Museums Explained
(The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
2021. Photo: Mark Hazeltine)
Sections:
Mission, Organization and Accreditation
Exhibitions
Staff
Support
Definitions
Staff
There are specialized staff members [1] in
many museums. Depending on the budget and size of a museum, position descriptions
may be combined in various ways. Here are some of the usual staff functions:
Administrative Manager
- The administrative manager is often responsible for financial
and office management, building operations, remodeling, room use, security,
special projects and other general administrative support functions.
Bookstore or Gift Shop Manager
- This manager is responsible for the management of a museum's
store with functions including merchandising, maintaining merchandise stock,
maintaining and monitoring budgets and inventories. Some large institutions,
with the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the most prominent example, have
large profit centers involving stores beyond the museum's own property.
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Conservator
- See Fred Wallace, Associate Conservator
of the Cincinnati Art Museum in a series of video clips that introduce
him and his job, explain the elements of arts conservation, discuss classes
students should take to prepare for a career as a conservator, and more.
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- TFAO provides further references for the subject of conservation
in the page titled Conservation from the
report Resources for Collectors, Life Long
Learners, Students and Teachers of Art History.
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Curator
- According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics web page: "Curators
direct the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections, including
negotiating and authorizing the purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
They are also responsible for authenticating, evaluating, and categorizing
the specimens in a collection. Curators oversee and help conduct the institution's
research projects and related educational programs. However, an increasing
part of a curator's duties involves fund raising and promotion, which may
include the writing and reviewing of grant proposals, journal articles,
and publicity materials, as well as attendance at meetings, conventions,
and civic events."
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- According to a Los Angeles County Museum of Art website
page: "One of the fundamental responsibilities of a museum curator
is tracing the history of ownership, the provenance, of works of art in
the collections of the museum. Knowing the geographic, personal and commercial
route followed by works of art provides valuable insight into the history
of collecting and taste. Documenting provenance can also serve as a way
of authenticating a work of art as well as an important means of establishing
legal ownership of it. Ideally, an unbroken chain of ownership can be established
from the artist's workshop, or site at which the work was produced, to
the present. In many cases, however, the necessary documentation is missing,
producing breaks in the chain."
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- Curators develop materials for museum visitors: brochures,
exhibition catalogues, audio guides, and wall text.
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- Larger museums often separate curation duties among several
individuals. There may be collections curators, exhibition curators, education
curators and a chief curator who supervises the specialist curators. Curators
often have an advanced degree in art history; many have doctoral degrees.
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- A "guest curator" is a curator of an exhibition
appearing at a museum venue wherein that individual is not employed by
the exhibiting museum.The guest curator my be an independent scholar, a
professor at a university. or an individual from another source. Sometimes
an exhibition is jointly curated by both an employee of the exhibiting
museum and a guest curator. Guest curators may provide services to individuals
Shaping an Art Collection.
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- Joint curation may occur in the case of a traveling exhibition.
The curator of an exhibition toured by an organizing museum to various
other museums may collaborate with the curator at an exhibiting museum
A common motive for collaboration is to facilitate the exhibiting museum
adding some of its own artworks to the set of artworks in the traveling
exhibition. Please see Planning, Organizing
and Touring Art Exhibitions.
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- Individuals with a special interest in a particular painting,
sculpture, decorative art object, or work on paper that is not on display
at a museum may be able to make arrangements with a curator for a private
viewing. Museums usually prohibit formal authentication, monetary appraisal,
or treatment of privately owned property by curatorial staff members.
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- A support organization for curators is the the Association of Art Museum Curators. Also
see the College Art Association Web page for Standards
and Guidelines, which contains a 2007 report titled "Professional
Practices for Art Museum Curators."
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- See Glenn Markoe, Curator of Classical
and Near Eastern Art of the Cincinnati Art Museum in a series of video
clips that introduce him and his job, explain the elements of arts conservation,
discuss classes students should take to prepare for a career as a conservator,
and more.
