Information Management in Museums (2nd ed.)

Citation

Newman, J.M.A. (1999), "Information Management in Museums (2nd ed.)", Asian Libraries, Vol. 8 No. 11, pp. 440-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/al.1999.8.11.440.6

Information Management in Museums is by two authors who first collaborated in 1980 and have considerable practical experience in the field of museum and information management. This publication represents a revision of their 1980 book, Information Handling in Museums.

Information Management in Museums is designed to help readers in the museum and information professions think productively about information management in museums. It presents basic principles and practical advice and is therefore a very good overview or introductory text on the subject. Chapters deal with what information means in the museum context, who the users of information are, managing the information to make it accessible, a strategy for using information, human resources in information management, using technology, procuring and installing a computerised information management system, and organising and running a computerised information management system. Some of the content is very introductory, with the chapter on organising and running a computerised information system aimed at novices who might be doing so for the first time, but there is also a considerable amount of value to the experienced information management professional.

The authors deal not only with collection information but also with business information. A notable inclusion in the book is discussion of the human resources implications of information management systems and the importance of careful consideration of these. This is one of the factors which leaves the reader with the impression that this is a thorough and holistic coverage of the subject.

Half of the book is devoted to case studies of information management in museums or similar organisations (mainly in the UK), and these are very useful for showing a wide variety of approaches to the introduction and development of information management systems. The case studies are thoughtfully preceded by a topic list which enabled me, for instance, to start by selecting those which dealt with “archives”and “bilingual”. Case studies range from large museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum to relatively small (such as Callendar House, Falkirk) and include Scienceworks at the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne. Different computer systems used, different strategies, organisational structures and approaches, their successes and problems are all covered in the wide variety of case studies. Each case is evaluated at the end by the authors, with very instructive comment.

Information Management in Museums appears to be intended to serve as a textbook for students as well as for the general professional reader and has useful summaries at the end of each chapter. The text is clear and well illustrated by a number of tables and diagrams, although the latter are of varying clarity and usefulness. There are also many references which provide a good guide for further reading.

This book can be recommended as a good general text for those involved in information management and especially, but not exclusively, in museums. While it is up to date with the current state of play in information management in museums, it has refreshingly avoided over‐use of current business buzz words ‐ a couple of pages set the scene with some theory on knowledge and information but the term “knowledge management” is not mentioned once.