Bob Beatty is founder and president of The Lyndhurst Group, a history, museum, and nonprofit consulting firm providing community-focused engagement strategies for institutional planning, organizational assessments, and interpretive direction. From 2007-2017 Bob served in a variety of capacities at the American Association for State & Local History, the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to state and local history, most recently as chief of engagement.

[The book] presents America’s (public) history organizations as more lively and relevant than ever, pressing challenges notwithstanding. Bob’s Guide to Making Public History is a wide-ranging book, bringing together essays by important thinkers from between 2008-2017 on topics such as entrepreneurship, change management, relevance, partnerships, etc. Key themes in the book include financial and institutional stability, change and transformation, collections, diversity and inclusion, and the relevance of the history field as a whole. Each essay is introduced by Bob, who adds invaluable context and additional sources…. Fortunately, the book is full of promising case studies of public history organizations that have tried to become relevant and sustainable again…. Some chapters transcend the level of a guidebook and give directions on another level, most notably Edward T. Linenthal’s reflections on commemoration and David A. Janssen’s story about the rebirth of Detroit…. Instead, the image of the sector Bob’s book paints is one of a sector that feels a strong need to play an important, relevant role in society, and one that feels empowered and enabled to do so. This confidence is rooted in research and best practice. For me, this is the great strength of the book. It covers a formative period for many history (and other cultural heritage) organizations and by looking at many case studies at the same time, manages to give a convincing roadmap of possible futures for all of us.

• Foreword - Cinnamon Catlin-LegutkoIntroductionChapter 1 The Only Thing that is Constant is Change Chapter 2 The Winds of Opportunity - Barbara Franco and Laura B. Roberts Chapter 3 Discovering the Power of Transformation Chapter 4 Understanding Change and Transformation in History Organizations - Candace Tangorra MatelicChapter 5 Making History a Twenty-First-Century EnterpriseChapter 6 Entrepreneurship in History Organizations - John W. DurelChapter 7 A Twenty-First Century Renaissance Chapter 8 The Spirit of Rebirth - David A. JanssenChapter 9 The Power of Possibility Chapter 10 It’s Possible - Kent Whitworth and Scott AlveyChapter 11 The Whole is Greater Chapter 12 Greater than the Sum of Our Parts - Erin Carlson MastChapter 13 Crossroads: Exploring the Vibrant Connections Between People and Place Chapter 14 Explorations in Place and Time: A Personal Journey - David A. DonathChapter 15 Turning Points: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Change Chapter 16 What Kind of Ordinary Will You Be? – Max A. van BalgooyChapter 17 Commemoration: The Promise of Remembrance and New Beginnings Chapter 18 Public History and the Challenges of CommemorationEdward T. LinenthalChapter 19 Inclusion is Active Chapter 20 I AM History: Embracing Inclusion in Social and Political Climates - Dina A. BaileyChapter 21 Epilogue Moving History from Nice to Essential - John R. Dichtl

Bob Beatty is founder and president of The Lyndhurst Group, a history, museum, and nonprofit consulting firm providing community-focused engagement strategies for institutional planning, organizational assessments, and interpretive direction. From 2007-2017 Bob served in a variety of capacities at the American Association for State & Local History, the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to state and local history, most recently as chief of engagement.

[The book] presents America’s (public) history organizations as more lively and relevant than ever, pressing challenges notwithstanding. Bob’s Guide to Making Public History is a wide-ranging book, bringing together essays by important thinkers from between 2008-2017 on topics such as entrepreneurship, change management, relevance, partnerships, etc. Key themes in the book include financial and institutional stability, change and transformation, collections, diversity and inclusion, and the relevance of the history field as a whole. Each essay is introduced by Bob, who adds invaluable context and additional sources…. Fortunately, the book is full of promising case studies of public history organizations that have tried to become relevant and sustainable again…. Some chapters transcend the level of a guidebook and give directions on another level, most notably Edward T. Linenthal’s reflections on commemoration and David A. Janssen’s story about the rebirth of Detroit…. Instead, the image of the sector Bob’s book paints is one of a sector that feels a strong need to play an important, relevant role in society, and one that feels empowered and enabled to do so. This confidence is rooted in research and best practice. For me, this is the great strength of the book. It covers a formative period for many history (and other cultural heritage) organizations and by looking at many case studies at the same time, manages to give a convincing roadmap of possible futures for all of us.