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- In this 02:55 California Center
for College and Career's ConnectEd "Day in the Life" series segment
from 2011, René de Guzman, Senior Curator of Art at the Oakland
Museum of California, talks about his job. Accessed 8/14.
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- Suggested Books
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- Collections Management, By
Anne Fahy.
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- Current Thoughts on Collections Policy, Daniel R. Porter, 12 pages. Published 1985 by American Association
for State and Local History
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- A Deaccession Reader, Stephen
E. Weil, ed. Published 1997 by American Association of Museums. 257 pages.
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- Developing Museum Exhibitions for Lifelong Learning, by Gail Durbin, Group for Education in Museums. Published 1996
by GEM, Group for Education in Museums Exhibitions. 248 pages. Google Books
says of this book: "If education is at the core of all museum activity,
then displays are arguably the most important means by which museums can
inhibit or encourage learning. This book combines learning theory with
consideration of the needs of different museum audiences and offers practical
information about setting up displays. An indispensable reference for exhibit
designers, educators, directors, and students of museology."
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- Developing a Collections Management Manual, Daniel R. Porter, 1986 (20 pages).
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- How to Develop a Collections Management Policy, Association of Illinois Museums and Historical Societies, l993
(6 pages).
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- Manual of Curatorship: A Guide to Museum Practice, By John M. A. Thompson, Published 1992 by Butterworth-Heinemann
Management. 756 pages. Google Books says of this
book: "Based on original contributions by specialists, this manual
covers both the theory and the practice required in the management of museums.
It is intended for all museum and art gallery profession staff, and includes
sections on new technology, marketing, volunteers and museum libraries."
(right: front cover: Manual of Curatorship: A Guide to Museum Practice.
Image courtesy Google Books)
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- The Manual of Museum Exhibitions, By Barry Lord, Gail Dexter Lord. Published 2002 by Rowman Altamira.
576 pages.
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Development or Advancement Director
- The development director is responsible for 'friend raising"
and fund raising including membership programs, annual appeals, special
events, grant writing, major gifts, capital campaigns and planned giving
programs. Support organizations for development directors include the Association of Fundraising Professionals
and the Art Museum Development Association,
which says: "For the past 50 plus years, the Art Museum Development
Association has served as the professional organization for chief
development officers of art museums in North America. Through AMDA, colleagues
learn about emerging industry trends, establish meaningful connections
and exchange with peers, and share skills, learning, ideas, challenges
and wins that are unique to the chief development role, all in a private
environment." Accessed 9/23
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- Suggested Books
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- Conducting a Successful Fundraising Program, Kent E. Dove, 2001 (961 pages)
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- Don't Just Applaud - Send Money: The Most Successful
Strategies for Funding and Marketing in the Arts,
Alvin H. Reiss, 1995 (146 pages)
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- Fund Raising for Museums,
Hedy A. Hartman, 1986 (530 pages).
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- Keep the Money Coming: A Step-by-Step Strategic Guide
to Annual Fundraising,
Christine Graham, 1992 (127 pages).
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- Quest for Funds Revisited: A Fund-Raising Starter
Kit, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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- Share Your Success: Fund-raising Ideas, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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- Successful Fundraising: A Complete Handbook for Volunteers
and Professionals, Joan Flanagan, 1993 (305 pages).
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- The Fine Art of Federal Grantsmanship for Museums, Nancy J. Parezo and Germaine Juneau, 1988 (135 pages). A guide
to seeking federal funding.
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- The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing,
The Foundation Center, 1993 (191 pages).
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- Grant Writer's Start-up Kit,
Successful Images, Inc., 2000 (63 pages).
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- How Foundations Work: What Grantseekers Need to Know
About the Many Faces of Foundations, Dennis P.
McIlnay, 1998 (204 pages).
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- Proposal Planning and Writing,
Lynn E. Miner and Jerry Griffith, 1993 (153 pages.)
