Something to look for

Before I get too much further in this chronicling of my adventures, allow me one moment to explain what I personally look for in cultural heritage institutions, such as the museums I have visited on my way to San Antonio.

Cultural heritage institutions (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) and their professionals are generally focused on two things; a collection of materials, and the people who access them. The balance between these two focal points is different for each type of institution (as well as each institution itself), partially because of the types of materials they collect and therefore how much access they are familiar or comfortable with giving.

Let's start with museums. Historically speaking, most kinds of museums started out as collections belonging to private individuals or institutions who may or may not have allowed very many people to access them. I would like to casually sumarize this phase as collecting ALL the things. Eventually, a lot of public institutions were made (typically around the late 19th or early 20th century in American society) so that the ignorant masses could be ushered in and improved by appreciating the stuff, or People, come look at ALL the things. Near the end of the twentieth century, amidst all of the social upheaval which fostered mainstream society's beginning of an appreciation for all of the minorities whose voices may have historically been ignored or unheard by a wider audience, a new approach began to sprout. This has ultimately begun to flower in different methods and a new focus on the folks who use museums-- which is after all one of the most primary differences (besides professional organization/maintenance) between an institutional collection and a hoarder's stash. So we are now working our way into the latest era of public institutions: PEOPLE come look at all the things. This is why newer museums and exhibitions are more likely to have hands-on, interactive features; include a more holistic and multifaceted view of their material and the people behind it; and emphasize less the sheer amount of stuff they have and more the user experience or what they can offer their communities. You can often date a museum or its exhibitions by the balance between collections and communities. Does it include the contributions of minorities as more than sidenotes or curiosities? Is it a bunch of stuff to stare at, or something you encouraged to personally engage with and experience?

Some of this is also applicable to other kinds of cultural heritage institutions. Libraries have typically been more user-centered as an institution type, which can partially be attributed to the focus on textual materials more commonly replaceable for the benefit of information users. Thanks to the little gadget known as the printing press (and another you might have heard of, the internet), most of the materials held by one library can be generally available enough that several other libraries will also have them. And the point of having these widely-available materials is exactly so that more people can have access to them than if each person had to buy their own copy. Special collection libraries and archives are often between the more public-oriented libraries and museums when it comes to this balance, because they house materials which are more rare and/or are generally of use to a more specialized audience, such as historical textual materials and items which are not widely published. I don't know as much about galleries, but I suspect they would also be more similar to museums when it comes to this particular aspect of methods and motivations, as well as being influenced by their own factors of their collections and the communities they serve.

So, what I look for in cultural heritage institutions is the people (both authors & users) and the meaning behind the materials. All the awesome items in institutional collections are only part of the equation--a very important and integral part, but still not everything an institution should be.

I'm still carlagged enough that I can't go too much farther into this without almost quoting some of the lyrics from The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World," so I'll close for now. This week I'm hoping to finish recovering from the long drive, catch up with friends, and visit a variety of institutions; my internship that is at the heart of this shindig starts next week.