Books

This is a book for museum leaders, managers, trustees and staff, and all those who care about museums and are curious about how they work.

This new edition of the classic Manual that first appeared in 1997 is an exciting guide to managing museums in a time of sweeping changes. Renowned museum planner Gail Dexter Lord applies her international museum experience to create this comprehensive and detailed guide to the tools and strategies to successfully address today’s issues and opportunities, including climate change and social justice, repatriation, teamwork, technological innovations, community connections and building on the huge reservoir of public trust in museums.

New Directions for University Museums is intended to help university museum leaders plan strategically in the context of the issues and needs of the 2020s by examining trends affecting them and directions in response to those forces.

The exhibition development process is more complex than ever as audiences demand more dynamic, diverse and inclusive experiences. Museum leaders, interpretive planners, designers, and curators are rising to the challenges in innovative ways. This manual details the exhibition process in a straightforward way that can be easily adapted by institutions of any size. It explores the exhibition planning and development process in a wealth of detail, providing the technical and practical methodologies museum professionals need today. 

Understanding the Building Boom

This book seeks to explore the motivations behind the rapid development of museums in China.
It also aims to answer the questions such as “How is the public responding?” “Who pays for these museums and how?” “How has China’s rapid urbanization affected this trend?” “How do Chinese museums balance education, scientific research, social cohesion, cultural diplomacy, and tourism both internal and external?”

A GUIDE FOR MUSEUMS, PERFORMING ARTS, SCIENCE CENTERS, PUBLIC GARDENS, HERITAGE SITES, LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES AND ZOOS

The Manual of Strategic Planning for Cultural Organizations adopts a holistic approach to the creative world of cultural institutions. As cultural leaders transform the arts in the twenty-first century, this “whole career” manual will prepare readers for every stage.

The Manual of Digital Museum Planning is a comprehensive guide to digital planning, development, and operations for museum professionals and students of museums studies and arts administration.

Respected museums planners Gail Lord and Ngaire Blankenberg demonstrate how and why cities and museums are using their soft power to address some of the most important issues of our time. This book brings together thirteen of the world’s leading cultural and museum experts to explore the many facets of soft power in museums across the globe.

Featuring contributions from 19 professionals immersed in the field of museum learning, The Manual of Museum Learning offers readers numerous lessons designed to help them transform their institutions into fully 21st century learning museums.

Major cultural shifts have accompanied each energy transition since our mastery of fire. Art & Energy traces how the development of each new source of energy becomes a powerful engine of cultural change. Barry Lord also explores how stewardship of the earth must do battle with the culture of consumption which has gripped the planet and left us fixed on the still dominant energy sources, oil and gas.

As museums have taken on more complex roles in their communities and the number of museum stakeholders has increased to include a greater array of people, effective museum planning is more important than ever. The Manual of Museum Planning has become the definitive text for museum professionals, trustees, architects, and others who are concerned with the planning, design, construction, renovation, or expansion of a public gallery or museum.