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- Winning Grants Step by Step, Mim
Carlson, 1995 (115 pages.)
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Education Director
- The education director (sometimes called Education Curator)
prepares and executes education and public programs for adults and students,
usually in connection with exhibitions. The education director may have
oversight of events lectures, docent programs, field trips, tours, workshops,
and more. For example, the University of Kentucky Art Museum explains a
facet of its educational programs as follows: "Education programs
at the Art Museum bring art to life for members of our community, enriching
exhibitions with cultural and aesthetic information. Recognizing that a
trip to the museum is not always possible and acknowledging that pre-visit
study greatly enhances students learning and enjoyment of the museum, we
have designed curricula for elementary, middle, and high school students.
We hope that it will prove helpful to you and exciting to your students."
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- Suggested Books
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- Building Museum & School Partnerships, Beverly Sheppard, editor, American Association of Museums, Pennsylvania
Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations. Published 1993
by American Association of Museums. 101 pages. (right: front cover:
Building Museum & School Partnerships. Image courtesy Google
Books)
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- The Educational Role of the Museum, By Eilean Hooper-Greenhill. Published 1999 by Routledge. 346
pages. Google Books says: "In this updated and revised second edition,
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill incorporates recent and important articles that
address the relationships of museums and galleries to their audiences.
The Educational Role of the Museum covers broad themes relevant
to providing for all museum visitors and also focuses specifically on educational
groups. Contributors discuss topics such as new communication models for
the museum, problems in visitor orientation and circulation, and increased
exhibit accessibility through multisensory interaction. This edition represents
the most developed position of the state of the field of museum education
and introduces theories that have the potential to move current professional
debates into more critical areas."
- How to Develop Effective Educational Programs, Illinois Association of Museums, 1994 (4 pages).
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- How to Develop Effective Teacher Workshops, By Peter S. O'Connell. Published 1987 by American Association
for State and Local History Museums and schools. 16 pages. Issued as a
detachable pamphlet in History News, vol. 42, no. 3, May-June, 1987.
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- Learning Conversations in Museums,
By Gaea Leinhardt, Kevin Crowley, Karen Knutson. Published 2002 by Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates. 461 pages. Google Books says: "Teach. & learn.
in non-school settings such as museums is a topic of increasing interest
to researchers in psych, educ (sci, art, soc stud), cog sci, and to specialists
in museum educ. This book fits nicely into a small but rapidly expanding
market." (left: front cover: Learning Conversations in Museums.
Image courtesy Google Books)
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- Learning in Museums, American
Association of Museums, 1995.
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- Learning in the Museum, By
George E. Hein. Published 1998 by Routledge. 203 pages. Google Books says:
"'Learning in the Museum' confronts the educational
role which museums can have and shows how research in visitor studies and
the philosophy of education can be applied to facilitate a meaningful educational
experience in museums. The book contains a brief history of education in
public museums, and goes on to examine how the educational theories of
Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky relate to learning in the museum. A survey of the
wide range of research methods employed in visitor studies is illustrated
with examples taken from museums around the world. George E. Hein concludes
that visitors best learn when knowledge is actively constructed in their
own minds, and provides a model of the 'constructivist museum' -- one with
exhibitions which are physically, socially, and intellectually accessible
to every single visitor." (right: front cover: Learning
in the Museum. Image courtesy Google Books)
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- Paying Attention: Visitors and Museum Exhibitions,
Beverly Serrell, 1998 (105+ pages.)
Executive Director
- The executive director provides conceptual leadership
of the museum and is responsible for overall management. Depending on such
factors as the size of the institution, the level of financial support,
and the extent of the collection (if any), the responsibilities of a museum
director may require specialist duties in addition to overall management.
At some institutions the director is responsible for major fund raising,
planning exhibition schedules, and meeting with museum members, sponsors
and higher level administrators. At other institutions some of these functions
are assigned to other museum staff. Executive directors often have an advanced
degree in art history, studio art, museum studies, or arts administration.
