Legal Problems Of Museum Administration

Hailed when it was first published in 1985 as the bible of U.S. collections management, A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections offers the only comprehensive discussion of the legal questions faced by museums regarding collections. This revised and expanded third edition addresses the many legal developments—including a comprehensive discussion of stolen art and the international movement of cultural property, recent developments in copyright, and the effects of burgeoning electronic uses—that have occurred during the past twenty-five years. An authorative, go-to book for any museum professional, Legal Primer offers detailed explanations of the law, suggestions for preventing legal problems, and numerous case studies of lawsuits involving museum collections.

Museums must comply with a myriad of laws and ethical codes regulating virtually every aspect of their organization and operations. While some of these issues are common to businesses of all kinds, some apply to nonprofit organizations, and others are unique to the museum community. MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION: LAW AND PRACTICE explores the many areas of law applicable to museums, including governance, personnel, facilities, intellectual property, collections management, and fundraising. Designed as a textbook for use in connection with museums studies programs and law school courses, the book utilizes a "casebook" approach: relevant court decisions and other primary source materials illustrate and enliven the descriptive text. Study questions are included in each chapter so that readers can apply legal and ethical principles to museum-focused fact situations. A comprehensive but concise introduction to the legal and ethical issues facing museums, MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION: LAW AND PRACTICE is also intended to be a resource for museum professionals and lawyers alike.

Wondering what a museum director actually does? About to start your first director's job? Looking for guidance in starting up a museum or working with a museum director? Hugh Genoways, Lynne Ireland, and Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko have taken the mystery out and put common sense and good guidance in. Learn about everything from budgets and strategic planning to human resources and facilities management to collections and programming. They also help you tackle legal documents, legal and ethical issues, and challenges for today's 2.0 world. Case studies and exercises throughout help you review and practice what you are learning, and their extensive references will be a welcome resource.

Presented in an easily digestible format, this go-to desktop reference guide provides explanations and clarifications on a variety of legal issues and concerns facing today’s museum professional in over 200 plain-language dictionary entries. Alphabetized and extensively cross-referenced, this text will provide a quick go-to when a general introduction to or refresher of a concept is needed on the go, including: Intellectual property issues, including copyright, trademarks, and fair use Corporate issues, including nonprofit status and tax-exemption Governance issues, including boards of trustees and fiduciary duties The second edition adds over 40 new dictionary entries that address emerging issues in the field such as the 2019 FASB update and direct care of collections, plus new topics such as marital property and business structures. The text is divided into three main sections: In the first, over forty common acronyms and symbols are explained, and over twenty statutes impacted museum work are listed, with common names or acronyms plus citations provided. In the second, over 200 terms are concisely defined and situated specifically in relation to the day-to-day work of the museum professional, each cross-referenced to related definitions. In the third, ten additional topics are developed in depth, allowing the subtleties and complications to be examined and explained in an accessible plain-language manner. Further, the supplemental, in-focus section includes new chapters on museum deaccessioning and disposal, business structures, and worker classification and independent contractors in addition to updated chapters on topics ranging from intellectual property to business formation, tax-exempt status, and worker classification. Written by a past museum director with legal training, this reference book is intended to be kept within arm’s reach at a desk and be the first stop for a professional whenever a question arises.