Innovative Approaches for Museums has published

A new series of publications that seeks to enrich the fields of museum studies and public history debuts this month. Entitled Innovative Approaches for Museums, the four-volume series offers case studies that showcase the original, transformative, and sometimes wholly re-invented methods, techniques, systems, theories, and actions that demonstrate innovative work being done in the museum and cultural sector throughout the United States and in England, Australia, and Peru.

The authors among the forty-one chapters include scholars and practitioners from institutions that vary in size, type, budget, audience, mission, and collection scope. Their geographical, authorial, and institutional diversity offers a range of perspectives on issues confronting museums, and collecting institutions at large in some cases, that may be replicated entirely or scaled up or down by colleagues elsewhere.

Each chapter carefully examines a core issue by describing background information before turning to the identification of the problem, a solution to the issue, implementation, results, feedback and assessment as well as next steps. Many chapters are enhanced with notes and/or resources to point the reader to contextual and additional information.

Written with attention to the audience of peers and colleagues-in-training, each chapter is intended to offer ideas and support to those working in museums while serving as a resource and primer, as much as inspiration, for students and the museum staff and faculty training future professionals who will further develop future innovative approaches.

The volumes in this series are grouped under the following themes: technology and digital initiatives; engagement and access; collections care and stewardship, and fundraising and strategic planning. While each volume has a particular focus, the chapters in each volume rarely address the framing theme of that volume alone. Instead, the reach of the content often dapples in other aspects of that institution’s operations. Such intersection and overlap speak to the integrative nature of museum work, as museums function optimally when their areas of operation are not constrained to silos but, rather, when collaboration becomes the driver.

Praise for the series:

“The museum landscape has already changed. If we wish to remain both relevant and successful we must foster real, meaningful engagement with our audiences. Juilee Decker has done a phenomenal job curating a set of case studies that focus on substantive, in-the-trenches examples of innovative experimentation in our field. These triumphs, setbacks, and new methodologies are what push us forward. Kudos to Dr. Decker for helping to expedite the process!” —Dustin Growick, team lead for science content and programs, Museum Hack, commenting on Engagement & Access

“Technology and Digital Initiatives: Innovative Approaches for Museums is a wonderful summation of the state of the museum technology sector, circa 2015. It provides a comprehensive overview of a range of projects both big and small and should prove to be an indispensable resource for museum veterans and newcomers.” —Koven J. Smith, director of digital adaptation, Blanton Museum of Art, the University of Texas at Austin

“Whether working in exhibitions, education, or collections management, museum professionals need to constantly update our ideas about what constitutes best practices. This book features valuable case studies related to current issues in museum and archival collections that pose creative solutions to issues confounding our field. Several authors outline the ways in which their projects trained student participants and how critical their participation was to the project’s success.” —Kym Rice, director and chair of museum studies, George Washington University, commenting on Collections Care & Stewardship

“As an educator, it was extremely useful to see innovative practices of co-creation, public engagement, and student learning in the collections and preservation activities of museums, both small and large. The volume’s authors seriously address ways in which collections care and curation can be more transparent to our visitors and communities, bringing collections activities into the learning ecosystem of a museum.” —Michael Murawski, director of education and public programs, Portland Art Museum, commenting on Collections Care & Stewardship

“A must-read brimming with thought fuel and expert insight on strategic planning and fundraising for all forward-facing museums.” —Colleen Dilenschneider, chief marketing engagement officer, IMPACTS, commenting on Fundraising & Strategic Planning

Published by Rowman & Littlefield, the series is available in print and e-book.

Information online: https://rowman.com/Action/SERIES/RL/IAM

Review copies, contact reviews@rowman.com