Information and documentation. Key indicators for museums

What is ISO 21246 - Key indicators for museums about?

ISO 21246 specifies a set of key indicators for assessing the quality of museums:

• For the purpose of strategic planning and internal management of museums
• For reporting to stakeholders such as funding institutions, policy makers, or the public
• To promote the museums’ role and value for learning and research, education and culture, social and economic life
• For comparing results over time and between museums

The aim of ISO 21246 is to provide a selection of key indicators applicable to a wide range of museums. It is recognized that not all indicators are pertinent for each individual museum category or each individual museum. Limitations on the applicability of individual indicators are listed in the scope clause of the description of each indicator.

Note1: ISO 21246 is not intended to exclude the use of other indicators not specified in it.

Note2: ISO 21246 has been developed in close cooperation with the International Council on Museums (ICOM) and takes advantage of, particularly, the work of the European Group on Museum Statistics (EGMUS).

Who is ISO 21246 - Key indicators for museums for?

ISO 21246 on key indicators for museums is useful for:

• Museum management
• Quality control personnel

Why should you use ISO 21246 - Key indicators for museums?

Museum key indicators can give information to which extent the goals of a museum have been reached. ISO 21246 provides guidance to the museum community on the use of key museum indicators which helps in assessing the quality and effectiveness and/or efficiency of the functioning and the services of a museum. ISO 21246 specifies the requirements of a key indicator for museums which can help to indicate problems and shortcomings in the performance of the museum so that action can be taken to remedy these.