The state of research among Icelandic museums

• Published in: Nordisk Museologi
• Main Author: Sigfúsdóttir, Ólöf Gerður
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Oslo Library 2022
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: https://journals.uio.no/museolog/article/view/9610; https://doi.org/10.5617/nm.9610

Museums are faced with complex challenges when seeking to fulfil their role as research institutions, whether at the organisational or the conceptual level. These challenges are particularly prominent in the Icelandic museum sector, where research remains obscure, undefined and unregulated. Based on findings from a survey conducted among accredited museums in Iceland, this article illustrates the state of research among Icelandic museums. Inquiring about institutional approach, management and capacity for research, the survey shows how Icelandic museums struggle with scarcity of time, funding and human resources, a picture well known throughout the international museum domain. Furthermore, the article reveals how discrepancies between formal research requirements on the one hand and the lack of criteria on the other create further ramifications for the development of research in Icelandic museums. This, in turn, leaves museums with mixed messages on how to embed research in their agendas and how to account for it. Museums are faced with complex challenges when seeking to fulfil their role as research institutions, whether at the organisational or the conceptual level. These challenges are particularly prominent in the Icelandic museum sector, where research remains obscure, undefined and unregulated. Based on findings from a survey conducted among accredited museums in Iceland, this article illustrates the state of research among Icelandic museums. Inquiring about institutional approach, management and capacity for research, the survey shows how Icelandic museums struggle with scarcity of time, funding and human resources, a picture well known throughout the international museum domain. Furthermore, the article reveals how discrepancies between formal research requirements on the one hand and the lack of criteria on the other create further ramifications for the development of research in Icelandic museums. This, in turn, leaves museums with mixed messages on how to embed research in their agendas and how to account for it.