Museum Forecast 2025: The Words We Use
This is the sixth year of our forecasts for the museum field! An incredible amount of change has occurred in the sector which brings with it new challenges and opportunities.
A Year in Review: An Assessment of My 2024 Museum Forecast
At the start of 2024, I shared three forecasts for museums regarding digital programs, AI, and burnout in the museum industry. This post recaps the specifics of my forecast and how those areas actually evolved over the course of 2024.
Demand-Driven Museum Story Inspiration
Let’s look at the numbers and consider taking inspiration from what our visitors are most interested in. This demand-driven approach can be incredibly informative and can offer fodder for stories in perpetuity.
Reimagining “Impossible” Museum Exhibitions as Story Inspiration
Online exhibits lack the constraints that can make it impossible to relate stories in a physical exhibition and can inspire us to share in new ways
Storytelling Inspiration with Collections Online
Collections online offer multiple benefits for storytelling including greater flexibility and cost effectiveness around budgets and staff time.
Storytelling to Inspire Reflection Using Museum Collections Online
Storytelling with online collections is impactful, whether we choose online-only or as part of a hybrid approach to museum exhibitions.
Museum Collections Online: Learning Through Storytelling
Digitizing museum collections introduces new and engaging opportunities for storytelling. By leveraging digital surrogates—essentially online representations of physical objects—museums can enhance how they present narratives and information to audiences.
The Role of Museum Collections Online in Storytelling & Audience Engagement
Storytelling with museum collections online allows for a great degree of flexibility, offers additional detail, and lends a dynamism that is difficult to produce within a physical exhibition.
Evaluating the Quality of Museum Data
Tips to make sure your museum data is good quality; the cleaner it is, the easier to migrate seamlessly from one CMS or spreadsheet to another CMS.
A Year in Review: An Assessment of the 2022 Museum Forecast
Recap of how three areas helped evolve the museum field in 2022: accessibility, elimination of “entry-level” jobs, and a digital boom.
Museum Digital Tools: Budget and Funding
You’ll successfully move a museum digital project forward if you know how to budget, how to accurately calculate costs, and where to find funding
Museum Digital Projects: Standards to Follow
Covers quality, file format, and metadata (cataloging) standards as the most common standards for museum digital project work.
Applying DEI to Museum Collection Development — Part 2
Challenges museum staff face when engaging in the reparative and post-custodial models of DEI collections development; strategies for success.
Museum Digital Projects: Elements to Include
Museum digital project planning should include who, what, why, when and how questions; advice for project managers
Museum Digital Projects: Pre-Project Evaluation
Museum digital pre-project evaluation is an excellent approach to intentional work—setting you and the collections up for a more successful result.
Applying DEI to Museum Collection Development — Part 1
As museums integrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives into programs it’s important to apply a DEI lens to collecting practices.
Museum Digital File Preservation: File Access
Basics of maintaining digital file integrity and access, tips for how museum staff can protect and preserve museum digital files.
3 Things to Consider When Purchasing Museum Digitization Equipment
There are three things to consider before making a digitization equipment purchase: fit, time, and budget; tips from a museum expert.
Museum Digital Project Consultant: Training
Training is critical to a successful digital project and is where using a consultant can yield a high Return on Investment (ROI).
Museum Digital Project Consultant: CMS Selection and Implementation
With CMS selection led by a consultant, decision-makers can feel confident in the chosen tool and more easily agree to the financial investment.
Museum Digital Project Consultant: Assess and Recommend
Highlights several digital project types where a museum consultant can be beneficial. Outlines how a consultant can help support museum staff.
Strategies to Effectively Work with Museum Staff, Interns, and Volunteers
Effective teams involving a hybrid of museum staff, interns, and volunteers require established communication patterns, unified training, and respect.
Museum TrendsWatch: Right-Sizing the World
Museums have largely based their success on capitalist models, using for-profit values of power, productivity, and economic metrics of success.
Museum TrendsWatch: Emergency Response in the Face of Disaster
Many disasters are driven by climate change; museums can use their nonpartisan credibility and communications skills to build climate policy consensus.
Myth #3: It’s too Hard to Digitize Museum Collections
It’s a myth that digitizing museum collections is too expensive, slow, or hard from a technical perspective. Provides context and ideas.