Museums are public places where objects, images and memories are kept and shared. They exist in infinite variety and contradiction. They can be places of great excitement and great boredom, sharply insightful and hopelessly bland. Museums are anything that the political climate and the imagination allows them to be. No two museums are the same. The papers which make up this volume give ample evidence of the variety of views that exist about museums. They also demonstrate that museums and museum professionals are moving forward with energy and conviction. This volume will be invaluable to students and museum professionals and will provoke them to consider museum provision and professionalism in all their forms.
Author(s): G. Kavanagh
Year: 1994
Language: English
Pages: 376
Book Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Contents......Page 5
List of figures......Page 10
List of tables......Page 11
Series preface......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 13
Introduction......Page 16
The museum: some definitions......Page 29
Some definitions of 'museum'......Page 31
The Museums Charter Museums Association......Page 34
The museum as a staging ground for symbolic action......Page 39
How sweet it is: cultural politics in Barbados......Page 46
A sense of purpose: rethinking museum values and strategies......Page 54
The principles of museum administration......Page 61
Museums for the year 2000: a case for continuous revolution......Page 65
Piero della Francesca and the trainspotters......Page 68
Making up is hard to do......Page 75
Museum as dialogue......Page 80
The future of history museums......Page 84
The proper business of the museum: ideas or things?......Page 94
Visiting and evaluating museums......Page 102
The museum scene Museums and Galleries Commission......Page 108
The National Audit Office report on museums: Britain's museums 'deliver the product'......Page 114
Public palaces or private places?......Page 118
Purpose of museums and special characteristics of independents......Page 123
Higher concerns......Page 127
Curatorial identity......Page 137
Defining curation......Page 152
Cross-community curatorial competences......Page 157
The American art director as professional: results of a survey......Page 164
Museum sector workforce survey: an analysis of the workforce in the museum, gallery and heritage sector in the United Kingdom......Page 174
Image and self-image......Page 183
Museum director as manager......Page 188
The state of pay......Page 197
Are you sitting comfortably? Are equal opportunities a luxury?......Page 203
Women and museums......Page 225
Common ground......Page 240
A new professionalism......Page 243
Scholarship or self-indulgence?......Page 249
Scholarship and the public......Page 259
The ongoing pursuit of professional status......Page 263
Ethics: constructing a code......Page 269
Tentative code of museum ethics......Page 275
Code of professional ethics ICOM......Page 281
Code of ethics for museums American Association of Museums......Page 286
Code of conduct for museum professionals Museums Association......Page 305
Setting standards for museums Museums and Galleries Commission......Page 318
Registration Scheme for museums and galleries in the United Kingdom. Second phase: Draft for Consultation Museums and Galleries Commission......Page 322
No objects, no money, no venue, no problem......Page 337
Guidelines on disability and quality of service for museums and galleries in the United Kingdom Museums and Galleries Commission......Page 339
Code of practice for museum authorities Museums Association......Page 349
Performance assessment in museums......Page 358
Further reading......Page 366
Index......Page 367
