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Museums

In Defence of Collections Part 1: An Introduction to the Collections Debate

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

Concerns relating to the colonial motivations and attitudes behind museum collections have caused many industry professionals, especially those based in the West, to question whether collections are, and if they […]

In Defence of Collections Part 6: The Role of Museum Collections- A Summary

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The museums sector is committed to education, a commitment we saw renewed at ICOM. Commitment to education means a commitment to people and society, and therefore also to collections. The […]

In Defence of Collections Part 5: Collections- The Colonial Issue

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

Recent anxieties around colonial collections and the need to confront their social legacy is the main force behind challenges to collections’ centrality to museums. Sharon Heal, director of the Museums […]

In Defence of Collections Part 4: Collections- The Key to Quality Public Education

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The Museums Association report’s results suggest that the only thing the British public are more interested in than learning is the collections themselves. Jones (2018, p.15), Ambrose and Paine (2018, […]

In Defence of Collections Part 3: Access, Education, and Public Appeal- One in the Same?

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The public education provided by museums has been the primary concern of museology of the last three decades, and therefore remains the ideal outcome of museum engagement, despite being branded […]

In Defence of Collections Part 2: What Does a Museum Do?

In Defence of Collections Part 2: What Does a Museum Do?

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

What does it mean for a museum to ‘do’ something? The primary challenge to ICOM’s revised museum definition is that it is an aspiration, rather than a description of what […]

The Significance of Volunteering in the Heritage Sector

The Significance of Volunteering in the Heritage Sector

Posted on 6 February 2018 by Stephanie Whitehead

Have you ever wandered around a historic landmark and marveled at the landscaping? Or wondered how often those statues in the museum have to be dusted and who does it? […]

Preserving and displaying layers of history: The stock certificate nearly destroyed on September 11

Preserving and displaying layers of history: The stock certificate nearly destroyed on September 11

Posted on 31 October 2017 by Devin Mattlin

 This post was originally written for the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute. You can find the original post on their blog here. They have kindly given […]

Remembering the Love of the People

Remembering the Love of the People

Posted on 5 July 2017 by Stephanie Whitehead

Every exhibit is built with a story to tell. If, by the end of its observation, the viewer has not grasped the message of the exhibit, then it has failed […]