The New England Museum Association’s Young Emerging Professionals Professional Affinity Group (that’s NEMA’s YEP PAG, if you prefer acronyms) is turning one year old this fall. To celebrate, they’re having a book club session, some fabulous speakers, and cupcakes. Sound awesome? Read on.

Book Club Second Meeting and YEPs Birthday Party

When: Wednesday, November 9, 6:30 pm

Where: Waterworks Museum, 2450 Beacon Street, Boston, MA
…
Who: All museum professionals interested in reading and discussing the book and article of choice.
Books are chosen through in-person event voting and online voting via the YEPs Facebook page.

Book and Article: Do Museums Still Need Objects? by Steven Conn, and “Do History Museums Still Need Objects?” by Rainey Tisdale

Featured Speaker: Rainey Tisdale

Format: Book Discussion with featured speaker Rainey Tisdale, Professional Affinity Group (PAG) Birthday Cupcakes, Optional Self-Guided Tour of the Waterworks Museum, After Event Networking (location to be determined…please share your ideas!)

Join the NEMA YEPs for their second book club meeting on Wednesday, November 9, at 6:30 pm at the new Waterworks Museum in Boston! Hear from Rainey Tisdale, author of “Do History Museums Still Need Objects?” and discuss Steven Conn’s Do Museums Still Need Objects? The YEP PAG is also celebrating its one year birthday…and yes, there will be CUPCAKES!

From Amazon.com on Do Museum Still Need Objects?: “Steven Conn offers a refreshing look at museums and many of the debates surrounding their development and practices over the past forty years. He is right to frame his inquiry by asking if museums still need objects. Too often these debates have ignored the very characteristic that defines museums and distinguishes them from all other cultural institutions: they collect, preserve, and present things. This is an important, timely book.”
—James Cuno, President and Director, Art Institute of Chicago

Rainey’s statement on her article for the American Association for State and Local History’s History News: “My article uses Steven Conn’s recent book Do Museums Still Need Objects?, as a jumping-off point for considering seven major issues currently confronting history museums and historic sites as they seek to make their collections meaningful, relevant, and accessible for a general audience. I raise a lot of complicated questions in this piece, and my goal was to stimulate dialogue across the field so we can answer them together.”

To download Rainey Tisdale’s article, and find links for sites featured in the article, please visit http://aaslhcommunity.org/historynews/history-museums-objects/
For more on the Waterworks Museum, please visit www.waterworks.org