Mission Matters

Relevance and Museums in the 21st Century

Mission Matters

Relevance and Museums in the 21st Century

Gail Anderson (Author)

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Description

Mission Matters sheds a fresh light on how to envision relevant and impactful museums. Anderson takes the understanding of mission relevance to a new level. The premise of the book reflects external contemporary realities and the need for museums to better position themselves as leaders and change agents in the greater landscape and diversity of people..

Anderson illustrates her points with numerous examples from the US and around the world. Features include essays by David Fleming from the UK who tackles the importance of mission and social issues, and Charmaine Jefferson who frames the complexities of cultural competence in the 21st century. Twenty museum leaders each share their institution’s story of transformative change informed by reframing their mission. Anderson’s methodology for the book, the Mission Alignment Framework, helps reference the thinking about missions and the subsequent changes within museums as they redirect their work. Eighty US and international mission statements reveal the range of museums disciplines and demographics from urban and rural , and styles of mission all illustrating relevance to their unique settings, institutional capacity, resources, and purpose. Complementing these examples are guidelines about how to rethink mission, a questioning strategy based on the Mission Alignment Framework, and, a range of useful tools from museums and leading thinkers in the field.

Mission Matters is useful to a wide range of readers and users from trustees to directors to staff from a wide range of museums regardless of size and stage of development and maturity. The book is an easily accessible reference for strategic planning, conversations about relevance and missions, and museums considering the reinvention of their museum for greater impact.

Chapter 1: Mission Matters

Chapter 2: Relevance in the 21st Century Museum

Introduction by Gail Anderson
Missions and the 21st Century Museum -- A Perspective by David Fleming, Ph.D.
Mission Relevance and Cultural Competency: Inescapable Partners for the Future by Charmaine Jefferson

Chapter 3: Qualities of a Mission Statement
Chapter 4: Mission Alignment Framework
Chapter 5: Twenty Perspectives from Museum Leaders

Introduction by Gail Anderson
Abbe Museum by Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko
Anchorage Museum by Julie Decker
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture by Julie Stein, Ph.D.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum by Lori Starr
The Arquives by Raegan Swanson
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site by Sean Kelley
Ka’ala Farm by Kay Fukuda with Eric Enos
Minneapolis Institute of Art by Kaywin Feldman with Karleen Gardner
National Civil Rights Museum by Terri Lee Freeman
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center by Jamie Glavic with Dion Brown
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences by Emlyn Koster, Ph.D.
Nevada Art Museum by David B. Walker
Oakland Museum of California by Lori Fogarty
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens by Richard V. Piacentini
President Lincoln’s Cottage by Erin Carlon Mast
San Diego Museum of Man by Micah Parzen, Ph.D., J.D.
Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History by Nina Simon
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute by Roberta Conner
The Wild Center by Stephanie Ratcliffe

Chapter 6: US and International Mission Statements

Introduction by Gail Anderson
U.S. Mission Statements
International Mission Statements

Chapter 7: Development of a Mission Statement
Chapter 8: Mission Matters Toolkit

Introduction by Gail Anderson
Mission Matrices
Institutional Frameworks
Theories of Transformational Change

Chapter 9: Final Thoughts

Product details

Published	Jun 12 2019
Format	Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition	1st
Extent	206
ISBN	9781538103494
Imprint	American Alliance Of Museums
Illustrations	1 b/w illustration;15 colour photos; 27 textboxes
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Gail Anderson

Anderson helps the reader appreciate that the vital link between a museum and its community is its commitment to a mission that demands it grapple with questions and issues that matter. This book, combining thoughtful essays, powerful case studies, and practical advice and guidance, guides the reader though the process of re-envisioning and re-articulating a museum’s changing and vital function in the 21st century.

Laura B. Roberts, principal, Roberts Consulting and faculty, Harvard University Program in Museum Studies
This book is right on the money. The world is making ever-increasing demands of museums leading to all sorts of tensions and controversies. Strong missions are increasingly important in order to help museums cope with these pressures. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to all who are involved in museum management. Gail Anderson is an expert in this field, and we are fortunate that she has produced a contemporary view of such importance.

David Fleming, Ph.D., Professor of Public History at Hope University in Liverpool, England, and former Director of the National Museums Liverpool
Anderson offers a surprisingly engaging how-to and why-to book that demonstrates the power of the process of developing a museum mission statement. The generous real world examples reflect the breadth and diversity of museums and communities in the 21st century, and Anderson’s deft analyses point to new perspectives for what defines local success as well as a collective commitment.

Sonnet Takahisa, Director, Strategic Education Initiatives, Newark Museum