The Conditions and Premises of the Museum Store : How Museum Stores in Stockholm are Governed

The purpose of this master’s thesis was to investigate how museum stores are governed, with a focus on museum stores situated in museums in Stockholm and on museums stores which are part of a government agency. The purpose was also to investigate the relationship between the museum and the consumption in the museum store in general. The thesis shows that museum stores which are part of a government agency are governed by their appropriation directions, including the direction that the museum stores must be fully financed. However, the museum stores are also influenced by guidelines that have not been written down, expectations from the museum and from museum patrons. Other factors not within the control of the museum were also of importance, and could limit the choices available for the museum store managers as well as be a source of inspiration. The result also shows that the museum store and the consumption it’s associated with, is seen as either a threat, a necessity or a possibility: The museum store is often viewed as being at odds with the main role of museums in general, while also being considered a necessity, helping the museum to meet the patron’s expectations. In some cases the museum could benefit from the museum store, due to the stores’ possibility of improving upon the museum visit, or making a profit usable in other museum activities. The source material was gathered from the websites of international and national organisations within the museum field. Material was also gathered during interviews with museum store managers in Stockholm. The theory used was cultural economics and consumption studies. The method for this essay was interviews, minor field studies, linguistic analysis. The focus of this essay was how the museum store is governed. The essay does not, for example, research how the museum visitors or museum patrons experienced the shop. This is a two years master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studie