New Research in Museum Studies – serie

Volume 1 in a series designed to act as a forum for the dissemination and discussion of new research currently being undertaken in the field of Museum Studies. The series aims to cover the whole museum field and to broadly address the history and operation of the museum as a cultural phenomenon. The papers published are of a high academic standard, and are also intended to relate directly to matters of immediate museum concern. The publication aims to fill a major gap in the present scope of museum-based literature. This volume is concerned with the ways in which meaning is created through museum objects, and the processes which this involves. The papers, however, adopt a wide diversity of stances, ranging widely across the field; some take a broadly theoretical line, and others examine specific areas like museum education and the relationship of museums to native peoples. The volume concludes with a Review Section, covering recent books, exhibitions and conferences.

The second volume in this series focuses upon the relationship between a museum service and its community, viewed from a range of national and international perspectives, and concentrating upon new work and new political parameters. The papers include a substantial analysis of museum operations from an economic standpoint, drawing upon research into the report of the North of England Open Air Museum at Beamish on the local economy. Further papers consider the influence of recent legislation, the role of performance indicators, and the importance of recent approaches to visitor evaluation. The volume aims to contribute to, and help to shape, the current debate about the ecoomic and political role of museums in the community.

Displaying art in museum galleries is more complex than it used to be. This book aims to canvass past and contemporary problems of cultural representation and of the relationship between the artist, the museum and society. It aims to explore issues relating to audiences for art, and the role of galleries in these and other debates. Topics discussed include: display, cultural representation, the artist and society, museums and the art market.

The relationship between science and the public is one of the great contemporary debates, involving questions of accountability, resource, the construction of knowledge and its legal implications. Mutual understanding between scientists and non-scientists is a key figure in the dialogue and here the interpretation of science in museums has a significant part to play.