Changing Libaries and Archieves with Steven Lunbar

Thurday's Library discussion was very interesting. The discussion was about libaries and Archieves and how they shape the way that information is distrbuted to visitors. During this discussion there were many important points bought up about the changes in libaries and museums and how they interact in the public realm. Museums have changed a lot from how they used to be there is a lot o interactivity which has changed the landscape of museums today. The job of the curator has changed in museums as well. Curators are diferent than they used to be, this changes is also coupled with the fact designers are influential in musuems.

The speaker Steven Lunbar was the speaker at Library. Lunbar was asked what was harder in his long successful career which included working at the Smithsonian or teaching at Brown. He claimed that teaching at Brown is actually harder. When asked why he was able to explain that teaching is harder. While teaching h feels it is best to for his students to work in groups, present a exhibition to the public, set expectations and teaching well.

Lunbar's biggest failure he said was a project he worked that was never completed. The premise of the project was explaining the lagacy of museums to the world. Lunbar that this idea would be useful to explain how to use a museum and what types of things museums have and how to view them. Part of the reason why it did not happpen was because the staff had a hard time deciding on the important of objects that would be displayed. Although the project was not completed there was a book written about the topic.

Museums have many challenges in the future. Most of their challenges stem from how to get funding that is needed to do interesting projects to keep visitors coming. Lunbar discussed two interesting museums as a mode for how to be bold, challenging and relivant in the museum space as time changes. Lunbar discussed Eastern State Penitentary. Eastern State Pentitentary according to Lunbar is a good model of how museums must be bold and different to get funding. Wagner Free Museum was his other example he spoke about how the Wagner Free Museum still was relivant today but fufilling the mission they started so many years ago by keeping hisotry and education a key element in its mission today. In tihs instance it worked again.