Author: Hendon, William S.

Publication Year: 1978

Media Type: Report

Summary:

In a case study of the Akron Art Institute, the author raises policy questions which extend to other museums as well. This empirical examination of museum services and operations has a managerial focus, and the author hopes this work will offer assistance to interested museum personnel. The study concentrates on efficiency in museum resource allocation. In the process, the author examines a wide range of issues including art publics, educational programs, an economic analysis of programs and exhibits, and museum development.

Abstract:

In a case study of the Akron Art Institute, the author raises policy questions which extend to other museums as well. This empirical examination of museum services and operations has a managerial focus, and the author hopes this work will offer assistance to interested museum personnel. The study concentrates on efficiency in museum resource allocation. In the process, the author examines a wide range of issues including art publics, educational programs, an economic analysis of programs and exhibits, and museum development.

The objective of this research is to produce a case study of an art museum that concentrates on the issue of efficiency in museum resource allocations. The topic is developed through a case study of the Akron (Ohio) Art Institute (AAI), by means of a cost-benefit analysis. Only by a systematic economic evaluation of museum programs and activities can efficient decisions be made in terms of which programs to concentrate upon, and which ones appear less promising within the constraint of allocating scarce resources among competing demands.

In another way, an economic analysis could provide the basis for better planning for the future. If a careful assessment of programs is made on a regular basis, and the art publics of the museum are known, the director may have some statistical basis for knowing the trends of taste and preferences among the arts publics served.|In short, one way to improve a person's standard of living is to show the person how to better manage present income; similarly, one way to increase a museum's services is by improving the decision-making process.

The specific objectives of the research are:

1. to develop and apply a technique for a museum to identify the various art public it serves;
2. to develop and apply a comparative analysis for studying the operation of other museums;
3. to develop and apply a one-year cost analysis of education, exhibition, and development activities;
4. to develop and apply an assessment of the one-year economic benefits to be derived from exhibition, education and development activities.

These research objectives are directed at the Akron Art Institute, as one of several hundred small-to-middle sized museums. Usually, when we think of art museums, we think in terms of major art museums in the . But the Akron Art Institutes, whether they be in Kalamazoo , in San Antonio or Chippewa Falls are the typical local art museums of America's towns and cities.

They are the local franchise stores of the art world. As such, they are the principal public or quasi-public art museums of our society, not the paragon cases perhaps, but the paradigm cases. Whether they function well makes a great deal of difference to whether art has a strong impact locally or does not. Whether we judge by numbers of visitors, by value of collection, by size of physical facility, these middle museums are the key local art institutions.

The study of Akron's museum is, for the most part, a cross-sectional study of one fiscal year of the museum's operations; the fiscal year 1971-72 represented the year selected for study, with the research work initiated in 1972. Cross-sectional studies must be carefully done so as not to argue too strongly about either the past or the future of museums. Every effort has been made to limit the discussion to those elements of the museum that a cross section makes possible, and not to impute too much to future or to earlier years.

CONTENTS
Preface.
List of tables and figures.

Chapter 1. Introduction:

Objective of the study.
Background for the study of the economics of the arts.
Analytical designs of the research.
The Akron Art institute in brief.
Museums as Economic Units: some preliminaries.
The aims of art.
Art as an economic good: a summary of some of the assumptions.
Organization of the book.
Notes.

Chapter 2. The evolution of museums:

The evolution of collections.
Early American museums.
Early art museums.
Defining today's art museums.
Problems in today's art museums.
Summary.
Notes.

Chapter 3. Structural and budgetary comparisons of museums:

Physical facilities.
Location.
Akron's service area.
Museums budgets.
Income.
Expenses.
Sources of revenue.
Endowment.
Museum collections.
Accessions budgets.
Museum staff.
Museum membership.
Museum attendance.
Admission charges.
Summary.
Policy questions to which the museums should address itself.
Notes.

Chapter 4. The art publics of the museum:

The sample.
A typology of art publics.
Method of applying the typology: Statements and a scale of responses.
Policy implications.
Former members of the Akron Art Institute.
Summary.
Appendix: Scoring the art-publics test.
Notes.

Chapter 5. Education programs and activities:

Educational visits.
Art and education: The proper context.
Enrollment and attendance in art classes.
Notes.

Chapter 6. Economic benefits of educational programs:

The measure of benefits.
Measurable costs.
Aggregate cost analysis.
Seven illustrative classes.
Estimated costs and benefits of overall education program.
Educational programs - an assessment.
Appendixes.

Chapter 7. Exhibitions at the museum:

The year's exhibits: what was offered.
Attendance patterns.
Exhibiting art: How should it be done?
An exhibition preview: Visitors to the museum.
Other use and attendance patterns at the Akron Art Institute.
Summary.
Notes.

Chapter 8. Economic Analysis of exhibitions:

Benefits and costs of exhibitions.
Externalities of art.
Barriers to expansion of activities.
Summary.
Appendix.
Notes.

Chapter 9. Museum Development:

Short-run analysis of museum development, 1971-72.
Benefits estimates for development activities.
Budget, Membership and visitation over time: 1970-77.
The role of the permanent collection and the museum building.
The permanent collection of the Akron Art Institute.
The Collection's focus as a developmental tool.
The Staff's impact on development.
Organizational development.
Facilities development.
Summary.
A final note on the Akron Art Institute.
Notes.

Appendix:
     A. Questionnaire for former members of AAI.
     B. Study of exhibition openings.
     C. National Art Museum Survey.
     D. Akron Art Institute Membership.

Questionnaire.
Index.
About the author.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Organizational Planning