Think Like a Curator

Donna R. Braden

doi:10.5771/9781538182826

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Copyright year: 2025
ISBN-Print: 978-1-5381-8280-2
ISBN-Online: 978-1-5381-8282-6
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 280
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Preface No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
4. Chapter Descriptions No access
1. Defining Museum Curators No access
2. Curator Core Competencies No access
3. 1. Specialist Curators No access
  2. Generalist Curators No access
  3. History Curators at Small Museums No access
  4. Curators at Outdoor Museums and Historic Sites No access
  5. Guest Curators No access
  6. Community Co-Curators No access
4. 1. History Relevance Initiative No access
  2. DEAI (Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion) Perspectives No access
  3. Checking In with Museum Audiences No access
5. 1. So You Want to Be a History Museum Curator No access
  2. Mastering Competencies, Growing New Skills No access
  3. Ongoing Assessment No access
6. Reflective Practice No access
1. 1. What Is Material Culture? No access
  2. Why Study Material Culture? No access
2. 1. “Manufacts” (1950s to 1960s) No access
  2. “History from the Bottom Up” (late 1960s to 1980s) No access
  3. Material Culture Studies (1980s to the present) No access
  4. Digital Transformation (1990s to the present) No access
  5. “Active” and Inclusive Objects (about 2012 to the present) No access
3. 1. “Artifact Study: A Proposed Model” No access
  2. Six Practical Steps No access
4. Examples of Object Studies No access
5. 1. What Is Going On Here? No access
6. Reflective Practice No access
1. What Do Curators Bring to Collections Work? No access
2. Collections: Essential, Ethical, Mission-Aligned No access
3. 1. Too Much Stuff No access
  2. Not Enough of the “Right” Stuff No access
4. 1. A Collections Management Policy No access
  2. The Collections Plan No access
  3. Community-Based Collecting No access
  4. Contemporary and Rapid Response Collecting No access
5. 1. Acquisitions No access
  2. Cataloging No access
  3. Deaccessioning No access
  4. Tiering/Ranking Collections No access
  5. Repatriation No access
6. 1. Mission and Public Trust No access
  2. Collections Planning No access
  3. Collections Fundamentals No access
  4. Inclusive Collecting No access
1. Public History in Museums No access
2. 1. Asking Questions No access
  2. Identifying and Analyzing Sources No access
  3. Interpreting the Evidence No access
3. 1. Online Research No access
  2. Secondary Sources: Published Books and Articles No access
  3. Secondary Sources: Graduate Theses and Dissertations No access
  4. Primary Sources: A General Overview No access
  5. Primary Sources: Published Primary Documents No access
  6. Primary Sources: Unpublished Primary Documents No access
  7. Visual Documents and Media Sources No access
  8. Oral Histories No access
  9. Objects as Evidence No access
  10. Physical Structures and Historic Landscapes as Primary Documents No access
4. 1. Enslaved Africans/African Americans No access
  2. Women No access
  3. LGBTQ+ History No access
5. Getting Started: Suggested Research Steps No access
6. Pushback Strategies No access
7. Why Historical Thinking Matters No access
8. Reflective Practice No access
1. 1. In Public Spaces No access
  2. With the Public No access
  3. For the Public No access
2. Stories and Storytelling in Exhibitions No access
3. Teamwork and Collaboration No access
4. 1. Initial Planning31 No access
  2. From Design to Installation, and Beyond No access
5. 1. Visitors’ Label-Reading Behaviors No access
  2. Tips for Writing Effective Labels No access
  3. Labels That Tell Stories No access
  4. Testing (Prototyping) Labels No access
6. 1. Resonance No access
  2. Empathy No access
  3. Call to Action No access
  4. Refinements to the Exhibition Process No access
  5. 1. Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, Powell, Wyoming56 No access
    2. “Native New York” Gallery, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, New York City57 No access
    3. “Finding Our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak,” MSU Museum, Lansing, Michigan59 No access
