Natural History Museum in London. Photo montage by me :-)
Historically museums have defined a particular way of understanding the world. Prevailing scientific theories and historical storytelling have been embodied in the way museum collections are selected, organised and presented.
The English Museum of Natural History embraced Darwin’s evolution theory in the 19th century and organised its exhibits accordingly. Across the ditch its Parisian counterpart preferred a taxonomy and narrative based on a French scientist’s slightly different version of evolution.
In recent decades, responding to new funding models and declining visitor numbers, directors of public museums have been looking for ways to ensure their institutions remain relevant and valued.
The director of the Australian Museum, Andrew Sayers, wants that relatively new museum to participate in public conversation:
“I think the museum gives us the possibility to talk about culture in a really broad way… We can address the things that are concerning to us in contemporary culture: health, environmental degradation, what should our level of population be, and so on. All these things the museum should be engaging with, because all of them have a history we can illustrate and talk about.”
Manly Library Afloat is a mobile library that parks daily at the Manly Wharf in Sydney (click photo for details)
Growing up in a small English village, Rowan Pelling felt sorry for children at posh schools because they missed out on “the joys of the mobile library – the extraordinary Tardis-like sensation of entering a truck that became vast with the treasure-trove of books crammed within it.”
Although Pelling admits he has been a “reprehensible library slacker” he has recently come to an understanding of how that mobile library shaped his world-view:
“Just standing in the library made me remember how no other literary experience makes you feel so acutely you are part of a vast community of book-lovers, self-improvers, unfettered imaginations, armchair travellers and generally like-minded souls. Like countless others, I am the adult libraries built.”
If that idea appeals to you, you’ll love Alan Bennett’s 2007 novella “The Uncommon Reader.” Give yourself a treat and read it — it won’t take long, and it’s completely charming. Subscribers to the London Review of Books, you can read it online; otherwise, open an account at OpenLibrary.org or hie thee to your local library ;-)
