Pennay’s timely writing reminds us that we, as museum workers and leaders, have a duty to support a civil society through our educational efforts and the sharing of our museum spaces for the civic process. We can all benefit from this refresher course on civics which also serves to enable museums and their staffs to do better for society.

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, director, Illinois State Museum

At a time when many are losing faith in our public institutions, The Civic Mission of Museums reminds us of the critical role museums play in building stronger communities and developing engaged citizens. Pennay’s uplifting book brings his personal passion to an issue that is relevant and urgent for all museum professionals.

Mike Murawski, Co-Producer of Museums Are Not Neutral, and Founding Editor of ArtMuseumTeaching.com

Pennay has created a work that is both an enjoyable read and a prompt for reflection and examination of our practice as museum educators. His work goes beyond acknowledgment of museums as reliable holders of collective memory and challenges the field to also see them as places for discussion, discovery, and problem-solving. It is not enough to just remember; we should also look forward to our collective future. Pennay’s work inspires us to do just that.

Leah M. Melber, Ph.D., Museum Education Consultant

Anthony Pennay makes a provocative, practical, and remarkably personal case for why civic learning is integral to the historical and contemporary theoretical framework that guides museum practice in the United States. The Civic Mission of Museums is destined to be essential reading for my graduate students and anyone who cares to build their civic knowledge, mindset, and skillset—and to do something with it for the good of the field.

Greg Stevens, director, Master of Arts in Museum Professions and director, Institute of Museum Ethics, Seton Hall University