• Foreword - Cinnamon Catlin-LegutkoIntroductionChapter 1 The Only Thing that is Constant is Change Chapter 2 The Winds of Opportunity - Barbara Franco and Laura B. Roberts Chapter 3 Discovering the Power of Transformation Chapter 4 Understanding Change and Transformation in History Organizations - Candace Tangorra MatelicChapter 5 Making History a Twenty-First-Century EnterpriseChapter 6 Entrepreneurship in History Organizations - John W. DurelChapter 7 A Twenty-First Century Renaissance Chapter 8 The Spirit of Rebirth - David A. JanssenChapter 9 The Power of Possibility Chapter 10 It’s Possible - Kent Whitworth and Scott AlveyChapter 11 The Whole is Greater Chapter 12 Greater than the Sum of Our Parts - Erin Carlson MastChapter 13 Crossroads: Exploring the Vibrant Connections Between People and Place Chapter 14 Explorations in Place and Time: A Personal Journey - David A. DonathChapter 15 Turning Points: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Change Chapter 16 What Kind of Ordinary Will You Be? – Max A. van BalgooyChapter 17 Commemoration: The Promise of Remembrance and New Beginnings Chapter 18 Public History and the Challenges of CommemorationEdward T. LinenthalChapter 19 Inclusion is Active Chapter 20 I AM History: Embracing Inclusion in Social and Political Climates - Dina A. BaileyChapter 21 Epilogue Moving History from Nice to Essential - John R. Dichtl

Bob Beatty is founder and president of The Lyndhurst Group, a history, museum, and nonprofit consulting firm providing community-focused engagement strategies for institutional planning, organizational assessments, and interpretive direction. From 2007-2017 Bob served in a variety of capacities at the American Association for State & Local History, the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to state and local history, most recently as chief of engagement.

[The book] presents America’s (public) history organizations as more lively and relevant than ever, pressing challenges notwithstanding. Bob’s Guide to Making Public History is a wide-ranging book, bringing together essays by important thinkers from between 2008-2017 on topics such as entrepreneurship, change management, relevance, partnerships, etc. Key themes in the book include financial and institutional stability, change and transformation, collections, diversity and inclusion, and the relevance of the history field as a whole. Each essay is introduced by Bob, who adds invaluable context and additional sources…. Fortunately, the book is full of promising case studies of public history organizations that have tried to become relevant and sustainable again…. Some chapters transcend the level of a guidebook and give directions on another level, most notably Edward T. Linenthal’s reflections on commemoration and David A. Janssen’s story about the rebirth of Detroit…. Instead, the image of the sector Bob’s book paints is one of a sector that feels a strong need to play an important, relevant role in society, and one that feels empowered and enabled to do so. This confidence is rooted in research and best practice. For me, this is the great strength of the book. It covers a formative period for many history (and other cultural heritage) organizations and by looking at many case studies at the same time, manages to give a convincing roadmap of possible futures for all of us.

• Foreword - Cinnamon Catlin-LegutkoIntroductionChapter 1 The Only Thing that is Constant is Change Chapter 2 The Winds of Opportunity - Barbara Franco and Laura B. Roberts Chapter 3 Discovering the Power of Transformation Chapter 4 Understanding Change and Transformation in History Organizations - Candace Tangorra MatelicChapter 5 Making History a Twenty-First-Century EnterpriseChapter 6 Entrepreneurship in History Organizations - John W. DurelChapter 7 A Twenty-First Century Renaissance Chapter 8 The Spirit of Rebirth - David A. JanssenChapter 9 The Power of Possibility Chapter 10 It’s Possible - Kent Whitworth and Scott AlveyChapter 11 The Whole is Greater Chapter 12 Greater than the Sum of Our Parts - Erin Carlson MastChapter 13 Crossroads: Exploring the Vibrant Connections Between People and Place Chapter 14 Explorations in Place and Time: A Personal Journey - David A. DonathChapter 15 Turning Points: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Change Chapter 16 What Kind of Ordinary Will You Be? – Max A. van BalgooyChapter 17 Commemoration: The Promise of Remembrance and New Beginnings Chapter 18 Public History and the Challenges of CommemorationEdward T. LinenthalChapter 19 Inclusion is Active Chapter 20 I AM History: Embracing Inclusion in Social and Political Climates - Dina A. BaileyChapter 21 Epilogue Moving History from Nice to Essential - John R. Dichtl