Current Students and Staff

// University News

4 Apr 2016

Security and visitor expectation must be balanced to protect museums for future generations

The museum visitor experience is under threat from theft and damage, putting collections at risk, new research reveals.
 
In some cases, this has resulted in collections being reduced or removed altogether, often in favour of a replica.
 
Dr Louise Grove, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy at Loughborough, and Dr Suzie Thomas, Lecturer in Museology at the University of Helsinki, collaborated on the research which focused on interviews with staff from eight museums (four in England and four in Finland) in a range of settings, from city centre locations to countryside and suburban venues. The museums selected included those of national status, local authority-run, universities, private foundations and charitable trusts, as well as volunteer-led organisations.
 
The research was funded by the University of Helsinki Future Development Fund, a scheme to enable scholars to explore new research avenues and test the viability of proposing larger projects as a result.
 
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