Why should museums reach out to communities 
and who says they have to?

There’s been a lot of talk about museums and historic sites reaching out to communities.  You might be wondering, “Why is it so important to work with my local community?”  This post highlights some of the reasons for engaging communities and who says it is important. 

American Association of Museums (AAM):  Originally published in 2002, and again in 2005, AAM published Excellence in Practice:  Museum Education Principles and Standards, which was developed by AAM’s Committee on Education (EdCom).  This pamphlet was “developed to help guide and inform the practice of museum education” and should be used by everyone who supports “informal education and teaching with objects, both inside and outside the museum field” (p. 4).  The “Principles of Best Practices for Education in Museums” is based on three components:  Accessibility, Accountability, and Advocacy.  Principle number ONE in this list of best practices states: 

Engage the community and serve the museum’s audiences.  Develop and maintain sound relationships with community organizations, schools, cultural institutions, universities, other museums, and the general public.  Reflect the needs and complexities of changing society.  Shape content and interpretation toward relevant issues and create a broad dialogue (p. 7).

Additionally, the “Professional Standards for Museum Educators” states as its FIRST standard:

Focus on Audiences and Community.  Museum educators have knowledge of and respect for the audiences their museums serve.  They promote museums’ public service role within our changing society. 

Clearly AAM believes that connecting with communities is paramount to the core mission of museums to serve their audiences.  What other authorities call museums to engage with their communities?  Besides the mission, are there other compelling reasons?  The answer is YES!

National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP):  In 2008 the NTHP published its Final Conference Report:  Sustainability of Historic Sites in the 21^st Century:  The Call for a National Conversation.  The first two findings of this report state: 

Successful stewardship of the nation’s historic sites requires financial sustainability.  Sustainability begins with each historic site’s engagement with its community and its willingness to change its structure, programs, and services in response to the changing needs of that community (p. 6).

So in addition to being part of a museum’s core mission, engaging the community should also be an important part of its plan for financial sustainability.  This financial recommendation stems from the realization that the “heritage tourism” model is no longer financially sustainable for most sites.  Instead, NTHP and the AASLH (see below) recommend that sites seek to provide what their communities need—or else run the risk of becoming irrelevant to their communities and defunct as a consequence. 

American Association for State and Local History (AASLH):  As mentioned above, the AASLH also recommends that historic house museums engage their communities for financial sustainability reasons (in addition to their missions).  The AASLH’s Technical Leaflet #224:  How Sustainable is Your Historic House Museum?  lists as its first “Characteristic of a Sustainable Historic House Museum:” 

A sustainable historic house museum serves its audience and is valued by its community (p. 2).

As you can see, our profession’s top associations and governing bodies are leading the call for museums and historic sites to engage with their communities.  Not only is this an issue of the utmost importance to a museum’s mission—because why are we here if not to serve our audiences?—but it is also a critical step in ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of a museum or site.  Relevancy is one of the top issues facing museums today; we must embrace changes in society and change with them.  The public depends on us to provide education and inspiration; we depend on the public for existence.  Why not work with them?

Works Cited:

American Association of Museums – Committee on Education.  2005.  Excellence in Practice:  Museum Education Principles and Standards.  Washington, DC:  AAM:  1-16.

American Association for State and Local History - Historic House Affinity Group Committee. 2008.  How sustainable is your historic house museum? (Technical Leaflet #244). History News, 63 (4):  1-12.

Vaughn, J.  2008.  Introduction:  The call for a national conversation.  ForumJournal, 22 (3):  5-9.

Image credit:  http://irene-turner.com/wp-content/uploads/collaboration-2.jpg

~ Posted by LF