Amber Bonnett
LI 804
February 26, 2010
Annotated Bibliography: Museum Organization & Collection
Development
Alexander, M. (2007). Museums in motion: An introduction to
the history and functions of museums. 2nd ed. Walnut
Creek, California: Altamira Press.
This in some ways reminds me of Matthew Battles’s 2003
book Library: an Unquiet History (W.W. Norton: New
York) in that it combines the history of its subject
with the cultural implications of its topic as well.
Includes a “challenges” section with the chapters to
promote dialogue regarding the themes of that chapter.
The text highlights well-known museums and different
genres of museums and highlights what makes them so
successful. This is a rewrite of her father’s original
text from 1979, now expanded to bring it up to date.
Her good sense of voice makes it an easy and
informative read. At just a little over 300 pages, the
work is long enough to have a good amount of
information without being too long to be intimidating.
Appadurai, A. (1988). The social life of things:
Commodities in cultural perspective.
New York: New School University.
Social-cultural anthropologist Appardurai edits this
series of essays by eleven contributors (historians,
economists, and anthropologists) regarding the way in
which cultures place value on objects. The focus here
is mostly on the commoditization of objects, on how
and why things are bought and sold. It is an
interesting look at the reason people value objects
throughout time. Certainly not comprehensive, the
essays focus more on the specific such as medieval
relics or oriental rugs. It is a fascinating
springboard about the meaning of objects and their
socialization. It will appeal to anyone interested in
museum studies for an interesting discussion of
objects in collections in a social environment.
Appadurai has written several other books mostly about
modernity and globalization. 352 pages. Contributors
include Nancy Farriss, Arjun Appadurai, Igor Kopytoff,
William H. Davenport, Alfred Gell, Colin Renfrew,
Patrick Geary, Brian Spooner, Lee V. Cassanelli,
William M. Reddy, and C. A. Bayly.
Burcaw, G. E. (1997) Introduction to museum work (Aaslh
Book Series) 3rd ed. Walnut Creek, California: Altamira
Press.
Because of it’s nod from the Documentation Center of
the International Conference of Museums as being a
consummate ideal for teaching museum studies, this
book is taught worldwide in museum management schools.
It covers a wide scope of subjects, from designing the
physical museum to financing to discussing the
responsibilities that should be held by various
positions warranted by maintaining a contemporary
museum. It discussing building both the corporeal
space and building the collection that it houses. The
240 pages also provides definitions for the taxonomy
being discussed.
Falk, J.A. (1992). The museum experience. Washington, D.C.,
Howells House.
Visitor oriented work detailing the learning process
experienced by the museum patron. Uses an approach to
museum design concerning the whole learning process as
opposed to individual objects. His primary interest in
this book is to discuss the motivation of the guests
themselves and offers discussion on how museum design
and display can aid or detract from the visitor’s
experience. Introduction to museum display
philosophy. A small book at 228, pages, the book is
written in a very simple and easy to follow style.
Falk has also written another book concerning museum
studies. A recent 2009 book Identity and the museum
visitor experience (Walnut Creek, California: Left
Coast Press). Annotated Bibliography.
Lavine, S. D (1991). Exhibiting cultures: The poetics and
politics of museum display. Washington, D.C.,
Smithsonian Institution Press.
Contains essays contributed for a conference at the
Smithsonian entitled “Poetics and Politics of
Representation.” Much like recent essays on
supermarket design, these essays address the why of
placement in museums, such as bathroom locations, rest
areas, and direction of movement. Very interesting
book on museum and display design. Discusses at
length organization theory. Even though the work
focuses on museum display and design, the scope is
rather broad and covers many issues concerning the
topic and is written about by multiple points of view
as there are many authors represented. Luckily, this
580 page textbook manages to be both entertaining and
enlightening. Contributors include Steven D. Lavine,
Ivan Karp, Svetlana Alpers, Michael Baxandall, Masao
Yamaguchi, B.N. Goswamy and others. The conference
was sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation.