Many times directors have doctoral degrees. To learn more about museum
directors, see the website for the Association
of Art Museum Directors. Some executive directors also oversee performing
arts functions in smaller settings such as local cultural centers.
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- Suggested Books
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- The Manual of Museum Management,
By Barry Lord, Gail Dexter Lord. Published 1997 by Rowman Altamira. 276
pages. Google Books says: "This volume presents a comprehensive and
incisive analysis of the principles of muesum organization, the ways in
which people work together to accomplish museum objectives and the ways
in which museums can function most effectively."
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- "Published at a time when museums are in search
of common ground, The Manual of Museum Management provides a tool with
which we may begin to understand and deal with the challenges that are
confronting museums. The book offers a shared vocabulary and analytical
framework through which to rethink the museum. It is structured into three
parts, discussing, in turn, the why, the who, and the how of museum management.
That three quarters of its pages are devoted to the how is a particular
strength....The book offers itself as a point of reference for all the
diverse interests that comprise a museum. It gives museum directors a conductor's
podium on which to make music from the chorus of curators, designers, educators,
registrars, constituents, volunteers, board members, funding agencies,
and the general public....Well-illustrated with tables and figures, the
text also includes a dozen case studies....A useful appendix of job descriptions
and qualifications for museum positions and a glossary defining key terms."
- Patrick Norris, Kalamazoo Valley History Center, History News.
(right: front cover: The Manual of Museum Management. Image courtesy
Google Books)
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- Model Museum Director's Employment Contract, By Association of Art Museum Directors, Association of Art Museum
Directors. Published 1996. 78 pages
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- The Nonprofit Board's Guide to Chief Executive Compensation,
National Center for Nonprofit Boards, 1995 (16
pages).
Finance Director
- This position is responsible for accounting, budgeting,
financial reporting, investments and other related functions. The finance
director works closely with the executive director and development director
in financial planning.
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Guard
- To gain an appreciation of the role of museum gallery
guards, read about Alberto Noriega, Lead Guard at the Yale University Art
Gallery. Gallery guards and other security officers serve to protect artworks
and museum grounds, and also provide directions to guests.
Librarian
- The librarian directs the activities of the museum's
library in much the same manner as would be the case in a public library.
The librarian is the designated contact for working with outsiders who
have need of the registrar's object files for research. The librarian also
handles correspondence regarding information about art objects. The librarian
conducts research for staff members and limited amounts for the public,
handles circulating packets of general museum mail, and carries out the
usual library duties of ordering, cataloging and organizing the book and
periodical collection and maintaining user services. [2]
Also see Digital Libraries for Museums.
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- YouTube offers eight video clips
describing library careers and job descriptions. In a Panel
Discussion (01:02:33) three guest speakers share their experience and perspective
on the information profession and librarianship. The speakers, in talking
order, are: Jan Knight (information consultant) at 3 minutes into the clip,
Ann Dutton Ewbank (K-12, University librarian) at 19 minutes into the clip,
and Mary Graham (Museum librarian) about 36 minutes into the clip.
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- Also see the College Art Association Web page for Standards and Guidelines,
which contains a 2012 report titled "Code of Best Practices
in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries from the Association of
Research Libraries, and "The
Importance of Museum Libraries" by Jan van der Wateren, presented
at the international conference "Museums in Libraries," May 17-20,
1999.
Preparator
- The preparator is responsible for the physical care of
the permanent collection and preparation of works of art for display, transportation
and storage. According to a Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art webpage the preparator's
activities "... include art handling, matting/framing of artwork,
preparation of galleries for exhibitions and change-outs, labels, wall
text, vinyl lettering, gallery lighting, maintenance of hygrothermagraphs,
and photography of the collection." A University of Wyoming web page
describes the purpose of the position as follows: "Supervises the
installation of art objects for museum exhibitions; plans and directs the
fabrication, installation and disassembly of temporary and permanent museum
exhibits; coordinates the exhibit schedule; supervises the installation/disassembling
crew; and responsible for collection storage and facility operations."
