Navigating Museum Library Best Practices

October 2023

Advisory Board for the Arts investigated the best practices around museum libraries. By interviewing the representants of four museum libraries and by drawing on extant research on the topic , we have been able to understand what libraries are doing well and what are the struggles of a library working within a wider cultural institution. Our analysis touched several topics, from strategy to design, from collaborations to internal organizations.

Findings from the research include:

• As part of a wider institution, the library must be aligned strategically with the other departments, which also means that the library has to be considered as valuable as the other departments.

• Moreover, libraries serve a range of visitors: therefore, their services must mirror the needs of their target audience, being it researchers, students or the local community. Among these people's needs, there is the one of being in a comfortable space and a space that adapts to the uses they do of the library. Enclosed silent rooms are as important as rooms where to have group meetings or just relax.

• Finally, some important considerations have been made about the staff and the resources that a library needs to be relevant in the Museum and in the community.

Click below to read the full research: