Using "values" to position and promote museums

This article is written in a context of change and challenge. It has its origins in the demise of the concept of public good, the application of a utilitarian framework to funding public culture and a growing frustration with the inadequacy and imbalance of this approach. The author reports that this situation has stimulated debate amongst cultural professionals in general and museum professionals in particular about the value of museums at the beginning of the 21st century, how best to articulate that value and how to use it to win the hearts and minds of bureaucrats and the public. She reports the outcomes of primary research with museum professionals and the public in Australia to identify the values they attribute to museums. The findings suggest a values typology for positioning museums with policymakers and funders and for promoting museums among consumers as a values brand.