Evidence in Making the Case for Museums, Libraries and Archives
Evidence in Making the Case for Museums, Libraries and Archives
By
John Holden
Samuel Jones
This report highlights the evidence for the importance of museums, libraries and archives. It does so by understanding their role delivering public value. This document identifies how museums, libraries and archives have adapted to the changing demands of the public whom they serve, and have asserted themselves as providers of knowledge and inspiration.
The report:
- Demonstrates how popular the sector is with its public and tourists.
- Shows how it is trusted by politicians to deliver on social and economic agenda, and has been successful.
- Proposes that the value that the sector contributes can be developed and reconsidered in terms of public and cultural value.
- Shows how museums, libraries and archives deliver public and cultural value.
Nationwide, museums, libraries and archives house the evidence of all that we have been and all that we have felt. Without them, we would have a severely impoverished picture of our communal and individual identities. On their shelves, in their cases, and in their vaults are preserved the products and ideas of art, history, science, technology, natural history, and every other sphere of our lives. In the ways that they present and use this material, these institutions create and reinforce values and symbols that are part of our present, and which have the capacity to shape our futures. They show us where we have been and where we are going. Because of the knowledge they hold and the inspiration that they offer, museums, libraries and archives are essential to our social and economic survival.
