Open Forum

The resource I come back to, over and over again, is Beverly Serrell's Exhibit Labels:  An Interpretive Approach.  
And I always find prototyping labels extremely useful--  the USS Constitution Museum's Family Learning Forum has so many great resources, including ones on writing family friendly labels.

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Linda Norris
Independent Museum Professional
Treadwell NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

Hello Kate:
Yes: Beverley Serrell's Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach.
She is straightforward about why certain types of writing do and do not work for exhibit labels, and provides plenty of concrete examples.
Best of luck!

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Heather Paroubek
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

Beverly Serrell's book on Exhibition Labels is a classic and a new edition is coming out. Also at www.name-AAM.org you will find back issues of Exhibitionist See Spring 2012 issue article Boxed & Ready to Travel on disc room exhib and labels.
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Gretchen Jennings
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 2/2/2015 12:48:47 PM
From: kmcneece@cmnh.org
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece Smead Discovery Center Cleveland Museum of Natural History Cleveland, OH

Interpretive Writing by Alan Leftridge (http://www.amazon.com/Interpretive-Writing-Alan-Leftridge/dp/1879931214) is pretty good. Very practical with lots of examples. I use it as a text in my exhibits class.

Dan

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Dan Bartlett
Curator of Exhibits and Education
Logan Museum of Anthropology Beloit College
Instructor of Museum Studies
Beloit WI
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

I have found Serell's work very useful as well. In addition, I have found the below papers valuable and offering really good insights into label and exhibit writing. I have .pdf documents of both of these if you need me to email to you.

If You Can't See It Don't Say It
A NEW APPROACH TO INTERPRETIVE WRITING
KRIS WETTERLUND

Gallery text at the V&A
A Ten Point Guide

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Mark Osterman
Guiding Programs Manager
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
Miami FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

The absolute classic is Beverly Serrell's Exhibit Labels. There are other resources out there but this is the place to start.

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Laura Caruso
Head of Publications
Denver Art Museum
Denver CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

Kathleen,
You might also find AAM's upcoming webinar Exhibition Label Writing at Its Best helpful. 

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Guzel duChateau
Assistant Director, Strategic Communications
American Alliance of Museums
Washington DC
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The Participatory Museum, Nina Simon

The Manual of Museum Exhibitions, Barry Lord, Gail Dexter Lord

Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach by Beverly Serrell

Interpretive Writing by Alan Leftridge

Designing Interpretive Signs: Principles in Practice, Gianna Moscardo, Roy Ballantyne, Karen Hughes

Exhibition Design, Philip Hughes

Interpretive Planning for Museums: Integrating Visitor Perspectives in Decision Making, Marcella Wells, Barbara Butler, Judith Koke

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Gwen McCausland
Director
Agricultural Heritage Museum South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

Kathleen,
I consider the best book right now on writing museum exhibit labels to be Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach By Beverly Serrell.  Although not specific to hands-on rooms in museums, the suggestions are great overall.  My copy is dog-eared and underlined and annotated and has stain marks from years of use!
For hands-on/family labels, consider looking at what the USS Constitution's website familylearningforum.org - there's a whole section on "engaging text."

Good luck!
Claudia

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Claudia Ocello
President & CEO
Museum Partners Consulting
Morristown NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

Hi Kathleen,

I'm just finishing up an excellent course given by the Northern States Conservation Center called "Scripting the Exhibition."  Our main read was "Designing Interpretive Signs: Principles in Practice,"  by Moscardo/Ballantyne/Hughes.  It was very helpful.  We also used Serrell, among many other misc. articles.

Hope this helps!
D

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Dana Hicks PhD
Curator
The Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage
Arcadia CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

A couple of works that go beyond Serrell's approach to texts are:
Wallace, Margot A. (2014) Writing for Museums. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham.
Ravelli, Louise J. (2006) Museum Texts: Communication Frameworks Museum Meanings. Routledge, New York.


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Peter Welsh
Professor & Director of Museum Studies
University of Kansas, Museum Studies Program
Lawrence KS
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-03-2015 04:07 PM
From: Dana Hicks
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Hi Kathleen,

I'm just finishing up an excellent course given by the Northern States Conservation Center called "Scripting the Exhibition."  Our main read was "Designing Interpretive Signs: Principles in Practice,"  by Moscardo/Ballantyne/Hughes.  It was very helpful.  We also used Serrell, among many other misc. articles.

Hope this helps!
D

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Dana Hicks PhD
Curator
The Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage
Arcadia CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

While it is not aimed squarely at museum interpretive labels, I like the book "White Space Is Not Your Enemy", by Golumbisky and Hagen.  It's a general graphic design book that offers good examples of successful and unsuccessful layouts, and many of the methods in the book can be applied to exhibit label copy. 

Michael



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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London has developed a Ten Point Guide for their Gallery Text for their internal use.  It is an excellent and practical example of how one institution has tackled the ever-challenging problem if exhibition label copy.  The guide is practical and offers several before and after examples of old and labels and the revised labels under their new standards.  The guide is available for download in PDF format at the following address:  www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/v/v-and-a-gallery-text-guidelines/. 



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Tim Ternes
Director, The Saint John´s Bib
Hill Museum and Manuscript Library
Collegeville MN
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2015 11:54 AM
From: Michael Holland
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

While it is not aimed squarely at museum interpretive labels, I like the book "White Space Is Not Your Enemy", by Golumbisky and Hagen.  It's a general graphic design book that offers good examples of successful and unsuccessful layouts, and many of the methods in the book can be applied to exhibit label copy. 

Michael



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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2015 12:48 PM
From: Kathleen McNeece
Subject: Label and exhibit writing

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on writing for exhibit labels and public education?  We're the hands-on room in the museum and we do nearly all of our own writing for our activities, mini-exhibits, and ads.  It runs the gamut from simple labels to more involved signs, instructions, and displays.  Thanks!

Kate McNeece
Smead Discovery Center
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, OH

Thanks, everyone!  This is a tremendous help!

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Kathleen McNeece
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland OH
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Great resources here! Just wanted to chime in, I saw someone mention my guide: "If You Can't See It Don't Say It" but didn't post the link. The entire guide is online at: http://tamtamsp.pressbooks.com

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Kris Wetterlund
Director of Education and Interpretation
Corning Museum of Glass
Corning NY
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