Policies for National Museum Management: Solutions and Development

Abstract

There are 41 national museums in Thailand. Since the Act on National Education of 1997, national museums have been expected to provide more educational services and facilities, but a lack of museum personnel and inadequate budgets remain big problems. Recently the decision was made to reduce the number of national museums, and the small-scale national museums, formerly monastery museums, have returned to being monastery museums. To improve the image of national museums, three pilot projects are undergoing: the first project is establishment of seven national museum storage units – a main central storage unit in Pathumthani Province and six regional national museum storage units –; the second project is renovation of the National Museum Bangkok; and the third project is development of the Kanchanaphisek National Museum which will represent all ethnic groups in Thailand.