Editing Museum (section)

=== Changing purpose over time ===
In the 19th century, museums focused mainly on scientific research and organizing collections, especially natural history specimens. They aimed to classify and study objects, often gathered through exploration and colonialism. Museums were mostly for scholars but began opening to the public to educate and improve society.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rise of Museums |url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/the-rise-museums |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Open Learning |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Khan Academy |url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/approaches-to-art-history/tools-for-understanding-museums/museums-in-history/a/a-brief-history-of-the-art-museum-edit |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.khanacademy.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Abt |first=Jeffery |title="The Origins of the Public Museum." A Companion to Museum Studies |publisher=Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. |year=2006 |isbn=978-1444334050 |editor-last=Macdonald |editor-first=Sharon}}</ref> Institutions like the Smithsonian Institution maintain research capabilities but integrate them with missions to "increase and diffuse knowledge," as outlined in James Smithson’s founding bequest.<ref>{{cite web |title=James Smithson Society |url=https://www.si.edu/giving/membership/james-smithson-society |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020051258/https://www.si.edu/giving/membership/james-smithson-society/ |archive-date=20 October 2017 |access-date=14 March 2018 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, museums focused on collecting, studying, and preserving artifacts, with an emphasis on scientific research and authenticity. Exhibits were mostly static and aimed at scholars, often prioritizing the objects themselves over the visitor experience. In the latter half of the 20th century, reduced government funding pushed museums to rely more on private support and focus on attracting visitors to generate revenue. This shift led museums to prioritize public engagement, interactive exhibits, and economic contributions over traditional research and collecting.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-05 |title=The Unexpected Logic of Art Economics: Arts and Inequality in 1980s New York |url=https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/unexpected-logic-art-economics |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=The Gotham Center for New York City History |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Haimerl |first=Amy |date=2021-03-03 |title=What Keeps U.S. Art Museums Running—and How Might the Pandemic Change That? |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/united-states-art-museum-financing-1234584930/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The NEA and NEH Funding Crisis |url=https://www.upenn.edu/static/pnc/ptkoch.html |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.upenn.edu}}</ref>

In the 21st century, museums focus on being accessible and inclusive. They use digital tools to reach wider audiences through virtual tours and online collections. Museums encourage dialogue about current social issues and aim to represent diverse communities. While preserving and displaying objects remains important, museums now also have served as spaces for discussion and social change.<ref>Museums Association. (n.d.). Power and Privilege in the 21st Century Museum. https://media.museumsassociation.org/app/uploads/2020/06/11085810/Power-and-privilege-2.pdf</ref><ref>Institute of Museum and Library Services, IMLS, & Semmel, M. (2009). ''Museums, libraries, and 21st century skills''. https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/publications/documents/21stcenturyskills.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Autry |first1=La Tanya |last2=Murawski |first2=Mike |date=Fall 2019 |title=Museums Are Not Neutral: We Are Stronger Together |url=https://journalpanorama.org/article/public-scholarship/museums-are-not-neutral/ |journal=Panorama, Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art |publisher=UMN Libraries Publishing |volume=5 |issue=2}}</ref>