The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals
Edited by Julia Courtney
Publication date:
19 March 2015Length of book:
316 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442230422
Museums are multifaceted institutions that reach across all disciplines and encounter a complex range of legal questions. Experts in museum and art law join forces in this essay-format volume. These unique, nonprofit cultural organizations face a myriad of legal concerns as they launch into the twenty-first century and will continue to require specific guidance. From intellectual property law to navigating waters of social media, de-accessioning concerns to governance law, copyright, and rights and reproduction questions to issues of public domain and public trust, The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals seeks to provide answers and courses of action for museums of all disciplines. This book will assist professionals in determining when to seek professional legal counsel and when to educate themselves and proceed on their own.
The book was inspired by a panel of experts who have presented at numerous regional and national conferences for museum professionals are especially practiced at providing insight into current legal concerns, including: Gil Whittemore Esq. of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, P.C. and former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Museum Law Committee; Katherine E. Lewis Esq. Chair of the American Bar Association’s Museum Law Committee and practicing New York attorney; Mark S. Gold Esq. practicing attorney in Williamstown, MA with the firm of Parese, Sabin, Smith & Gold LLP who has written and edited extensively on all aspects of museum and art law. All three contributed to this volume.
The book was inspired by a panel of experts who have presented at numerous regional and national conferences for museum professionals are especially practiced at providing insight into current legal concerns, including: Gil Whittemore Esq. of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, P.C. and former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Museum Law Committee; Katherine E. Lewis Esq. Chair of the American Bar Association’s Museum Law Committee and practicing New York attorney; Mark S. Gold Esq. practicing attorney in Williamstown, MA with the firm of Parese, Sabin, Smith & Gold LLP who has written and edited extensively on all aspects of museum and art law. All three contributed to this volume.
This collection of 20 essays is divided into four sections: Collections and Exhibits, Government and Finance, Operations, and Digital Technology and Social Media, all within a legal framework. The authors, mostly attorneys with backgrounds in the art and museum world, explore diverse topics, among them the status of deaccessioned items, legal aspects of traveling exhibits, security staff, endowments, and provenance research. One chapter examines the laws surrounding museum ownership of firearms. Topics are as current as the legal complications related to a museum’s presence on social media. The target audience is somewhat focused: museum employees in particular. However, students and faculty in programs of museum studies will also find the information in this volume (and others recently issued by this publisher, such as The Manual of Museum Learning) of considerable use. Libraries serving these populations should consider this volume.