Abstract
In Japan the number of museums with a formal volunteer program increased from 13.9% in 1997 to 31.7% in 2019. This significant increase can be largely seen as a response to the government’s advocacy of museum volunteerism as an instrument for adult education and lifelong learning. Volunteerism at public museums gained policy prominence in the mid-1980s when the education ministry recognized its potential to strengthen community relationships and increase visitorship. As the Japanese society continued to age, public museums, designated by law as social education facilities in Japan, have been increasingly expected to serve as places for lifelong learning and museum volunteerism is considered to be one of its forms. Much of the existing literature on museum volunteerism focuses on how programs are formalized or strengthened in order to make them useful to the museums, and little was researched on attempts to create opportunities for them to provide more than auxiliary services. The present research examines the case of the Osaka Sayamaike Museum in Japan with a view to shedding light on the characteristics of an independently managed museum volunteer program. The museum exhibits artifacts in relation to the Japan’s oldest irrigation reservoir, and its management includes representatives of a local community organization, which took over the responsibility of its volunteer program in 2008. More specifically, the research compares volunteer activities under two management modalities – one directly under the museum and the other by the community group – and analyzes key factors that differentiate them.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Museum Transformations: Pathways to Community Engagement
KEYWORDS
MUSEUM VOLUNTEERISM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
