Information Management in Museums

Museums are under pressure to deliver effective management and presentation of their collections, outreach to their public, cost effective use of all of their resources and the generation of maximum income. This book addresses such topics as what information means in the museum context, who uses it and what they need to do with it, developing a strategy for using information to benefit the museum, making the best use of the knowledge and skills of the museum staff, and acquiring the right mix of technology and managing it to support co-operation between people. Basic principles and practical advice is presented for integrated management of a whole range of information which museums need for productive use of human resources and for choosing and using technology effectively. The needs of small museums are given special attention and case studies show how a range of institutions have responded to the challenge.