Reinventing The Museum

This reader brings together 35 seminal articles that reflect the museum world's ongoing conversation with itself and the public about what it means to be a museum—one that is relevant and responsive to its constituents and always examining and reexamining its operations, policies, collections, and programs. In conjunction with the editor's introductory material and recommended additional readings these articles will help students grasp the essentials of the dialogue and guide them on where to turn for further details and developments.

Reinventing the Museum gathers 35 seminal articles reflecting over 100 years of dialogue within the musem community about what it means to be a high-quality, relevant institution. Important reading for museum professionals, students, and anyone interested in museums and their development.

Gail Anderson has been active in the museum field for over twenty-five years. Formerly deputy director of The Mexican Museum, vice president of Museum Management Consultants, Chair of the Department of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University, Anderson is now a museum consultant in private practice. Throughout her career, she has been active in professional organizations as a board member of the American Association of Museums (AAM), as a member of the national committee that produced Excellence & Equity: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums, and as a long-time board member and past president of the Western Museums Association Board of Directors. She is the editor and a contributing author to Museum Mission Statements: Building A Distinct Identity, published by AAM. She is working on her next publication for AltaMira, a comprehensive introductory museum studies text to accompany Reinventing the Museum.