Systems Thinking in Museums

Systems Thinking in Museums explores systems thinking and the practical implication of it using real-life museum examples to illuminate various entry points and stages of implementation and their challenges and opportunities. Its premise is that museums can be better off when they operate as open, dynamic, and learning systems as a whole as opposed to closed, stagnant, and status quo systems that are compartmentalized and hierarchical. This book also suggests ways to incorporate systems thinking based on reflective questions and steps with hopes to encourage museum professionals to employ systems thinking in their own museum. Few books explore theory in practice in meaningful and applicable ways; this book offers to unravel complex theories as applied in everyday practice through examples from national and international museums.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Marsha L. Semmel Section 1: About Systems Thinking in Museums Section 1 Introduction Systems Thinking and Museum Ecosystem Yuha Jung and Ann Rowson Love Mapping the Museum Universe: A Systems Approach Neville K. Vakharia Section 2: Systems Thinking and Museum Functions Section 2 Introduction Dr. Seuss, Systems, and Digital Strategies: Making Sense of Systems Theory as an Emerging Museum Professional Victoria Eudy Paradigms, Visitor-Centered Museum Practices and Systems ThinkingPat Villeneuve and Juyeon Song Section 2 Take Action Section 3: Systems Thinking in Management and Leadership Section 3 Introduction Intentional Practice: A Way of Thinking, a Way of WorkingRandi Korn Leadership in the Networked Museum: Systems Thinking at Museums Victoria Patrick Greene, Paul Bowers, and Kathy Fox Section 3 Take Action Section 4: Systems Thinking in Personnel Management Section 4 Introduction Enterprise Risk Management and Talent Management as Vehicles for a Sustainable MuseumAmy Gilman and Lynn Miller Planning for Cultural Relevance: A Systems Workshop at the Georgia O’Keeffe MuseumDouglas Worts Section 4 Take Action Section 5: Systems Thinking in Exhibitions and Programs Section 5 Introduction Managing Exhibit Development in a Fluid EnvironmentCaroline Angel Burke and Monica Parker-James We Built an IslandDeborah Randolph and Cora Fisher Section 5 Take Action Section 6: Systems Thinking in External Communications Section 6 Introduction Behind Closed Doors: The Uses of Social Media in Museum Transformation and Development ProjectsJonathan Paquette and Robin Nelson The Evaluation of Public Goods: Systems Thinking in the Case of Circuito LiberdadeAna Flávia Machado, Diomira M. C. P. Faria, Sibelle C. Diniz, Bárbara F. Paglioto, Rodrigo C. Michel, and Gabriel Vaz de Melo Section 6 Take Action Section 7: Systems Thinking in Community Engagement Section 7 Introduction The Museum as a Catalyst of Social Development: Best Practices to Engage the CommunityGuido Ferilli, Sendy Ghirardi, and Pier Luigi Sacco Systems Thinking for Visitor-Centered, Community-Engaged Interpretive PlanningSwarupa Anila, Amy Hamilton Foley, and Nii Quarcoopome Section 7 Take Action Section 8: Systems Thinking in Fundraising and Financial Sustainability Section 8 Introduction The Application of Systems Thinking and Museum SustainabilitySusan Mann Sustainable Fundraising in the 21st Century: Behind the Scenes of the Global Guggenheim SuccessNatalia Grincheva Section 8 Take Action Section 9: Systems Thinking in Physical Spaces Section 9 Introduction A Third Eye or a Third Space? Systems Thinking and Rethinking Physical Museum SpacesAnn Rowson Love and Morgan Szymanski Participative Design Processes for MuseumsTom Duncan Section 9 Take Action Section 10: Becoming a Learning Museum through Systems Thinking Section 10 Introduction Using Systems Thinking in Teaching Museum StudiesK. F. Latham and John E. Simmons Toward a Learning Museum and Systems IntelligenceYuha Jung

About the Author :
Yuha Jung, PhD, is an assistant professor of arts administration at the University of Kentucky. She holds an MA in museum studies from Syracuse University, MPA from the University of Georgia, and PhD in art education from the Pennsylvania State University with an emphasis on museum education and management. Her current research interests center around the incorporation of systems theory and organizational studies in arts and museum management and education. She has published numerous papers in the areas of culture diversity, engaging diverse audiences, systems theory, organizational culture, and informal learning in arts and cultural institutions. Ann Rowson Love, PhD, is the coordinating faculty member for the museum education and visitor-centered exhibitions program in the Department of Art Education at Florida State University. She is also faculty liaison to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Love has been a museum educator, curator, and administrator for over twenty-five years. She presents and publishes widely on curatorial collaboration, visitor studies, and art museum interpretation. Love is co-editor of Visitor-Centered Exhibitions and Edu-Curation in Art Museums also published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Review :
Systems Thinking in Museums: Theory and Practice is the first volume to provide multiple, museum-grounded perspectives on this approach, and is, therefore, a much needed and valuable resource for museums that recognize that they are better off when they operate as open and dynamic learning systems as opposed to traditional, compartmentalized, and hierarchical organizations. Yuha Jung and Ann Rowson Love cover the waterfront with sections on systems theory and specific museum examples. What if all the different departments across a museum were operating with a holistic mindset and unified in their common cause? What if museum staff worked collaboratively, learned continuously, and reflected on their work? What if museums became enabling agents for their communities? The future of museums depends upon embracing these questions and many others, and this book will guide the way with penetrating insights and practical guidance. Ignore at your peril. Jung and Love’s Systems Thinking in Museums may mirror your own experiences in collective planning and project management. For others, they may articulate a response to ongo­ing challenges regarding institutional dialogues. For all of us, the content provides a relevant and noteworthy tem­plate for twenty-first-century museum management.