The Museums Profession

The number of privately and publicly owned museums in Europe, Japan, North America and the rest of the developed world has grown prodigiously in the last decade; there are 4000 in the UK alone. The number of professional staff has increased commensurately, and many of the problems associated with this growth are only now becoming apparent. This is a study of some of the more pressing questions for museums staff in their day-to-day life - how should they organize their responsibilities, their training and the appraisal of their work? How should they sell their museum, how should they justify and explain its economic, social and educational importance to its owners?