Ethics

Ethics Smackdown: A Preview of the Future?

By Elizabeth Merritt

I returned from the Alliance annual meeting in Baltimore to find my scanning feeds clogged with a spate of articles about the threat of the state-appointed emergency manager selling collections from the Detroit Institute of Arts to help …
The Future of Ethics: Living Collections and the “Ambassadors for Their Species” Concept

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today’s guest post is by Colleen Dilenschneider, director of digital engagement at the predictive intelligence company, IMPACTS Research. I highly recommend Know Your Own Bone, where Colleen blogs about creative online engagement and new …
Glimpses of the Ethical Future

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today’s guest post is by Sally Yerkovich, director of the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University and instigator of the Forecast on the Future of Museum Ethics. You can catch up on previous news from the forecast here. At the …
Digesting the Future of Museum Ethics

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’m suffering from a bad case of “be careful what you wish for.” The Forecasting the Future of Museum Ethics project that CFM has been running with the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University yielded such a huge number of …
Ethics and the Distributed Museum

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’m wrestling with the draft report of “Forecasting the Future of Museum Ethics.” One of the most delightful things about this project is that, despite the constraints of format (multiple choice and free text in an online survey) the …
Questioning Assumptions: Museums in the 21st Century

By Elizabeth Merritt

I hope you have been following my posts on the Forecast of the Future of Museum Ethics being conducted by CFM and the Institute for Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University. CFM and IME staff are compiling the (copious) input provide by our …
The Next Frontier of Museum Ethics

By Elizabeth Merritt

Here at CFM, we’re wrapping up Round Three of Forecasting the Future of Museum Ethics. The survey closes Dec. 9 (there’s a link below if you still haven’t participated) and I can hardly wait to compile the input from our Oracles and the …
The Third Rail of Museum Ethics: Selling Collections to Pay for…What?

By Elizabeth Merritt

Is it ethical for a museum to use the money it gets from selling collections to fund general operations? How about using the proceeds from the sale for “preservation” (the term used by AASLH’s Statement of Professional Standards and …
Forecasting the Future of Accessibility: Please Touch or Don’t Touch?

By Elizabeth Merritt

I wish I could preview my Inbox from 2036. How come Outlook doesn’t have an option for that? As a member of AAM’s staff Ethics Taskforce, I help answer plaintive, irate, indignant and panicked questions that come over our email. So I have …
Ethics Forecast Round 3 & the Future of Museum Standards

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week we launch Round 3 of Forecasting the Future of Museum Ethics. As with previous rounds, the public is invited to weigh in at the same time (on a parallel track) as our recruited “Oracles.” This round delves into six issues …