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- Suggested Books
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- Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach, Beverly Serrell, 1996 (261 pages).
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- Standards Manual for Signs and Labels, 1995, American Association of Museums and the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, 1995 (56 pages.)
Publications Director
The publications director is in charge of preparation and
marketing of exhibition catalogues, in-house magazines, plus multimedia
products. Also see the College Art Association webpage for Standards
and Guidelines, which contains a report titled "Copyrights and
Permissions in Scholarly and Educational Publishing."
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Marketing, Publicity, Communications
or Media Relations Director
- This position is responsible for marketing functions
and communicating with the publics of a museum including museum members
and the press. There can be several iterations for handling these functions
depending on the size of the institution, budget constraints and available
talent. [3]
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- Suggested Books
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- Impress the Press: News Media Relations for Small
businesses and Organizations David P. Blanchette, 1997 (88 pages).
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- Marketing and Public Relations Handbook for Museums,
Galleries, and Heritage Organizations, Sue Runyard,
1999 (290 pages).
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- Museum Marketing: Competing in the Global Marketplace, By Ruth Rentschler, Anne-Marie Hede. Published 2007 by Butterworth-Heinemann.
270 pages. Google Books says: "Museums have moved from a product to
a marketing focus within the last ten years. This has entailed a painful
reorientation of approaches to understanding visitors as 'customers'; new
ways of fundraising and sponsorship as government funding decreases; and
grappling with using the internet for marketing. This book brings the latest
in marketing thinking to bear on the museum sector taking into account
both the commercial issues and social mission it involves.
Carefully structured to be highly accessible the book offers: * A contemporary
and relevant and global approach to museum marketing written by authors
in Britain, Australia, the United States, and Asia * An approach that reflects
the particular challenges museums of varying sizes face when seeking to
market an experience to a diverse set of stakeholders: audience; funders;
sponsors and government. * A particular focus on museum marketing in the
'Information Age' * Major case studies at the beginning and end of each
section of the book, and smaller case studies within chapters The hugely
experienced author team, includes both leading academics and practitioners
to ensure the book has broad appeal and is both relevant, innovative and
progressive in approach. It will be essential reading for students in museum
studies, non-profit marketing, and arts management and marketing. It will
also be equally relevant for professionals working in and managing museums
and galleries, heritage attractions and ministries of arts. * The most
up-to-date treatment of marketing museums with a global approach* Blend
of academic and practitioner expertise to appeal to students and professionals
seeking a contemporaryand relevant approach* Features a range of international
case studies that demonstrate the museum experience and draw out the particular
challenges that museums and galleries of varying sizes and types face in
the global marketplace" (right: front cover: Museum Marketing:
Competing in the Global Marketplace. Image courtesy Google Books)
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- Museum Public Relations, G.
Donald Adams, 1983 (237 pages)
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Receptionist
- The receptionist receives guests to the museum and may
also provide word processing support for the staff, maintain calendars
and event signage, and process requests for room use.
Registrar
- The registrar is responsible for collections management
including the care and preservation of artwork, its shipping, packing,
and customs arrangements, and occasionally acting as courier when artwork
travels. The registrar is responsible for all processes associated with
accessioning and deaccessioning, conducting condition reports and inventories,
may arrange for insurance coverage and storage, and for the organization
and maintenance of permanent collection files. The registrar acts as administrator
for the collection database. According to a City of Mesa, AZ web page "A
Museum Registrar is responsible for developing collection policies and
supervises the centralized care of the museum collections in accordance
with the Museum's mission statement and professional standards set by the
American Association of Museums. The Museum Registrar performs a full range
of professional duties involved with the management and coordination of
the Museum's Collections Area. Serving as a member of the management team,
the Museum Registrar resolves issues and works together to form short and
long-range goals for the Museum. The person in this position serves along
with the Museum Administrator and Curators as one of the members of the
Accessions Committee, deciding which objects will be added to the permanent
collections."
