Charlotte Museum of History, squeezed by a lagging economy and declining donations, plans to lay off five employees - about a fourth of its staff of 18 - at the end of the month.

Most of the positions are in maintenance and front desk, said Angelica Docog, the museum's executive director. One job is in the museum's education department and another in collecting artifacts, she said. Some are part-time positions.

"What we're going through a lot of museums went through a couple years ago," she said. "Now it's our turn."

Docog said the museum, 3500 Shamrock Drive, will continue to operate as usual, and traveling exhibits and programming in 2012 will not be affected.

Its next major exhibition, "Liberty on the Border: A Civil War Exhibit," will open as scheduled on Jan. 28, she said.

Money problems are hitting the museum at a time of rising attendance.

So far this year, attendance is up 17 percent and may top 45,000. But some of that has come through free-admittance programs underwritten by grants, which don't bring in the same revenue as the museum's standard $6 admission fee, Docog said.

Docog said the museum, with a $1.1 million annual budget, needs to find new ways to raise money. It gets no money from the city or county and the Arts & Science Council grants have fallen from $312,900 in 2009 to $191,900 this fiscal year.

On Monday, the museum's 26-member board will hold a special meeting to discuss finances and talk about a strategy for getting through the next three to six months.

"It's important for the community to understand that we think these are responsible steps with a view toward serving the community," said board chair Mary Turk-Meena.

"It's our desire not to have to do this, but we have a responsibility to the community to manage ourselves and be a viable institution going forward."

Turk-Meena said the board will need to explore new ways to raise money for the near-term and beyond.

Earlier layoffs

"It's a financial world, and if it's changing, we need to figure out how it's changing and how to go forward," she said.

In 2008, the museum eliminated seven jobs because of shortfalls, and those jobs have not been replaced, Docog said.

In addition to exhibits about the region's history, the museum operates the 5,000-square-foot Hezekiah Alexander House, a rock structure that is the oldest surviving house in Mecklenburg County, dating to 1774.