In the book Looking Reality in the Eye: Museums and Social Responsibility, edited by Robert R. Janes and Gerald T. Conaty, there is an essay written by Emlyn H. Koster and Stephen H. Baumann. In it, they write, “It is no longer acceptable for zoos to have a single representative of an animal species in a barred cage or, more recently, for an aquarium to train killer whales to perform circus-like acts in a pool. Less dramatically in the museum context, amassing a collection simply for the sake of amassing a collection is an indicator of institutional self-absorption. A human history museum can use its collection simply to display and identify the material output of a chapter in history, or it can endeavor to interpret that chapter in its prevailing social context. A natural history museum can display the fossil record of ancient life with or without mention of rapid, human-caused rates of declining biodiversity and increasing extinction. A science center may not be presenting to its visitors any of the major science and technology issues that are pertinent to its region. A museum can simply open its doors to its traditional audience, or it can actively try to engage a broader audience with its resources. Museums of all kinds have choices, choices that characterize them as being negative, neutral, or positive influences with respect to the needs of humanity and this planet. “
Every time I read this, I feel the gut reaction, “Ouch!” As a museum professional, it leads me to think a bit deeper about the way I approach the basic work of running a museum. I question the assumptions I have held for so long about what the mission of the museum is, and why the museum is. But at the same time, I find these same words to be deeply motivating. I can do better. We, as a field can do better.
Society has placed a vast amount of value on museums. Consider the money, volunteer time, energy and effort that communities devote to the act of collecting and preserving the relics of the past, celebrating our accomplishments and sharing our stories. Museums have been gifted great trust. It is about time that the institutions, and the real people who work in them and run them, stand up and choose to apply those resources to strengthening our communities, our society and our planet.
