Museum Management and Curatorship, Vol. 19, No. 4, p. 427–429, 2001# 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Printed in Great Britain0260-4779/ - see front matter

doi:10.1016/j.musmancur.2004.09.004

Book Review

Reinventing the Museum: His-torical and Contemporary Per-spectives on the Paradigm ShiftGail Anderson (Ed.); AltaMira Press,2004, 402 pages

Gail Anderson tackled a dauntingtask when she undertook to distillfrom the voluminous literature ofmuseum principles and practices theseminal writings that trace the ongo-ing transformation of museums. Theresulting anthology is an importantand thoughtful journey throughchange, guided by the voices of keymuseum analysts and leaders fromacross North America and beyond.

As Anderson notes in the intro-duction to Reinventing the Museum:

Historical and Contemporary Per-

spectives on the Paradigm Shift,‘‘. . .every aspect of museum opera-tions has at one point or anotherbeen placed under the microscopeand examined for its clarity of focusand function relative to furtheringthe role of the museum as a culturaland educational institution, withinthe greater fabric of society. . . Thisexamination of fundamental assump-tions about museum operations hasfacilitated a dramatic paradigm shiftin the way museum professionals,and some members of the public,regard museums’’ (p. 1). With this inmind, Anderson set out to documentthe shifting perspectives of insight-ful museum professionals as theychallenged traditional attitudes and

practices, by selecting 34 articlesthat capture the essence of evolvingthought in five thematic areas relat-ing to: the relevance of museums;public involvement; public service;the role of collections; and the cata-lyzing influence of leadership. Increating the structure of this book,Anderson’s background as an edu-cator shines through. While manyother anthologies cluster readingsaround a theme but leave theirinterpretation to the reader, Ander-son contextualizes her choices withthoughtful and articulate introduc-tions to key areas of change thatremind the reader of where we havecome from—and where we shouldbe going. Anderson’s exploration ofboth the catalysts for, and the bene-fits and implications of change is avaluable contribution to museumliterature in and of itself. As a back-drop for the selected articles, heranalysis brings new meaning to boththe concepts expressed in the arti-cles and their significance over theyears in moving museums along thecontinuum from ‘‘. . .an ivory towerof exclusivity toward the construc-tion of a more socially responsivecultural institution in service to thepublic.’’

This anthology works effectivelyon a number of levels and for anumber of audiences. For those wholack access to a museum or academ-ic library, this book gathers togethera wealth of readings that thought-

Book Review428

fully analyze significant trends andbest practices in key aspects ofmuseum operations. As such, it is acomprehensive reference for thoseseeking to develop or refresh theirunderstanding of contemporaryNorth American approaches tomuseum work. The selected articlesare distinguished by the influence ofthe ideas they explore, their rel-evance across the diverse museumsector, and their consistent qualityof analysis and writing.

Whether readers select articles inresponse to a practical need, or readmore systematically to build theirunderstanding of the museum andits evolving roles, they will find thisan useful resource that saves themsignificant time in searching outreliable and insightful references.For students and young profes-sionals who are already acculturatedto the notions and implications ofglobalism, inclusivity, accountability,and knowledge-based work, the shiftin museum paradigms, at least onthe surface, may seem to be a logicaland reasoned response to a complexworld. This collection of articles willdeepen their appreciation of the sig-nificant, often difficult and contro-versial, changes experienced bymuseums in the past few decades,and will prepare them to recognizeboth the paradoxes inherent inmuseum practice and the significantpockets of resistance to change thatthey will encounter as they pursuemuseum careers.

For mid-career and senior museumprofessionals, many of whom wereinfluential in shifting the paradigmsexplored in the book, this anthologywill feel more like an evocative walk

along the career path with oldfriends and mentors to remind themof profound and brave debates andinnovations. Duncan Cameron’searly diagnosis of the identity crisisafflicting museums in ‘‘Museums: ATemple or a Forum’’; and MarilynHood’s call for museums to respondto visitor needs in ‘‘Staying Away:Why People Choose not to VisitMuseums,’’ were among the earlythought-provoking readings thatshaped their desire for a more inclus-ive model for museums. Many willrecall the controversies analyzed byMichael Ames in ‘‘Museums in theAge of Deconstruction’’ along withdebates on the role of objectsdescribed by Elaine Heumann Gur-ian in ‘‘What is the Object of thisExercise? A Meandering Explorationof the Many Meanings of Objects inMuseums?’’ Along with familiar pie-ces, these readers will encounter oth-ers that they have not read before,and will find that these also captureand reflect very real and universaldynamics that continue to influencethe ways in which museum profes-sionals perceive their role and pur-pose. Revisiting these pieces in thecontext of the structure and back-ground information that Andersonprovides serves to remind us of howfar we have come, to reinforce theinevitability of change now and inthe future, and to emphasize theimportance of ongoing reflectionand debate. At the same time, thesearticles illustrate that the seeds ofmany of the ideas that are on theleading edge of change right nowwere sown decades ago and havetaken years to find an environmentin which they can germinate and

If you wish to have your book reviewed in theJournal of Museum Management and Curator-ship, please send one copy to the BookReview Editor—Joy Davis, Cultural Manage-ment Programs, Division of Continuing Stu-dies, University of Victoria, PO Box 3030 STNCSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3N6, Canada. Tel.:+250-721-8462. E-mail: joydavis@uvcs.uvic.ca

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flourish. With so much attention tothe potential of museums as agentsof social change in the past fewyears, for example, it is eerie to readDana (1917), Low (1942) andCameron (1972), and recognize thatthis concept has inspired museumworkers for generations.

A challenge for readers of Rein-

venting the Museum is to chart theirpersonal and institutional positionand inclination for change withinthe shifting paradigm of museumpractice. The book’s persistent lan-guage of new ideology vs. old,enlightened vs. unenlightened, rein-vented vs. traditional, may generatea sense of consternation for somereaders that their paradigm shift hasnot kept pace with that of the field.While Anderson emphasizes thatthere is no single ‘‘one-size-fits-all’’approach to museum practice, anddescribes change as a continuumthat accommodates multiple values,capabilities, and roles, readers mustbe thoughtful in recognizing thatmeaningful change is driven by theunique character and circumstancesof the museum and its communities.

Whether this book is used in for-mal teaching settings as a compre-hensive text on the ideas that arecontinuing to shape the museumfield, as a quick reference relating toa particular topic, or as a tool for sti-mulating individual and groupreflections on the evolution ofmuseum purposes and practices, itis a valuable addition to the museum

professional’s library. Individually,the articles are classics of themuseum literature. Taken as a wholeand set within Anderson’s thought-ful context, the interplay of theideas they explore create a fresh andvaluable contribution to the field.

Bibliography

John Cotton Dana, ‘‘The Gloom of theMuseum’’, pp. 13–29, originally publishedin 1917 by the Newark Museum Associ-ation.

Theordore Low, ‘‘What Is a Museum?’’, pp.30–43, originally published in 1942 in THEMUSEUM AS A SOCIAL INSTRUMENT bythe Metropolitan Museum of Art and theAmerican Association of Museums.

Duncan Cameron (1972). ‘‘The Museum: ATemple or a Forum’’, pp. 61–73, originallypublished in 1971 in CURATOR: THEMUSEUM JOURNAL and in UNESCO’sJOURNAL OF WORLD HISTORY (1972).

Joy DavisCultural Management ProgramsDivision of Continuing Studies

University of VictoriaPO Box 3030 STN CSCVictoria, BC V8W 3 N6

Canada