Posts
Collections Stewardship
One Museum’s Plan to Keep Its Full Staff During COVID-19
Like most sectors of the economy, the museum field is facing sharp losses in revenue and uncertainty about when they will be reversed. Many institutions have decided to lay off, furlough, …
Covid-19: the ethics of contemportary collecting
Many museums are contemplating collecting items related to the current pandemic to help tell the story to future generations. “Whilst it’s important that museums record this …
#5WomenArtists Shaping Museum Practice
Museums are among the most trusted sources of information and can use that superpower of trust to nudge society towards preferred futures. Today on the blog, Amy Mannarino, Director of …
Making a Splash! 6 Things to Know about Exhibits with Water
It’s no surprise that many museums choose to entertain and educate visitors with the stuff that covers 71 percent of our planet’s surface. Water can contribute greatly to a wide variety of …
The Case for Digital Facility Reports
Facility management is one of the core elements of running a museum. As AAM’s core standards say, it is “incumbent upon [museums] to ensure the safety of their staff, visitors and …
A Modest Proposal for Museum Collections: Apply the principle of direct costs for deaccessioning
Some years ago, shortly before I assumed the directorship of the Ringling Museum of Art—the state art museum of Florida—the leader of the Florida Legislature declared, “I love Rubens.” The …
Making a Museum in the Age of 3D Digital Models
In 2005, not long after the advent of tabletop 3D printing technology, the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology (UMMP; a research institution) used this approach to generate …
Museopunks Episode 41: Digitization is not neutral
Over the past decade, museums have increasingly shared high-resolution open access images of their collections. Yet there are significant legal and ethical complexities related to digital …
Let it Bloom: Reconstructing a hurricane-stricken historic garden
Like many museum professionals, I am drawn to the idea that objects and places connect us to cultures throughout history. We handle the works entrusted to our institutions with extreme …
When It Comes to Protecting Collections, One Size Does Not Fit All
“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” —Frank Zappa Too hot? Too cold? Too dry? Too humid? What is that perfect balance? Those responsible for the care of collections …
Sharing the Wealth: Museums as Equity Engines
Recently, I’ve been speaking of museums as banks—repositories of enormous wealth of reputation, knowledge, and influence, in addition to the sheer value of their endowments. I’ve advanced …
Leveraging MAP for Capacity Building: The Sierra Mono Museum experience
The Sierra Mono Museum and Cultural Center—a small, rural, nonprofit museum set in the California foothills just south of Yosemite National Park—is today undergoing a one-million-dollar …