Malaro, M. C. (1998). A legal primer on managing museum
collections, 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian
Books.
Malaro focuses on the legal implications of managing a
museum’s collections. Much of the work discussed is
copyright and art law. Rather dry, but a useful and
accessible reference guide. Considered by many to be
the “bible of collections management”. Honestly, it is
hard to describe anything else about this book as it
is extremely dense but clearly useful to have on hand
to consult in case of legal need. Very narrow in scope
but well organized and seems to be pretty thorough and
comprehensive. 508 pages.
Pearce, S. M. (1992). Museums, objects, and collections.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Pearce explores the history of the museum and the
relationship between the objects held within its
walls. She addresses the difference between objects
individually and the object within a collection. The
spirit of collecting itself is an interesting
intellectual theme of this book. Three modes of
collecting are identified. She looks at the
relationship of the museum to society. It has a pretty
wide scope, so it sometimes does not reach full
explanation of the subject. Although very interesting
in the discussion of the object and its fetishization,
it sometimes wanders without a main theme. A few
random pictures of examples are placed throughout
alongside home made diagrams. Pearce has written other
books on the subject including Interpreting objects
and collections and museum studies in material
culture.
Reibel, D.B. (2008). Registration methods for the small
museum (American Association for State and Local
History Books) 4th ed. Walnut Creek, California:
Altamira Press.
Part of the American Association for State and Local
History book series, this edition is an updated
version of the original volume to include electronic
material. Also useful for beginners and small
collections with an easy user-friendly tone. Contains
useful examples and index for registration system
inception and maintenance. I highly recommend this
updated 4th edition for its inclusion of computer use.
Serrell, B. (1996). Exhibit labels: An interpretive
approach. Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press.
Very narrow in scope. Entirely focused on exhibit
labels, so this allows for a very thorough discussion
about the making of labels and the visitors
interactive experience with them, keeping them reader
friendly. Everything from typeface and size to
learning styles, language issues, and electronic media
is addressed. Serrell has also written a guide for
step-by-step label making and other books concerning
evaluating exhibitions.
Simmons, J.E. (2006) Things great and small: Collections
management policies. Washington, D.C.: American
Association of Museums.
Nice to have a relatively new book on the subject.
Previous museum studies program director and
collections manager at Kansas University, John Simmons
offers a guide on how to write policy for the care of
the collection- an important function for any museum.
It centers on planning and preservation but also
addresses ethics and intellectual property. The book
was written with support of the American Association
of Museums Registrars committee, for which he is a AAM
Assessment Program surveyor.
Schwarzer, M. (2006) Riches, rivals, and radicals: 100
years of museums in america. Washington, DC.: American
Association of Museums.
Schwarzer draws upon her experiences as chair of
museum studies at John F. Kennedy University to bring
a rollicking history of the museum and the characters
that populated its beginnings. The museum history has
had a long and colorful journey. Chapters are divided
by theme, making the flow of the book easy to follow.
Chapter examples are "The Building," "The Collection,"
"The Exhibition," and "People and Money." Many
illustrations and photographs. A good source of
interesting and provocative information that can be
used to interest people in the museum field and its
background. This volume is a companion book to the PBS
program of the same name. 263 pages.
Weschler, L. (1996). Mr. Wilson's cabinet of wonder:
Pronged ants, horned humans, mice on toast, and other
marvels of jurassic techno logy. U.K: Vintage.
Referred to as “magic realist nonfiction,” this book
is an incredibly intriguing look into a unique museum
and the question of credibility of all museums and the
values of truth and entertainment in the museum
collection. It offers an unusual taxonomy and makes
interesting work of what and why museums put in
collections the things that they do through example in
this relatively short essay. The author is a prolific
writer, exploring in many of his books the fine line
between truth and fiction. Richly illustrated.