It’s been an exciting year for the Springfield Museum of Art.

Not only was the museum named a Smithsonian affiliated museum, but it recently earned its re-accreditation with the American Alliance of Museums. The announcement was made earlier this week at a Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce event by the museum’s executive director, Ann Fortescue.

“It’s a self-motivated process, which means a museum must take it upon itself to see how it measures up against the highest standards of the field,” explained Dewey Blanton of the AAM. “Just 4.5 percent of the museums in the United States are accredited.”

Accreditation puts Springfield on a par with museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Blanton says the designation has proven to be helpful in fund-raising, applying for grants and with exhibits. Many European museums will not loan objects to institutions that aren’t accredited, he said.

Blanton says there are 17,500 museums in the United States; his organization represents everything from zoos to art museums and everything in between. The AAM has 3,000 members, only 780 are accredited.

The Smithsonian connection has paid dividends already as well with artifacts on loan to the Springfield museum.

Ohio native Jack Earl is one of the artists who has been featured at the museum. Earl, a ceramist whose work was also featured at the Smithsonian, is a longtime resident of Indian Lake. In 1969, he was among 250 artists included in “Objects: USA,” a landmark exhibit at the Smithsonian.