Exploring Emotion, Care, and Enthusiasm in “Unloved” Museum Collections / / ed. by Rhianedd Smith, Alison Hess, Anna Woodham.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Amsterdam University Press Complete eBook-Package 2020
• MitwirkendeR: Carnall, Mark,; Church, Francesca,; Hess, Alison,; Kelleher, Shane,; Macleod, Mark,; Smith, Rhianedd,; Watson, Sheila,; Woodall, Alexandra,; Woodham, Anna,
• HerausgeberIn: Hess, Alison,; Smith, Rhianedd,; Woodham, Anna,
• Place / Publishing House: Leeds : : ARC Humanities Press, , [2020]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Series: Collection Development, Cultural Heritage, and Digital Humanities
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (216 p.)

Millions of items are held in museum collections around the world but many museums have very few visitors to their stored collections. These stored objects are certainly not neglected by their professional custodians, and they are loved with a great intensity by some curators and enthusiasts. However, for all but a tiny proportion of the population they have little or no personal meaning. This book goes beyond strategic discussions of access to stores, information enhancement, or collections rationalization and focuses on the emotional potential of these objects. The authors explore how “care” for objects has varied over time and consider who cares for objects that are generally considered to be unsuitable for display and why they care. They also consider how inter-generational and inter-disciplinary dialogue can enhance or engender engagement with "unloved" collections and offer strategies and reflection on interpreting stored collections. This book will be essential reading for scholars, students, and professionals in museums, especially those concerned with curation and collections.

Millions of items are held in museum collections around the world but many museums have very few visitors to their stored collections. These stored objects are certainly not neglected by their professional custodians, and they are loved with a great intensity by some curators and enthusiasts. However, for all but a tiny proportion of the population they have little or no personal meaning. This book goes beyond strategic discussions of access to stores, information enhancement, or collections rationalization and focuses on the emotional potential of these objects.[-][-]The authors explore how "care" for objects has varied over time and consider who cares for objects that are generally considered to be unsuitable for display and why they care. They also consider how inter-generational and inter-disciplinary dialogue can enhance or engender engagement with "unloved" collections and offer strategies and reflection on interpreting stored collections. This book will be essential reading for scholars, students, and professionals in museums, especially those concerned with curation and collections.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- SECTION ONE: ENTHUSIASTS AND CARE FOR COLLECTIONS -- Chapter 1. Unlocking the Meanings of Collections: Expertise, Care, and the Science Museum’s Locks and Fastenings Collection -- Chapter 2. “A Hawk from a Handsaw”: Investigating Enthusiasm for Rural Hand Tools -- Chapter 3. What’s in a Name? The Ethics of Care and an “Unloved” Collection -- SECTION TWO: “UNLOVED” COLLECTIONS -- Chapter 4. “Storehouses of Unimagined Treasures”: Delightful Rummaging and Artists’ Responses to “Unloved” Collections -- Chapter 5. No Data, No Use? Changing Use and Valuation of Natural History Collections -- Chapter 6. Getting to Grips with Medical Handling Collections: Medical Memories, Specialist Knowledge, and Community Engagement around “Unloved” Objects -- SECTION THREE: EMOTIONAL RESEARCH -- Chapter 7. Emotions and Lost Objects -- Chapter 8. Care- Full Academic Labour: Encountering Care in Collections- Based Research -- Volume Conclusion: How to Put a Little Love in Your Stored Collection -- Index