Overview

Here is a complete introduction to the history of museums, types of museums, and the key roles that museums play in the twenty-first century. Following an introductory chapter looking at what a museum is today, Part I looks at the history and types of museums: art and design museums natural history and anthropology museums science museums history museums, historic houses, interpretation centers, and heritage sites botanical gardens and zoos children's museums The second part of the book explores the primary functions of museums and museum professionals: to collect to conserve to exhibit to interpret and to engage to serve and to act The final chapter looks at the museum profession and professional practices. Throughout, emphasis is on museums in the United States, although attention is paid to the historical framing of museums within the European context. The new edition includes discussions of technology, access, and inclusivity woven into each chapter, a list of challenges and opportunities in each chapter, and Museums in Motion Today, vignettes spread throughout the volume in which museum professionals provide their perspectives on where museums are now and where they are going. More than 140 images illustrate the volume.

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9781442278790

Table of Contents

Reviews

This new, third edition of Museums in Motion tackles the challenge of updating a classic text on the history and relevance of museums with considerable elegance and aplomb. Important topics such as constantly changing information technologies, new approaches to inclusivity and accessibility, and the shifting nature of the museum profession cannot be tacked on to already existing chapters, but must be woven carefully into the substance of the text as an integrated whole. Editor Juilee Decker faces this daunting task head-on, and the resulting book is a masterwork of research scholarship and professional practice that will prove invaluable to everyone wanting to improve their understanding of the functions, importance, and value of museums -- past, present, and future. -- Paul F. Marty, Professor, School of Information, Florida State University Florida's iSchool I am thrilled to see a thorough update of this classic book on museums and museum functions. Museums in Motion can once again serve as the essential introductory text for any museum studies course. -- Laura B. Roberts, Roberts Consulting

This new, third edition of Museums in Motion tackles the challenge of updating a classic text on the history and relevance of museums with considerable elegance and aplomb. Important topics such as constantly changing information technologies, new approaches to inclusivity and accessibility, and the shifting nature of the museum profession cannot be tacked on to already existing chapters, but must be woven carefully into the substance of the text as an integrated whole. Juilee Decker faces this daunting task head-on, and the resulting book is a masterwork of research scholarship and professional practice that will prove invaluable to everyone wanting to improve their understanding of the functions, importance, and value of museums -- past, present, and future. -- Paul F. Marty, Professor, School of Information, Florida State University I am thrilled to see a thorough update of this classic book on museums and museum functions. Museums in Motion can once again serve as the essential introductory text for any museum studies course. -- Laura B. Roberts, Roberts Consulting I am delighted to offer my endorsement for the third edition of Museums in Motion, a text I have used in my Museum Studies courses for over twenty years. The new updates and inclusions by Juilee Decker make this version very relevant for today's students and will give them an important framework as all of us in the museum field face a challenging future. It is most accessible to both the undergraduate and graduate student as well as being informative for the working museum professional. I give this book my highest praise-it combines the history and function of museums elegantly and the special highlights from the museum professionals give it an additional connection to the real world. -- Pamela J. White, JD, PHD, Director, Museum Studies Graduate Program, Western Illinois University

I am thrilled to see a thorough update of this classic book on museums and museum functions. Museums in Motion can once again serve as the essential introductory text for any museum studies course. -- Laura B. Roberts, Roberts Consulting

Author Information

Edward Porter Alexander's illustrious museum career extended from 1934-1978. In recognition of his contributions to the field, The American Alliance of Museums added him to their Centennial Honor Roll in 2006. Mary Alexander has been a museum educator and administrator for nearly fifty years. She was associate editor for Museum Education Anthology (1984) and co-authored Museums: Places of Learning (1998) with George Hein. Juilee Decker is an associate professor of Museum Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where she teaches courses focusing on museums and technology. She has served as editor for Innovative Approaches for Museums, a four-volume series focusing on technology and digital initiatives, engagement and access, collections care and stewardship, and fundraising and strategic planning (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015). Since 2008, she has served as editor of Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, a peer-reviewed journal published by Rowman & Littlefield.

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