The Museum Blog Book - Chuffin ek, I'm published

So, you’re currently looking at a museum related blog (*waves*). 

The publishing peeps at Museums Etc recognised that there are an awful lot of museum related blogs out there where “museum professionals share the experiences and perceptions they believe are the most valuable, the most urgent." . They decided to shed some light on these many blogs, and The Museum Blog Book has been born, publishing articles from over 75 blogs in one impressive 676 page book. 
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Which brings us to me shouting “AAAAGGGH I’VE BEEN PUBLISHED!!” in tones between delight and panic.

​Yup, my sketchily illustrated ramblings have been included in a proper book alongside "some of the most noted and contemporary voices in the museum field". T.H. Gray  of the website Peabody’s Lament dropped me an email about the call for submissions, suggesting I try it. To my astonishment two of my submitted posts have been included.

Why Pay to read what's Free Online?

...the benefit of The Museum Blog Book is introducing you to so many different sources in a handy pick up, dip in, and mark for future reference way.

OK, so you can go online and read the blogs written by these people for free, but the benefit of The Museum Blog Book is introducing you to so many different sources in a handy pick up, dip in, and mark for future reference way. As a result of reading their work in this book, I’ll certainly be following quite a few people I may otherwise have not stumbled over.

​It also has the merit of being something you can hand to a colleague, manager, friend or student and say “here, look at this bit”. They’re more likely to read and engage as there’s immediacy to having a book sat on your desk, which just doesn’t come with a link in an email.
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If you blanch at the almost £60 price tag (a lot of money for many in an world of increasingly frozen or slashed wages) I really would suggest splitting the cost with a couple of mates, or proposing it to the management as a purchase for the staff to share – the blogs are easily lunchtime reads, and contain ideas potentially very beneficial for the workplace. 

Is The Museum Blog Book any Good?

... unlike many articles written for publication, most use the enjoyable, more conversational, brief, personal tone which often comes with a blog. 

​It’s a book I would heartily recommend even were I not included. Museums Etc describes it as “… perceptive. Witty. Thoughtful. Concerned. Angry. Committed. Exhilarating. Invaluable.” And that isn’t mere hype. These blogs were all written prior to submission, so unlike many articles written for publication, most use the enjoyable, more conversational, brief, personal tone which often comes with a blog. In some, you can almost feel the vibrating emotion of the author as they banged the letters on their keyboard.

Usefully split into five parts, you’ll find blogs of relevance to almost all areas of museums, from a wide range of viewpoints at the very top and very bottom of the professional ladder, working at world renowned institutions to freelance positions.

​I’m a little over half way into my copy, as I’ve been taking my time to read, reflect, annotate and question. My personal  highlights so far have included Mark Carnall’s description of crap websites, Kirsty Fife’s passionate ideas about opening doors for accessing and dispersing knowledge and skills, and Jackie Delamatre’s and Lisa Gilbert’s (now rather underlined and scribbled on in pencil) blogs on students in museums.

​Also, I really want to go and look up the Milford Haven collection.

Find out more and get a copy