Museums 101

Running a specialised museum in regional Australia, we use books and online resources as our main source of information and inspiration. Museum's 101 gave us both. It is divided into small, easy to read chunks of valuable information. Being written by an author on the other side of the world we wondered if it would have enough relevance to us, but our Custodian has been a subscriber to Mark's blog for some years now and found it valuable, so we gave it a go. We find it practical, very readable and very useful.We now recommend this book to our colleagues, and would also highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Museum sector.

I really love this book, and appreciate the depth of knowledge that the author Mark Walhimer put into it. Mr. Walhimer clearly is a devotee of the world of museums, putting in lots of website addresses and names of institutions with locations. The book is laid out very well by chapter and subject headings. It carefully covers important details. As I read the book, I felt as though the author was sitting nearby speaking to me because it's written in layman's easy-going terminology. For me, this book is one that needs to be read straight through, then gone over once or twice to allow for follow-up to all the suggestions and advice. Museums 101 is a textbook suitable for educating oneself and it's an upbeat manual, not boring at all. I actually couldn't put it down until I went through it cover to cover, and I'm now on the 3rd reading so as to utilize the links and look up websites listed inside.

Museums 101 is a great place to start for anyone interested in learning how museums operate. The book is well organized and methodical in its approach. It is easy to read, offering many examples that cover different types of museums, ranging from large to small, historical, visual, scientific and live. The book seems especially geared toward readers who intend to start new museums, and includes a reference section, Museum Toolbox. There is also a useful website associated with the book that allows the reader to explore chapter topics in greater depth.

I was looking everywhere for a basic primer on how to start a museum. So many books are "ivory tower theory" or were written decades ago, and/or are hugely expensive. BUT THIS BOOK is totally practical and pragmatic, reasonably priced, and extremely helpful. It provides an overview of virtually every part of museum start-up and operations that a founder would need to know to start preparing for such an important project. Plus, it includes a huge number of documents, forms, and tools to help with that formation. Well done!

Read, learn and go

After over 30 years in museums and often teaching on museums we finally have a readable yet complete text for students. Mark Walhimer covers all the essential themes for beginners in museum studies within a series of short and very readable chapters. Added materials and handouts are included for student use which helps students get connected to the profession. I appreciated the emphasis on mission and ethics expected from practitioners. I will use it for my next museum class. The content is very current yet the mission of our profession is clearly defended to a new practitioners.

Wanted this to be so much better. Thought it might be perfect for a basic museum studies class, but found other/older books more relevant.

I don't write reviews typically, but I purchased this book in Kindle form to use as a resource in setting up a nonprofit museum. I had an issue with accessing the accompanying online resources, and sent a email not expecting a response for at least a day or two. Much to my surprise, Mark himself emailed me back within a half hour and made sure everything was accessible for me! A+ for customer service! Overall the book is a great read and a valuable resource and I would definitely recommend it!

I've been working in museums for 20 years now, and this is by far one of the best books I've read. Apparently is a humble, entry level book on "how to make a museum from scratch", in reality it advocates a visitor centric approach and an integrated strategy that unfortunately are still missing in too many museums. Absolutely worth reading both for people who'd love to enter the museum field as well as for expert museum professionals.