The Museum : Kingston Museum And Heritage Service

In display were other wooden domestic equipment such as wooden pestle and mortar, a spade and a spear. Pottery was not left out of the exhibition as there were several pots, weaving was represented by the skin thread and a hat. Finally, necklaces and other valuable ornaments were in this part of the museum too.

The declaration begins with both a condemnation of current illicit trafficking of artefacts and a dismissal of objections regarding the circumstances of historical acquisitions. In stating that “objects acquired in earlier times must be viewed in the light of different sensitivities and values, reflective of that earlier era,” the directors dismiss the sometimes highly unsavoury circumstances that led to the acquisition of certain museum objects. (Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums, 2004) The ethical and legal aspects of acquisition are important considerations when

Museums have long served a purpose as cultural staples. For every museum, big and small, careful consideration is used in selecting its contents. When securing new items for a museum, it is most important to consider public appeal, educational value, and cost-effectiveness.

What defines a memorial museum as a category of museum? While symbolizing the event and forming public perspectives on it, “the ethics in memorial museums, ethics morality and human deeds occupy the very heart of the topics on display, and correspondingly involve especially careful consideration of representation and reception” (Williams, Memorial museums, 220). Memorial mMuseums should be responsible at when choosing the objects they display, narrating the event and establishing visitors’ memories.

Prepare a floor plan of the Museum, identifying priority artifacts or displays for immediate recovery in case of an emergency.

When a museum has prestige on a national level, they can be under high scrutiny of exhibits or objects displayed by the public. Controversial topics, for example, the Enola Gay exhibit, has left historians hesitant and confused on how to create exhibits with correct history, but also not upsetting any individual who were involved with said history. Historians have a trying task of addressing both sides of a historical event, even though it might depict individuals in an unflattering way. A historian is not allowed to have a bias for events, this could have an impact on the way an exhibit is created. Another point that was brought to light in Bunch’s article was museums have the ability to educate the public, so difficult topics should not be

Cooper states that “museums came to understand that their unique educational ability was that of object-based learning...the possession of objects made museums different” (65). I tend to agree with that statement with some caveats. Firstly, object-based learning can happen without collections. Secondly, is the additional unique opportunity potential for lifelong learning. The museum is a place that can assist, contrast, or provide learning at every stage of a person’s life. For instance, the Mission museums in California are a resource for public elementary school curriculum (Dartt-Newton 97). As people of all ages from the public look to museums as an educational authority, the material presented needs to be as scrutinized as any other

The sounds loud, deafening even, as shots rang out. The fighting raged on, over to the left, an explosion went off, knocking a young man off his feet, pain stung his arms, legs, his body, as he fell to the ground, first to his knees then to his hands. His face hit the dirt. The sounds were loud, deafening even, as more shots rang out, and then the sounds were just in the background, a distant memory, the young man faded, but as he did, he did for his country. Before I walked into The Coles Museum, after I left, and during my time there, I had, and still am thinking and pondering greatly on what freedom is, and what it means to me. Freedom is a power, freedom is a privilege, and we have it because of our veterans and those who fight.

Lubar states that “large museums have so much in storage; why not transfer some of those collections to smaller museums, where they would be eagerly put on display? Even more radical why not sell some and use the proceeds to fund the work that museums should be doing” (146). Initially, this idea does seem radical. Large metropolitan museums giving their collections away is not something that is often done. Lubar explains that “there are more than a billion objects in American museum collections” (4). This number is so vast that is impossible to reasonably conceive. Because of this, there can only so many artifacts that are on display at once thus leaving countless others stuck in storage never seeing the light of day. Smaller museums that do not have the budget to collect could potentially benefit from larger museums deaccessioning items.

The Executive Director of the Museum begins to restore this organization with clear point of view, that the

Collections play a crucial role in fulfilling a museum’s mission and purpose. A museum’s collection is defined by its collection policy past and present which in turn helps to shape the museum’s goals and direction. As stewards of collections, museums are expected to maintain the highest professional standards legally and ethically.

Documentation will provide the evidence of the museum’s legal ownership of the material and it provide a legal written document. Any changes in the condition will be documented. Any work in museum is done through the document if we gave the loan then it will be documented. If we are purchase or sell the item then it will be documented. Legal documents dealing with the acquisition must be kept in hard copy form and other copies are in different places.

Currently, the NBM is in the process of creating a collecting plan to strengthen their collections as well as turn away items not fitting within the scope of the plan. Many museums in the past collected without regard to the future which creates havoc on contemporary museum administrators, so the implementation of a collecting plan is considered best practice. Moreover, when the NBM is offered items there is a quarterly collections committee who deliberate on the decision. The committee includes curators, registrars, directors, and preparators. Once the objects are approved the registrar initiate the accession process. Furthermore, all of these procedures are outlined in their collections management policy and are updated regularly as is considered standard. In keeping with best practices at the NBM, the staff facilitates discussions and conversations with other departments in order to solve any issues that arise.

The Cambridge Dictionary Online defined museums as “places of study, buildings where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept, preserved and exhibited”. To The Museums Association, a museum is “an institution which collects documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets material evidence and associated information for the public benefit”. Since 1998, this definition has changed. Museums now enable the public to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society. Mike Wallace (1996) categorised museums into four distinct types, namely National Museums that hold collection of

Museum managers should carefully examine individually all aspects of a museum’s function in order to answer this dilemma. They must take into account the situation of each museum in terms of wealth and popularity, its target group (type of visitor it attracts), the collection as well as its location (Bailey, Falconer, Foley, McPherson, & Graham, 2007).