Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Understanding and Implementing Inclusion in Museums

Do museums need to be inclusive? How do we define inclusion? Understanding and Implementing Inclusion in Museums is the pioneer text to focus solely on the notion of inclusion for museums. This book is intended to demystify the much-debated idea of inclusion for museum professionals, theorists, professors, and researchers. The chapters within this book are intended to function as a guide for understanding, implementing, and evaluating inclusion in your museum. This insightful examination of inclusion in museums features: §An introductory definition of inclusion for museums. §Guidelines for creating inclusion in your museum through partnerships with people and community organizations. §Strategies for driving social change through inclusive museum practice. §Tools for implementing inclusion in your museum. §Mechanisms for evaluating the inclusiveness of your museum. §An encyclopedic Who's Who of museum professionals serving as advocates, agents, and architects of inclusion today. §An extensive resource list to aid you and your museum. We have never had a book solely about inclusion for museums, and never with such a strong focus on American institutions. I invite you to join the conversation concerning inclusion armed with greater understanding and the tools to implement change through your museum. Review This book. . . is an excellent approach to the word "inclusion". Understanding and Implementing Inclusion in Museums came along at a good time and is very helpful. . . . this is a book well worth reading, with an open mind.--Informal Learning Review Museums by their very nature are exclusive, throwing up barriers both visible and invisible that render their spaces and programming unwelcoming to large sectors of their communities. As Coleman (museum studies, Johns Hopkins Univ.) points out in chapter 1, in 2010, only 9 percent of the 34 percent minority population in the US reported using museums. Coleman specializes in social inclusion theory, and she posits the definition of the term inclusion is founded on the historical concept of social exclusion. She rebuts the myth of museum neutrality and rallies museums to model cultural responsibility in these turbulent social times. Coleman lays out a solid case for why museums should honestly assess and improve the inclusivity of their programs, develop partnerships with community organizations, and become agents for broad social change. She provides tools for museums to survey and analyze their current programming, implement inclusion, and evaluate the results. This book is an engaging read, providing philosophical background and concrete methods for museum professionals to transform their institutions into inclusive contributors to society and transition from "being about something to being for somebody." Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, professionals.--CHOICE At last, the first and definitive guide to understanding the meaning of inclusion for museums, and what is required to achieve it and evaluate it. This book is an essential blueprint for fulfilling the potential of museums as key community resources.--Robert R. Janes, visiting research fellow, School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, UK and editor-in-chief emeritus, Museum Management and Curatorship About the Author Laura-Edythe Coleman is a museum informaticist specializing in Social Inclusion Theory & Practice. Her focus is on the point of convergence for museums, information, people, and technology. Knowing that societies need museums for creating and sustaining cultural memory, she strives to help communities co-create collections with museums. She is currently a lecturer for Johns Hopkins University Museum Studies Program in which she teaches two core courses: Museums in a Global Perspective and the History & Philosophy of Museums. She can be reached via Twitter: @lauraedythe, website: www.lauraedythe.com, or by email la