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- Suggested Books
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- Cataloging from Scratch: A Manual for Cataloging Undocumented
Collections in ..., By Caroline Stuckert, Morris
Stuckert. Published 1991. MACC Associates. 92 pages. "The product
of a collaborative cataloging project undertaken in 1986-87 by five small
museums in Delaware County, Pa." -- Acknowledgements.
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- Computerizing Your Collections Records, Jan S. Ballard, 2001 (8 pages). Issued as an insert in History
News, v. 56, no. 4 (Autumn 2001).
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- Museums Collections Registration and Documentation, Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums, 1993
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- Museum Registration Methods,
American Association of Museums, 1979 (437 pages).
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- Registration Methods for the Small Museum, By Daniel B. Reibel. Published 1997 by Rowman Altamira. 192
pages. Google Books says: "The
definitive guide to registration methodology for
smaller institutions and beginning or part-time registrars. This is a completely
new and updated version of the original classic; included is a discussion
of computer technology and its uses and implications for the small museum.
Also provided: sample manuals and forms for immediate use." Google
Books offers an online Limited Review of this book. (right: front
cover: Registration Methods for the Small Museum. Image courtesy
Google Books)
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- The New Museum Registration Methods, Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, eds., 1998 (427 pages.)
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- The Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, James R. Blackaby, et al. 1988 (520 pages).
Other staff
- Functions beyond those listed above are preformed by
other staff members or on a contact basis. Examples are information technology,
custodial, cafe operations, and human resources..
Art Historians
- Art historians independent of the museum act as consultants,
catalogue essayists, visiting researchers and curators. To review TFAO's
listings of art historians and links to hundreds of related essays, please
see Author Study and Index.
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Artists
- Artists, besides being the creators of the works exhibited,
are called upon to explain their creative processes and provide other educational
offerings for museum audiences.
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Collectors
- Loans of art works and patronage from collectors are
an integral factor in the museum experience. Please see Lending
Art to Museums for Special Exhibitions. For an introduction to the
history and practices of individual collectors please see Private
Collections: Patterns and Aesthetics by Franklin Hill Perrell. Major
collectors from time are involved in Founding
a Private Art Museum.
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Docents
"The word docent," as explained by the Tampa
Museum of Art, "comes from the word docere, which means to lead
or teach. In museum practice today, the word has come to represent a vital
link between a work of art and the visitor's experience." In a 10/25/21
Wall Street Journal article, Faith Bottum says: "In museum-speak,
a docent is a trained volunteer who greets visitors and guides them through
the collection, filling in details of the artists' lives, speaking to the
visual elements of the work on display and adding art-history context."
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An Example of Staff Collaboration
The C. M. Russell Museum, in its Spring 2005 issue of Russell's
West Quarterly, provides an insightful example of how the director,
curator and registrar of that museum work together in the acquisition and
accession process:
- Museums, including the C. M. Russell Museum, acquire
cultural objects through gifts, purchases, and bequests. When an object
is acquired through gift or bequest, a museum has the fortunate experience
of being able to save funds for other special acquisitions and projects.
Title is transferred to the museum, which takes legal ownership of the
object through what is known as the accession process. Because of important
legal and ethical issues regarding the long-term care and storage of cultural
material -- which can include anything from a painting to a piece of real
estate -- it is necessary to carefully consider the intended use of objects
to be taken into the permanent collection.
