Acknowledgments
Preface
Foreword
PART I: ESSENTIAL MUSEUM BACKGROUND
Chapter 1: Defining a Museum
Chapter 2: A Quick History of Museums
PART II: CREATING AN INTEGRATED MUSEUM
Chapter 3: The Integrated Museum
Chapter 4: Starting a Museum
Chapter 5: Museum Governance
Chapter 6: Museum Feasibility Studies
Chapter 7: Museum Planning Strategies
PART III: EXHIBITIONS
Chapter 8: Collections
Chapter 9: The Museum Building
Chapter 10: Museum Exhibition Development/Curation
Chapter 11: Exhibition Design and Fabrication
Chapter 12: Museum Programming: Education
PART IV: BEHIND THE SCENES
Chapter 13: Museum Finances
Chapter 14: Museum Fundraising
Chapter 15: Museum Marketing
Chapter 16: Museum Project Management
Chapter 17: Museum Evaluation
Chapter 18: Museum Operations
Chapter 19: Museum Accessibility
Chapter 20: Museum Research
Chapter 21: Collections Care
Chapter 22: The Museum of the Future
Chapter 23: Putting Your Museum Online
Chapter 24: Working in Museums
PART V: THE MUSEUM TOOLBOX
American Alliance of Museums: Code of Ethics for Museums
Sample Bylaws
American Alliance of Museums: Developing a Mission Statement
Sample Museum Constitution
Sample Museum Feasibility Template
Sample Board Member Responsibilities
Sample Policy for Donations of Objects
Sample Donor Questionnaire
Sample Museum Exhibit Sponsorship Agreement
Timing and Tracking Study
Visitor Exit Interview
Museum Job Descriptions
Sample Museum Director Job Description
Object Cataloging Record
Museum Exhibition Design Process
Resources
Bibliography
Index
Mark Walhimer’s company, Museum Planning, LLC, specializes in the
planning, design, and management of interactive educational
experiences. Walhimer started his firm in 1999 to assist startup
and expanding museums with exhibition design, art handling, project
management, fabrication, and installation. He has completed more
than 40 projects worldwide for an international clientele that
includes science centers, art museums, history museums, libraries,
and corporations. Projects include “Alcatraz: Life on the Rock,” a
traveling exhibition that opened on Ellis Island in October 2011
and the Trans Studio Science Center opened summer 2012 in Bandung,
Indonesia. Prior to starting his company, Walhimer held positions
at Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California; the
Children's Museum ofIndianapolis; and Liberty Science Center.
Walhimer has a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Skidmore
College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and a master’s degree in
industrial design and exhibition design from Pratt Institute in
Brooklyn, New York.
Walhimer, founder of Museum Planning LLC and host of the blog
Museum Planner, has assembled a fine how-to guide for creating and
organizing all varieties of museums. The author guides readers
through the process, covering the initial vision, formation of a
board of directors, the museum feasibility study, the building's
design and layout, and successful exhibition planning. The work
includes sections on fundraising, marketing, and programming but
keeps its focus on the essentials: the museum's mission, its
responsibility to visitors, and the ethics of proper stewardship of
collections. Walhimer frequently illustrates the point he is making
with one or two tangible examples of successfully applied
techniques, as well as offering cautionary tales. The book's five
sections are particularly logical and well organized. The ‘Museum
Toolbox’ section provides a comprehensive collection of seminal
resources, sample documents, and useful templates. Each chapter
includes a list of references, mostly of resources available
online. An accompanying website with updated information and a blog
is also available to readers wanting more. Rather than a reference
work per se, this book is more suitable for circulating
collections, and it will appeal for museum-studies students and
anyone considering a career in the field. Summing Up: Recommended.
Undergraduates; general readers; professionals/practitioners.
*CHOICE*
The great value of Museums 101 is that it outlines the basics of
exhibition development, collections care, evaluation, and more, in
a way that acknowledges that museum work requires specialized
expertise. Don’t try to re-invent the museum, it tells the
collector deciding to build a museum from scratch, or the
businessman suddenly appointed to the board. There are things you
need to know. Museums have figured out a lot. Read this book to get
up to speed.
*Curator: The Museum Journal*
As its title implies, this is an introduction to the world of
museums, with 24 chapters divided into four sections: Museum
Background, Creating an Integrated Museum, Exhibitions, and Behind
the Scenes. Also included is a ‘Museum Toolkit’ which provides
sample documents of use to museum personnel. The author outlines
his hoped-for readership: ‘museum founders, new museum staff and
volunteers, those wishing to work in museums, new board members,
students, and those wishing to contract services with a museum.’
From finances and marketing, to creating an online presence and
project management, this volume presents the key elements of museum
operation. An additional feature of this volume is access to a
companion website with additional resources on the subject.
Libraries serving any of the readers listed by the author, or
readers simply interested in how museums ‘work,’ will want to have
this volume. Its clear language and excellent organization will
make it accessible to all levels of their patrons.
*American Reference Books Annual*
Museums 101 is a straight forward ‘how-to’ book for people new to
the field of museums and for those interested in entering
professions in the museum field. A perfect book to hand to a new
volunteer, new staff or board member and say ‘here are the
basics.
*Van A. Romans, president, Fort Worth Museum of Science and
History, and member of the Board of Trustees, American Alliance of
Museums*
Museums 101 is very interesting and useful for those managing
museums or interested in organizing one.
*Sergey Solovyev, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, The
State Hermitage Museum, Russia*
Museums 101 is an amazing and comprehensive resource, full of great
insights of how museums work.
*Alison Spence, Exhibitions and Loans Registrar, National Museum of
Australia*
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