Museum Master Planning: Basic Principles and Best Practices

Museum Master Planning: Basic Principles and Best Practices is a practical guide for directors of museums and similar cultural organizations considering changes to their operating model or facilities. Museum Master Planning presents a complete step-by-step, planning process that results in a master plan that will shape a museum’s growth and development over the next 15 to 20 years. The planning process outlined here begins with people―who is the museum serving now? Who would the museum like to be serving in the future? When a museum understands the interests and needs of the people they serve, the kinds of programs, facilities, and operational underpinnings needed come into focus. Using lessons from successful museum master plans, the planning process outlined here results in a user focused plan for the future. Detailed chapters on museum programs, staffing, and facilities provide the foundation for growth and development. The final sections of the book discuss working with other planning and design experts to fully realize the plan. Field-tested tools, worksheets, and other resources will allow readers to easily implement the planning process at their own institution.

Guy Hermann is principal at Museum Insights, a museum master planning firm based in Massachusetts. Guy brings 25 years of master planning experience built on 15 years working in museum education and operations to his planning projects. His 50+ master plans range from a visitor experience master plan for Harlem’s Apollo Theater, to developing a master site plan for the Emily Dickinson Museum, to working with the Academy leadership to plan the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

Sara Patton Zarrelli is public historian committed to helping museums and historic sites develop a sense of place through exhibits, landscapes, and experiences that meaningfully connect visitors to the messy realities of the past and the present. She has worked for the National Park Service, The Trustees of Reservations, and Historic New England. Since 2019, she has been a museum planner with Museum Insights. Project highlights include creating an award-winning assessment matrix for Connecticut Landmarks, providing project management for exhibits at the Art Complex Museum, and creating operating policies for the National Coast Guard Museum.