Systems Thinking in Museums

Yuha Jung, PhD, is an assistant professor of arts administration at the University of Kentucky. She holds an MA in museum studies from Syracuse University, MPA from the University of Georgia, and PhD in art education from the Pennsylvania State University with an emphasis on museum education and management. Her current research interests center around the incorporation of systems theory and organizational studies in arts and museum management and education. She has published numerous papers in the areas of culture diversity, engaging diverse audiences, systems theory, organizational culture, and informal learning in arts and cultural institutions.Ann Rowson Love, PhD, is the coordinating faculty member for the museum education and visitor-centered exhibitions program in the Department of Art Education at Florida State University. She is also faculty liaison to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Love has been a museum educator, curator, and administrator for over twenty-five years. She presents and publishes widely on curatorial collaboration, visitor studies, and art museum interpretation. Love is co-editor of Visitor-Centered Exhibitions and Edu-Curation in Art Museums also published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Systems Thinking in Museums: Theory and Practice is the first volume to provide multiple, museum-grounded perspectives on this approach, and is, therefore, a much needed and valuable resource for museums that recognize that they are better off when they operate as open and dynamic learning systems as opposed to traditional, compartmentalized, and hierarchical organizations. Yuha Jung and Ann Rowson Love cover the waterfront with sections on systems theory and specific museum examples.

• Foreword Marsha L. SemmelSection 1: About Systems Thinking in Museums Section 1 IntroductionSystems Thinking and Museum Ecosystem Yuha Jung and Ann Rowson LoveMapping the Museum Universe: A Systems Approach Neville K. VakhariaSection 2: Systems Thinking and Museum FunctionsSection 2 IntroductionDr. Seuss, Systems, and Digital Strategies: Making Sense of Systems Theory as an Emerging Museum Professional Victoria EudyParadigms, Visitor-Centered Museum Practices and Systems ThinkingPat Villeneuve and Juyeon SongSection 2 Take ActionSection 3: Systems Thinking in Management and LeadershipSection 3 IntroductionIntentional Practice: A Way of Thinking, a Way of WorkingRandi KornLeadership in the Networked Museum: Systems Thinking at Museums Victoria Patrick Greene, Paul Bowers, and Kathy FoxSection 3 Take ActionSection 4: Systems Thinking in Personnel ManagementSection 4 IntroductionEnterprise Risk Management and Talent Management as Vehicles for a Sustainable MuseumAmy Gilman and Lynn MillerPlanning for Cultural Relevance: A Systems Workshop at the Georgia O’Keeffe MuseumDouglas WortsSection 4 Take ActionSection 5: Systems Thinking in Exhibitions and ProgramsSection 5 IntroductionManaging Exhibit Development in a Fluid EnvironmentCaroline Angel Burke and Monica Parker-JamesWe Built an IslandDeborah Randolph and Cora Fisher Section 5 Take ActionSection 6: Systems Thinking in External CommunicationsSection 6 IntroductionBehind Closed Doors: The Uses of Social Media in Museum Transformation and Development ProjectsJonathan Paquette and Robin NelsonThe Evaluation of Public Goods: Systems Thinking in the Case of Circuito LiberdadeAna Flávia Machado, Diomira M. C. P. Faria, Sibelle C. Diniz, Bárbara F. Paglioto, Rodrigo C. Michel, and Gabriel Vaz de MeloSection 6 Take ActionSection 7: Systems Thinking in Community EngagementSection 7 IntroductionThe Museum as a Catalyst of Social Development: Best Practices to Engage the CommunityGuido Ferilli, Sendy Ghirardi, and Pier Luigi SaccoSystems Thinking for Visitor-Centered, Community-Engaged Interpretive PlanningSwarupa Anila, Amy Hamilton Foley, and Nii QuarcoopomeSection 7 Take ActionSection 8: Systems Thinking in Fundraising and Financial SustainabilitySection 8 IntroductionThe Application of Systems Thinking and Museum SustainabilitySusan MannSustainable Fundraising in the 21st Century: Behind the Scenes of the Global Guggenheim SuccessNatalia GrinchevaSection 8 Take ActionSection 9: Systems Thinking in Physical SpacesSection 9 IntroductionA Third Eye or a Third Space? Systems Thinking and Rethinking Physical Museum SpacesAnn Rowson Love and Morgan SzymanskiParticipative Design Processes for MuseumsTom DuncanSection 9 Take ActionSection 10: Becoming a Learning Museum through Systems ThinkingSection 10 IntroductionUsing Systems Thinking in Teaching Museum StudiesK. F. Latham and John E. SimmonsToward a Learning Museum and Systems IntelligenceYuha Jung