Open Forum

As there are scores of books currently in print on museum theory and practice, the challenge may be culling rather than gathering. All the same, here are three books that ought to feature more frequently in syllabi than they currently do:

Tony Bennett, The Birth of the Museum. New York, Routledge, 1995.

Robert Janes, Museums in a Troubled World. New York, Routledge, 2009.

Michael Belcher, Exhibitions in Museums. Washington DC, Smithsonian, 1991.

much success with your program!

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Kevin Coffee
Chicago IL
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I like Kevin's ideas, but they seem a bit "presentist" for your students.  In shameless self promotion, consider Museums in Motion:  The History and Functions of Museums (Alexander and Alexander) 2008, Rowman and Littlefield.  A comprehensive review or US and European museum practice in ages past and today.

In 1999, Daedalus published an issue on America's Museums.  The writers are all terrific and it's comprehensive in its scope.

For an engaging overview of museum education Learning in Museums, George Hein, 1998, Routledge.

It's always a challenge to find good writing and a broad scope for students.

Good Luck,

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Mary Alexander
Washington, DC
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I plan to include all of them.

Thanks so much,

Sarah

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Sarah Newlands
Assistant Professor
Portland State University School of Fine and Performing Art
Portland OR
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Dear Sarah,

I think a useful book is Nina Simon's The Participatory Museum. Several museum workers also attest to the usefulness of her Blog: Museum 2.0. It's a book that begins to lay out the ways in which the museum visitor is being conceptualized as a participant and partner with the museum in generating content and experiences that garner deeper engagement for visitors. In this book engagement is imagined to be a measure of visitor involvement in the co-production of the visit experience, and a measure of the physical and intellectual immersion of the visitor into the museum's narrative and materials.

Best,

Seph

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Seph Rodney
Communications Manager
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Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions by Kathy McLean is an excellent resource!

McLean's best-selling book provides museum professionals with a broad understanding of the many disciplines needed to produce effective exhibitions, from industrial, graphic, and interior design to writing, editing, psychology, and management.

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Wendy Hancock
Manager, Professional Dev
Association of Science-Technology Centers
Washington DC
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Please excuse the self-promotion, but I recommend "Foundations of Museum Studies: Evolving Systems of Knowledge" by Kiersten Latham and John E. Simmons. This is an introductory textbook designed so that it can be used alone or with other appropriate readings (I use it along with "Museums in Motion" and selected journal articles). The advantage to "Foundations of Museum Studies" is that it presents a good overview of museums internationally, covers both theory and practice, and considers museums in the context of the real world. It is available on Amazon.com and from the publisher.

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John Simmons
Curator of Collections
Museologica
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... to continue self-promotion ... Do add Curator: The Museum Journal as a resource. Fun for current students is Vol. 50, Issue 1, January 2007, the Fiftieth Anniversary issue with overviews of different types of museums. And — EVERYBODY — we'll be publishing a decade follow-up as Vol. 60, Issue 1, and are looking for AUTHORS ...

Zahava Doering PhD
Senior Social Scientist
Office of Policy & Analysis / Smithsonian Institution
& Editor, Curator: The Museum Journal

Hello,

Here are just a few.

Exhibit Labels, Serell

The Museum Experience Revisited, Falk and Dierking

Interpreting Our Heritage, Tilden

Practical Evaluation Guide, Diamond, Luke and Uttal

What Makes Learning Fun, Perry

Universal Design for Learning website

Museum Registration Methods

Caring for American Indian Objects A Practical and Cultural Guide, Ogden

Decolonizing Museums, Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums, Lonetree

Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design (http://accessible.si.edu/pdf/Smithsonian%20Guidelines%20for%20accessible%20design.pdf)

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Alyssa Boge
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I love hearing what others are reading and suggest! Thank you for asking this question!

Continuing the aforementioned self-promotion, I suggest the series that I edited for Rowman & Littlefield. "Innovative Approaches for Museums" offers case studies written by scholars and practitioners from museums, galleries, and other institutions, that showcase the innovative work being done in the museum and cultural sector throughout the US and other parts of the world. I had an amazing time working with all of the authors and learned so much from them and about their work. Give it a look!

The are four slim volumes available as print or e-books. Various discount codes on the Rowman website.

https://rowman.com/Action/SERIES/RL/IAM

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Juilee Decker PhD
Associate Professor, Museum Studies Program
Museum Studies - Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester NY
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Depending on your course content, you may also want to consider Leadership Matters, (Alta Mira, 2014), a new look at history museum leadership for the successful 21st century institution, and Creativity in Museum Practice (Left Coast, 2013).

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Joan Baldwin
Curator-Special Collections - The Hotchkiss School
Lakeville CT
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I can recommend the newly published comprehensive four volume International Handbook of Museum Studies. General editors Sharon Macdonald and Helen Rees Leahy. Oxford and Malden, MA: Wiley 2015. The four volumes are:

Volume 1: Museum Theory
Edited by Kylie Message and Andrea Witcomb

Volume 2: Museum Practice
Edited by Conal McCarthy

Volume 3: Museum Media
Edited by Michelle Henning

Volume 4: Transformations
Edited by Annie E. Coombes and Ruth B. Phillips

There is a huge range of international contributors to this series - museum professionals and academics - drawing on theory, practice, research and conference presentations. 

Best wishes,

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Phillipa Tocker
Executive Director
Wellington
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