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- The review process of a potential donation is extensive,
and begins with the curatorial group, which can consist of director, curator,
and registrar. This group makes an initial assessment regarding storage,
conservation, and ownership issues. For example, it is not usually a good
idea to accept something that is in need of extensive conservation unless
funds are available for this use, or that requires specialized storage
conditions beyond the current ability of the museum, or that may be involved
in litigation. The object is also evaluated for its historical, anthropological,
or art historical importance or significance with respect to the collections
it will join. Particular attention is paid to the object's relationship
to the Museum's mission and to the permanent collections.
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- The curatorial group then presents the potential acquisition
to the Collections Committee, a board-appointed group who makes a recommendation
for acceptance or rejection to the Board of Directors or other legal entity
under which the Museum functions. The Board of Directors reviews the recommendation
and makes the final decision.
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- There is tremendous variety in Museum collections, and
cultural objects are used in several ways. The primary use is as part of
the permanent collection, for exhibition, either permanent or rotating.
A secondary, but important use is to become part of the permanent collection,
but for study and research purposes. In both cases, the object is accesioned
and cataloged into the permanent collection inventory with a unique number
in the classification system that identifies it legally.
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- Not all objects acquired are intended to be accesioned.
For example, the education collection holds objects of lesser historical
value that are useful in museum programs. These objects are not held in
the permanent collection storage or cataloged in the permanent collection
inventory. Another important example involves acceptance with the understanding
that the object may be sold in the future to support the museum's acquisition
fund. Gifts to non-profit institutions have considerable tax advantages
to the donor if the item is given for its related use (exhibition or education),
and less advantage if given for an unrelated use.
[4]
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Other Suggested Books
- Introduction to Museum Work, By
G. Ellis Burcaw. Published 1997 by Rowman & Littlefield. 240 pages.
Google Books says "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."
(right: front cover: Introduction to Museum Work. Image courtesy
Google Books)
Return to Museums Explained
Notes
1. For an explanation of categories of specialized knowledge
and skills needed by those involved in museum exhibit development, see "Requirements
& Disciplines" prepared by the National Park Service. All references
to websites providing information on job descriptions wee accessed on October
28, 2004. Also, the Chazen Museum of Art's staff page provides a short description
of duties of key employees.
2. Courtesy of the Wichita Art Museum. The Iowa Department
of Administrative Services offers 10
job descriptions for museum library staff positions. For more information
please see the American Library Association
and the Special Libraries Association.
3. Resource Library
-- TFAO's publication including articles
and essays -- contains articles and essays by acclaimed authors
plus other texts and related images provided mainly by nonprofit art museums, galleries and art centers.
Institutions often send to Resource Library much
more information than usually sent to media organizations. They may send
new or previously published essays, blog texts, magazine articles, gallery
guide texts, wall panel and labels texts, audio tour scripts and checklists.
Materials relating to exhibitions published in Resource Library often
include elements infrequently published online or on paper. Resource
Library does not inject its own critique or opinions into published
texts.
Texts and images from institutions are usually sent to
Resource Library by staff members including curators, executive directors
and media relations personnel. Certain texts not attributed to an author
-- such as gallery guide texts, wall panel and labels texts, audio tour
scripts and checklists -- are usually written by curators. News releases
are usually written by media relations staff, who gather information form
curators before composing the releases. Less frequently, news releases are
written by media relations firms retained by the nonprofits.
4. Quoted paragraphs reprinted with permission of the C.
M. Russell Museum and are from Volume 2 issue 1, p.7 of Russell's West
Quarterly, a publication of the C. M. Russell Museum. Individuals interested
is learning about membership in the Museum may call (406) 727-8787 or visit
their website. (right: front
cover of Russell's West Quarterly, a publication of the C. M. Russell
Museum.)
rev. 10/2/23
Links to sources of information outside of our
web site are provided only as referrals for your further consideration.
Please use due diligence in judging the quality of information contained
in these and all other web sites. Information from linked sources may be
inaccurate or out of date. Traditional
Fine Arts Organization, Inc. (TFAO) neither recommends
or endorses these referenced organizations. Although TFAO includes links
to other web sites, it takes no responsibility for the content or information
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