Small museums — more tango than foxtrot (the salsa gets you nowhere!)

Abstract

Small museum collections reflect the vast history of their communities and are vital in maintaining that ongoing history. The imperative of continuing to collect contemporary history to fulfil their ongoing mission has now become, with the advent of technology, much more difficult, and quite different in its execution. The first part of this paper presents an overview of challenges faced by small, community, volunteer run museums and collections. It portrays a recognisable ‘small, community, volunteer run museum or collection’, referred to throughout as ‘small museums’. It is we sincerely hope a characterisation, not a caricature. Personal experience informs the second part of this paper.