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Important!
The CHIN/VMC Membership Overview has been reproduced below for your information only.

If applying for membership, you MUST download the entire CHIN/VMC Membership Package from the menu on the left. This will allow you to print, complete, sign and return all required sections to CHIN by mail or fax.

CHIN/VMC MEMBERSHIP OVERVIEW

CHIN and Canadian heritage institutions work together to strengthen our collective ability to create, present and manage Canadian online content. This collaboration has resulted in the internationally valued Web site for heritage professionals at www.chin.gc.ca, and the highly successful VMC portal at virtualmuseum.ca.

Public, not-for-profit, Canadian museums and other heritage organizations are invited to reap the many benefits of CHIN membership, including participation in the VMC. Membership is available at no cost to eligible institutions. You can register in one of the following categories: Contributing, Basic or Associate Member.

1. MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

1.1 All CHIN/VMC Members benefit from:

Marketing Initiatives
Extensive marketing efforts are deployed to heighten the collective profile of member institutions in schools and among the domestic and international Web surfing public (e.g. billboard campaigns, press relations, online marketing, contests, search engine optimization).

VMC Investment Program
All members are eligible to submit proposals for the creation of VMC content, either solely in the applying organization's name or on behalf of a group of partnering institutions. Program Guidelines are posted at www.chin.gc.ca.

Help Desk
All members may access CHIN's multifaceted expertise and ongoing technical support through email at service@chin.gc.ca, or by telephone at (819) 994-1200 or 1 800 520-2446.

Input
All members of the Network have an important voice in shaping CHIN initiatives, and can participate in the development of programs.

Discounts
All Members benefit from discounts negotiated by CHIN (e.g. conference registrations, CHIN events).

Updates
All Members receive regular updates, by electronic and regular mail, regarding the many products and services CHIN offers the heritage community.

Other Benefits
Other membership benefits include priority placement in CHIN events where feasible, and, resources permitting, free copies of new CHIN publications.

1.2 Exclusive benefits for Basic and Contributing Members:

Presence in the VMC
Basic and Contributing Members can ensure a visible presence in the VMC by submitting entries to sections such as Find a Museum, Calendar of Events, and Teachers’ Centre. In addition, Contributing Members have their records featured in the Artefacts Canada professional resource, and any images linked to those records will be featured in the VMC’s Image Gallery. New records can be submitted at any time.

Community Memories Program
Basic and Contributing Members with no more than two full-time paid staff, including institutions that are entirely volunteer-run, are eligible to submit proposals for the creation of a Community Memories online local history exhibit. Program Guidelines are posted at www.chin.gc.ca.

Internet Support
Basic and Contributing Members are eligible to benefit from either of the following options:

INTERNET ACCESS AND TRAINING: Members that wish to benefit from Internet access support can be reimbursed for up to $300 a year. Members that choose this option are also eligible to benefit from Internet training support up to $400.

OR

ENHANCED INTERNET TRAINING: New Members that choose this option are eligible for up to $750 in Internet training support.

2. MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

2.1 To be eligible to become a Basic or Contributing Member, heritage institutions must be not-for-profit, permanent establishments, exempt from federal and provincial government income taxes, open to the public and administered in the public interest, for the primary purpose of conserving and preserving, studying, interpreting, assembling and exhibiting to the public, for its instruction and enjoyment, objects and specimens of educational and cultural value, including artistic, scientific (whether animate or inanimate), historical, and technological material. Heritage institutions thus defined include museums, art galleries, art exhibit centres, botanical gardens, zoological parks, aquaria, planetaria, historical society museums and historical houses, preservation projects, and sites which meet the requirements set forth in the preceding sentence.

2.2 Basic and Contributing Members provide information about the institution, the scope of its collections and upcoming events to the VMC Institution & Events Guide database (referred to as the Guide). This data is made available to the public through the VMC's Find a Museum, Calendar of Events, and Teachers' Centre sections. This data will also be made available to the public through the CHIN Web site as part of a new professional directory.

2.3 Basic Members reach Contributing Member status once they have contributed a cumulative total of at least 1000 collection records to Artefacts Canada (or all their collection records if they possess fewer than 1000 objects). Regardless of the number of collection records already contributed, institutions can upload additional records at any time. Artefacts Canada records to which images have been linked are also shared with the public through the VMC's Image Gallery.

2.4 Canadian, not-for-profit heritage organizations that are not open to the public may be eligible to become Associate Members. Associate Members provide information about the organization and its programs to the Guide. This data will be made available to the public through the CHIN Web site as part of a new professional directory.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 All Members must complete and return the CHIN/VMC Membership Application (see PART B) and must sign and return the accompanying CHIN/VMC Membership Agreement (see PART C). Institutions that wish to become Contributing Members must also sign and return the CHIN Agreement with Contributing Institutions (see PART D).

3.2 After submitting their application, eligible institutions will receive a user name and password allowing them to customize their presence in the VMC. All Members must complete an entry in the Guide prior to being eligible to submit proposals to the VMC Investment Program.

3.3 Basic and Contributing Members must complete an entry in the Guide prior to receiving reimbursement for their Internet training or Internet access. (Proof of payment must be provided. Maximum amounts are defined above in SECTION 1.2.) A complete entry includes institution and collection descriptions as well as events/exhibition information. Entries in the Guide must be updated on a regular basis. Members are strongly encouraged to provide images in order to enhance their entries.

3.4 Basic and Contributing Members with no more than two full-time paid staff, including institutions that are entirely volunteer-run, must complete an entry in the Guide prior to being eligible to submit proposals to the Community Memories program.

4. COSTS

There are no membership fees. CHIN views the information contributed by members as equivalent to a fee.