Challenging collections : approaches to the heritage of recent science and technology / edited by Alison Boyle and Johannes-Geert Hagmann.

"In 2011, Artefacts XVI in Leiden at the Museum Boerhaave addressed questions associated to "Conceptualizing, Collecting and Presenting recent Science and Technology" with a series of conference presentations revolving around the central question of the existence of rationales for museum collecting in the 21st century. Building on the research presented at the meeting, this volume will focus on the question of collecting post-WW2 scientific and technological heritage, and the equally challenging question of how such artefacts can be displayed and interpreted for diverse publics. Some possible approaches are illustrated by case studies from museums. There are also case studies from other professions, in the hope that these will encourage museum and university professionals to look beyond their usual networks for examples of innovative approaches and best practice. However, the ambiguity of the title "Challenging Collections" indicates this volume's other aim to take a step back from institutional case studies or practical considerations, which have arguably inhibited constructive discourse with excessive detail, and to consider and challenge the role of museum collections in the 21st century. We invite historians and curators to reflect on how trends in museological and historiographical practice have affected collecting and display, and open a discussion on whether, given the nature of the postwar material culture of science and technology, detailed rationales for collecting are in fact needed or useful at all."--Provided by publisher.