Museum Careers


Book Description

Expert curator Elizabeth Schlatter outlines the types of jobs available within museums, the kinds of training needed, how to secure a job, and how to move up the ladder once you are working in the field.




The Manual of Strategic Planning for Museums


Book Description

While some view strategic planning with trepidation, it is one of a museum's strongest tools for improving quality, motivating staff and board members, adapting to environmental changes, and preparing the groundwork for future initiatives. The Manual of Strategic Planning for Museums offers proven methods for successful strategic planning in museums from two experienced leaders in the field.




Health & Safety for Museum Professionals


Book Description

Includes bibliographical references and index.




Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge


Book Description

Museums have been active in shaping knowledge over the last six hundred years. Yet what is their function within today's society? At the present time, when funding is becoming increasingly scarce, difficult questions are being asked about the justification of museums. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge presents a critical survey of major changes in current assumptions about the nature of museums. Through the examination of case studies, Eilean Hooper-Greenhill reveals a variety of different roles for museums in the production and shaping of knowledge. Today, museums are once again organising their spaces and collections to present themselves as environments for experimental and self-directed learning.




Museum Educator's Handbook


Book Description

Described by GEM as 'a very informative and practical book... worth having on any museum shelf', the Museum Educator's Handbook is a realistic guide to setting up and running education services in all types of museums, even the smallest. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with advice on the use of websites, interactive displays, databases and other technology added throughout, and a new chapter on loan services, reflecting new research into their importance. The new edition reassesses funding, curriculum needs and educational policy in the light of recent reports and gives more advice on meeting informal education needs, from evening classes to museum-initiated courses.




Leadership Matters


Book Description

First published in 2013, this revision of Leadership Matters features nine new profiles and a new chapter of emerging museum leader voices, proving that leadership is as much about individuals as institutions. Using personal insights from the history museum field’s most engaging, innovative and entrepreneurial leaders, these profiles focus not only on museum directors and CEOs, but also on the “leaders within”—deputies, department heads and team leaders -- and those demanding change from the community. Baldwin and Ackerson weave together the voices of 21st-century museum leadership at its best, creating a resource for graduate students, mid-career professionals, institutions, and boards of trustees to move from the status quo to being agile and influential, fostering leadership that will make a difference. Too many museums and heritage organizations still consider leadership development a ‘nice-to-have’, but not a necessary component for a successful executive director or department head. The field struggles to address a new round of cultural warfare fueled by widespread societal division and the overwhelming lack of diversity and equity in museum leadership at all levels, including boards of trustees. Additionally, the field continues to ignore the gender pay gap despite a workforce hovering at 50-percent female and with the potential to grow significantly over the next decade. More than ever, successful museum leadership isn’t the result of longevity, scholarship or curatorial achievement. In fact, today’s successful museum leaders bring myriad skills to the table, creating a style that works both personally and professionally. This snapshot of museum leadership focuses on history and cultural heritage organizations to help readers understand the power of individual leadership and its relationship to organizational strength. This book features: • 36 interviews – nine of them brand new to this edition -- with leaders in the field from a range of positions and institutions • 10 myths of museum leadership and why they’re wrong • 10 simple truths of museum leadership • A leadership “agenda” with criteria and goals for individual and organizational development




Museum Basics


Book Description

Drawing from a wide range of experience, the authors propose the simple ideas which should underpin all professional museum training courses. Organised on a modular basis Museum Basics provides a basic guide to `best practice' in every aspect of museum work, from museum organisation, through collections management and conservation, to marketing and security. It is designed for training courses, to be supplemented by case studies, project work and group discussion.




Introduction to Museum Work


Book Description

Long regarded as one the leading texts in museology, Introduction to Museum Work is now thoroughly revised and updated. While citing recent changes in the museum world, the third edition of Burcaw's classic work retains its useful philosophical orientation and convenient summary format. All the basics of museology are here-the central issues are discussed and definitions are given for all the terms museum workers need to know. Every chapter includes practical exercises making Burcaw's book ideal for the classroom or for novice museum workers. Accepted by the Documentation Center of the International Conference of Museums as exemplary of museum training, Introduction to Museum Work is used as a basic text in museum studies all over the world. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.




A Companion to Museum Studies


Book Description

A Companion to Museum Studies captures the multidisciplinary approach to the study of the development, roles, and significance of museums in contemporary society. Collects first-rate original essays by leading figures from a range of disciplines and theoretical stances, including anthropology, art history, history, literature, sociology, cultural studies, and museum studies Examines the complexity of the museum from cultural, political, curatorial, historical and representational perspectives Covers traditional subjects, such as space, display, buildings, objects and collecting, and more contemporary challenges such as visiting, commerce, community and experimental exhibition forms




The Museum


Book Description

This critical bibliography of museum studies comprises an organized collection of essays on the various types of museums--art, natural history, history, science and technology, and folk--and on general aspects--collections, education, exhibitions, etc.--that cut across the media. Most of the essays are cogent, substantial if not comprehensive, and clear. The editor has taken care to see that they follow a similar format of historical essay followed by a full bibliography of items discussed. Library Journal As the number of museums in the United States has grown to more than 6500 in this century, the museum profession has experienced similar growth. In addition to academic training and accreditation programs in the field, an expanding body of literature on museum history, philosophy, and functions has evolved, little of which has received the critical attention it deserves. This reference volume serves as an up-to-date guide to this wealth of literature, identifying and evaluating works that introduce the general reader, the museum studies student, and the beginning professional to the history, philosophy, and functions of museums. The volume presents a series of informative, historical outlines and critical bibliographic essays on all aspects of museum history, philosophy, and functions. Contributors treat such subjects as art museums, natural history museums, science and technology museums, history museums, collections, exhibition, education and interpretation, and the public and museums. Each chapter consists of an introductory historical narrative, a survey of sources, and a bibliographic checklist that contains cited and additional sources. A set of appendices include a geographically organized bibliography of museum directories, a guide to archives and special collections, and a selective list of museum-related periodicals. The book concludes with a comprehensive general subject index. This work will be an important reference tool for museum professionals and cultural historians, as well as for courses in museum studies. It will also be a valuable addition to both academic and public libraries.