Active Collections

by Elizabeth Wood (Editor), Rainey Tisdale (Editor), Trevor Jones (Editor)

In recent years, many museums have implemented sweeping changes in how they engage audiences. However, changes to the field’s approaches to collections stewardship have come much more slowly. Active Collections critically examines existing approaches to museum collections and explores practical, yet radical, ways that museums can better manage their collections to actively advance their missions. Approaching the question of modern museum collection stewardship from a position of "tough love," the authors argue that the museum field risks being constrained by rigid ways of thinking about objects. Examining the field’s relationship to objects, artifacts, and specimens, the volume explores the question of stewardship through the dissection of a broad range of issues, including questions of "quality over quantity," emotional attachment, dispassionate cataloging, and cognitive biases in curatorship. The essays look to insights from fields as diverse as forest management, library science, and the psychology of compulsive hoarding, to inform and innovate collection practices. Essay contributions come from both experienced museum professionals and scholars from disciplines as diverse as psychology, education, and history. The result is a critical exploration that makes the book essential reading for museum professionals, as well as those in training.

Genres: Museums, Nonfiction

168 pages, Hardcover

Published November 8, 2017

Reviews

[paige (ptsungirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I think experience has taught many of us that 'in perpetuity' is a very long time."

°•*⁀➷

I read this for a work friend and I enjoyed it for its content and ideas. I loved it for comparing museums to hoarders. I liked it for its message of things needing to change as the world does, because keeping items based on a "future idea" is impossible and isn't going to pull in new people. Things are always going to be important if they were "at one time"... but there is always going to be a better example and this book really highlights the importance of making sure those better examples start getting used.

I also like that it emphasized that smaller collections often bring in more people simply because there's more availability to viewing everything. I'm thoroughly surprised that I liked this book as much as I did, and love reading people's favorite books (even when it ranges so far out of my normal reading like this one did).

- Paige

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific resource for those working with museum collections and archives. I often feel that my approach to collections management would be cringeworthy to other professionals. I am not “precious” in my approach to managing my institution’s collection because there is just too much stuff! After reading Active Collections, I am reassured that practicalities often trump preciousness.

I would like to have seen more about “active” deaccessions though. How do we make those efforts more manageable within the ethics and legalities that bind the field? Or found in collection materials? Some of the steps for processing things properly make work in this area prohibitive due to available resources. More work in progress...

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a good manifesto about effective archival practices. It's much more readable than the majority of museum studies books yet has some great contributions. The division of the book worked well, as I found the first section more enjoyable and the second section more practical. I found some of it to be repetitive and wished there was more direct discussion of de-accessioning practices, but overall quite good and very succinct.

[Katrina Rigsbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend any museum professional and, honestly, any personal collector, to read this collection of essays. Some of it was a little repetitive, but it really changed my perspective from what I learned in college (everything has the same importance and must be kept forever) to a now active collection view (what does this object offer our visitors? Is it worthy? Do we have a better example?)

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it -- so many new and good ideas, and eye-opening ways to look at collections, collecting, how we interact with our audiences, and how we let our audiences interact with our collections.

[Alexandra]

Very intriguing and thought-provoking ideas. Although my museum and collections training sometimes had some reservations about the ideas.