Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 21

Book Reviews
SPNHC members would be justified in expecting that a book
with this title would address financial sustainability, a topic
that is at the top of strategic agendas of most NHMs. They
might hope that the book would reveal a new business model
or some tweaks to management that would enable them to
discharge their traditional responsibilities (collection stewardship, fundamental research, and education through public
exhibits) while providing revenue sufficient to support the
modernization of their aging facilities, hiring and retaining young professionals, and attracting enthusiastic patrons
to the museum's public programs. I was surprised that the
issue of financial sustainability wasn't mentioned until the
12th of 14 chapters in this book, and then only briefly. What
surprised (and pleased) me more was the book's outwardlooking focus on the issues, changes and opportunities that
surround the NHM enterprise, rather than an inward-looking
focus on operations, organization charts and revenue piecharts.
The 14 essays in this volume developed from sessions held
at the 2014 and 2015 annual conferences of the International
Council of Museums' Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History Museums (ICOM NATHIST). The
editor (Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History), session organizers, and authors have produced a remarkably stimulating and focused treatment of this admittedly
broad topic. Most of the essays treat a different component
activity of NHMs such as collections-based research (Chapters 4 and 5), exhibitions (Chapters 6 and 7), and public
engagement through citizen science activities (Chapter 9)
-- a framework that makes sense for complex organizations
such as NHMs. Chapters 9 and 10 explore how NHMs, science centers, zoos, aquariums and related organizations have
confronted many of the same challenges over time, especially in the areas of public engagement and informal teaching
and learning.
The chapters on collections-based research are emblematic
of the opportunities and challenges being faced by NHMs.
The expansion of mining activities in Australia has been a
prominent issue in this decade, offering jobs and economic
development on one hand and environmental concerns and
the rights of indigenous people and landowners on the other.
Australian NHMs were positioned for windfall revenues
through contracts for environmental impact studies as well
as charitable giving for public programs. Public faith in
NHMs would require transparency in how the research
was conducted and how it was presented in public exhibits.
Loss of biodiversity has created parallel opportunities and
challenges for other NHMs. How are changes in global
climate, ocean acidification, patterns of land use, industrial
food production and energy sources having an impact on

wild species? This is a rich and important field of research
with strongly-held opinions on different sides. Given these
competing viewpoints, NHMs will need to be proactive in
documenting their research findings with reference to collections that are available for study by qualified professionals
with competing views.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of many of these essays
is their treatment of how NHMs have become growth chambers for non-traditional approaches, partnerships, collaborations and initiatives. Let me illustrate using global climate
change as an example. Fifty years ago, NHMs had essentially no involvement in controversial policy issues like this, so
the interface between museums and public policy could have
been viewed as "no man's land"-an intellectual space with
no activity, separating institutions (some might say protecting them) from such controversial societal issues that involve science and technology. The public now expects their
NHM experiences to inform them about these policy issues.
As a result the interfaces have become extensive, complex,
almost fractal in shape, touching exhibits, research, education, collections and essentially every area of NHM life.
Chapter 11 describes the post-war creation of international
treaties and national implementing laws and regulations, and
how they have redefined the relationships between NHMs
and the countries and indigenous peoples from which their
objects of study have been obtained. Several essays touched
on new approaches to interactive, experiential learning of
the sort practiced in hands-on science centers. Each of these
phenomena-environmental crises, the end of colonialism,
the growth of learning as a leisure-time pursuit-created
a new interface between NHMs and other communities
of practice. Each of these interfaces had no activity a few
decades ago but is now a hotbed of intellectual activity, innovation, and organizational evolution. The future may be
challenging for many NHMs but it is sure to be exciting and
rewarding for others.
-- David E. Schindel, Office of the Provost/Under Secretary
for Museums and Research, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box
37012, MRC 009, Washington, DC 20013-7012 USA

March 2018 * 21



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018

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https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/society-for-the-preservation-of-natural-history-collections-march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/35-1
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https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/34-1
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http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/33-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/32-2
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http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/31-2
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http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/30-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/29-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/29-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/28-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/28-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/30-2
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