comments that help the agency to:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information including the validity 
of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques, or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

I. Background

    The United States is home to tens of thousands of museums. 
Together, they steward living and non-living collections and, through 
their programs and services, contribute to the cultural health, 
economic vitality, and social well-being of the communities they serve. 
A regular sector-wide data-gathering effort is needed to better 
understand the museum sector and the services it provides.
    IMLS is exercising its authority under 20 U.S. Code Sec.  9108 to 
conduct a new survey that fills this need: the National Museum Survey 
(NMS). The NMS will be a voluntary survey of museums that aims to 
capture the scope and scale of museums' presence and reach within the 
United States over time. The survey will collect foundational, high-
level data directly from museums to inform policymakers, the museum 
field, and the public about the role that the nation's diverse museums 
play in American society.

II. Current Actions

    Intent to seek approval for a new information collection.
    Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services.
    Title: National Museum Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 3137-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not applicable.
    Agency Number: 3137.
    Respondents/Affected Public: IMLS plans to conduct a census of all 
U.S. museums representing a broad range of museum disciplines, 
including zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and arboretums; nature 
and science centers; history museums and historic sites; art museums; 
children's museums; natural history museums; and general and 
specialized museums. Institutions must meet all the following criteria 
to be eligible for selection:
     Be a unit of federal, state, local, or tribal government, 
or a not-for-profit institution.
     Serve the public in a physical location it owns or 
operates.
     Provide exhibitions and programs.
     Primarily function to house, display, and care for animate 
or inanimate objects that form the core of its exhibitions, programs, 
and research.
     Under normal circumstances, be open to the public 90 days 
or more per year, either through specific hours of operation or by 
appointment
     Have at least one staff member, or the full-time 
equivalent, whether paid or unpaid IMLS will request that a senior 
administrator at each institution be responsible for the completion of 
the survey at their institution.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: The survey's expected 
response rate is 35 percent, leading to approximately 7,500 completed 
cases.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 1 hour.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 7,500.
    Total Annual Cost Burden: The estimated cost burden for respondents 
is $431,775 (7,500 hrs x $57.57/hr). $57.57 represents a simple average 
of hourly mean wage figures for government, academic, and company/
enterprise managers (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes113012.htm).
    Total Annual Federal Costs: $794,580.49.
    Public Comments Invited: Comments submitted in response to this 
Notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Dated: April 25, 2024.
Suzanne Mbollo,
Grants Management Specialist, Institute of Museum and Library Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-09276 Filed 4-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7036-01-P