Management of Small History Museums

While many small museums belong to the American Associaiton of Museums it is supposed that the vast majority of small museums cannot afford to become members of the AAM. These museums are usually run by a small group of dedicated and concerned citizens of the community whose only interest is being judged favorably by the other residence of the community.

When looking for appropriate quarters for the museum consideration should be addressed for growth. One of the most grevious mistakes a small museum makes is its zealousness to provide public access to its exhibits. No museum can, or should, have its entire colleciton on display at any given time. Usually less than half of a museums collection is of interest to the vewing public.

One particular area of interest I discoverd in this book was about students and scholars wanting to study the collections of a small museum. All means should be made available to the scholar. For this cooperation the scholar will custimarily give the museum credit in their published reports. Not only will recognition be given to the museum for its full cooperation but also other scholars and institutions will become aware of the collection materials available for study.

Guthe discusses the organization of the museum. It a full-time director cannot be hired the small museum should try to compensate a part-time person. Voluntarily run museums are at the whim of individuals that have their own agenda of priorities. While volunteers have th museum's best interest at heart, it is an ineffective way to operate.

At the end of the book, addresses are given for the small history museum to contact for advice and counsel with many museum matters. Also given is a list of other publications the small museum might find useful. This book can only be recommended for inclusion into someone's library if they need a small, easy to carry, book for reference or know of someone who wishes to start a small history museum.