The ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums: Background and objectives
2016
Understanding the nature of the cultural and natural heritage is fundamental to
museums and therefore to the ICOM Code. As humanity’s inheritance, cultural
property is no ordinary property. Furthermore, there are few enterprises where thekey resource for success is not expendable – in the case of museums, the collection.
Indeed, there is a perpetual internal tension in museums between the preservation
and utilisation of this central resource; and a certain paradox at the heart of a museum’s mission deepens when the maintenance and enhancement of the collection is
also a key measure of success. An institution with such complex public responsibilities
needs to be permanent, well-founded, resourced and managed, and to pursue a clear
sense of purpose and direction. The heading to this first section of the ICOM Code
sets the scene on the primary and enduring purpose of museums.
Changing philosophies in museum management also influenced this section.
Some resulted from the adoption of new management theories, while others arose
through association with other professions – for example, education, libraries,
leisure and tourism. In addition, social change had seen an increase and diversification in museum stakeholders, each with varying perceptions and expectations of
the museum. These included the governing body, donors, the communities served
(visitor and non-visitor alike), the subject disciplines, ‘Friends’ and other cognate
bodies, partner providers, sponsors, retail organisations and other interests. These
had increased the expectations of museums and their services with varying values
influencing the contributions these parties made to, or drew from, the museum.
The care and interpretation of the cultural heritage places the museum in a
special position of public trust. However, in some cases the funding of this public
trust had become increasingly dependent on the private or commercial sectors, or
a combination of private and public sectors. Corporate sponsorship had tended to
replace private patronage in financial support for museums; however, sponsorship
is a two-way process – essentially an exchange of specified services rather than
untied support. Meanwhile, museums cannot be viewed simply in terms of input/
output devices, and it is crucial to the social mission and public trust of museums
that their resources do not figure as expendable items in their financial accounts.
Taking stock of all these changes, the ICOM Code needed to make clear that
museums have increased in complexity as multi-purpose institutions, and this raised
new ethical issues to address in museum management.
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
0
References
1
Citations
NaN
KQI