    4. Cellblock 4, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania61 No access
    5. “The Power of Children: Making a Difference” Exhibition, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana62 No access
    6. TENACITY: Women in Jamestown and Early Virginia, Jamestown Settlement, Virginia63 No access
    7. “A Monumental Weight: The Auction Block in Fredericksburg, Virginia”64 No access
    8. “Mimi’s Family: Photographs of Matthew Clowney,” Boston Children’s Museum, Boston, Massachusetts65 No access
    9. “Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People, and Practices,” The Museum of the Chinese in America, Chinatown, New York City66 No access
    10. “The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal that Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever,” History Colorado, Denver, Colorado67 No access
    11. “‘¡NUEVOlution!’ Latinos and the New South,” Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte, North Carolina69 No access
    12. “WINIKO: Life of an Object,” First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma70 No access
7. 1. Getting to Know Visitors No access
  2. Exhibition Roles and Process No access
  3. Writing Labels No access
  4. Exhibitions in Today’s World No access
1. What Is Interpretation? No access
2. 1. Issue #1: The Sustainability of Historic House Museums No access
  2. Issue #2: Uncovering and Interpreting Previously Untold Stories No access
  3. Issue #3: The Power of Historic House Museums over Visitors No access
3. The Interpretive Framework No access
4. 1. Furnishings Rationale and Inventory No access
  2. Props and Reproductions No access
  3. Layout, Installation, and Accessibility No access
5. 1. Interpretive Staff No access
  2. Self-Guided Experiences No access
  3. Exhibitions and Interactives No access
  4. Interpretive Signs and Labels No access
  5. Theatrical Performances No access
  6. Public and Educational Programs No access
  7. Offerings for Audiences with Special Needs No access
  8. Auxiliary Interpretive Products No access
6. 1. Training and Interpretive Manuals No access
  2. Immediate Adjustments and Ongoing Refinements No access
7. Real-Life Examples No access
8. Reflective Practice No access
1. Links to Curator Core Competencies No access
2. The Public History Connection No access
3. 1. Printed Materials No access
  2. 1. Writing for Online Audiences No access
    2. Digitized Collections No access
    3. Online Exhibitions No access
    4. Blogs (Online Articles) No access
    5. Other Website Content No access
    6. Writing for Social Media No access
4. 1. Audiences for Talks and Tours No access
  2. 1. Preparing the Talk No access
    2. Delivering the Talk No access
  3. 1. Preparing the Tour No access
    2. Delivering the Tour No access
  4. 1. Preparing an Online Talk No access
    2. Delivering an Online Talk No access
  5. Audio Tours No access
  6. Talks and Tours for People with Disabilities—A Unique Opportunity No access
5. 1. 1. Preparing for the Interview No access
    2. Giving the Interview No access
    3. Cautions/Challenges and Strategies No access
  2. Podcasts No access
6. Wrap-Up No access
1. Leading at Every Level No access
2. 1. Key Factor #1: People No access
  2. Key Factor #2: Organizational Culture No access
  3. 1. Tools for Self-Leadership No access
  4. 1. Challenges No access
    2. Tools for Leading Up No access
  5. Leading Other Senior Leaders No access
  6. 1. Challenges No access
    2. Tools for Leading Across No access
  7. 1. Challenges No access
    2. Tools for Mentoring No access
    3. Leading Down: When You Are the Boss No access
    4. Challenges No access
    5. Tools for Leading Direct Reports No access
    6. Tools for Leading the Entire Team Include: No access
3. 1. Leading Yourself No access
  2. Leading Across No access
  3. 1. Challenges No access
4. Conclusion No access
1. Preface No access
2. Chapter 1 No access
3. Chapter 2 No access
4. Chapter 3 No access
5. Chapter 4 No access
6. Chapter 5 No access
7. Chapter 6 No access
8. Chapter 7 No access
9. Chapter 8 No access
Bibliography No access Pages 245 - 270
Index No access Pages 271 - 278
About the Author No access Pages 279 - 280