Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach

Abstract

Beverly Serrell’s original edition of Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach (1996) is a classic in the museum exhibit design, development, and evaluation fields. So popular in fact that, according to its author, it is a book many have multiple copies of because they are so often lending it out and not getting it back (Serrell, 2015, p. ix). I can see why. Exhibit Labels is a thorough examination of what it takes to write good exhibit labels. It has many concrete examples from practice with photos and illustrations, extensive case studies written by experienced practitioners including Serrell herself, and step-by-step instructions to walk a reader through the detailed process of writing exhibit labels. In addition, the book has an excellent index for finding just the right reference when you need it. To bolster these case studies and back up her assertions, Serrell (2015) uses references, mostly from nonpeerreviewed museum literature (e.g., in-house-published studies and guides, master’s theses, conference papers, and books). The book is well-written, compelling, and easy to read cover-to-cover but is most likely to be used as a reference when one is looking for specific guidance. The extremely well cross-referenced index will greatly facilitate its use allowing readers to quickly find what they need whether they remember the site where a study took place, the person who conducted the study, or the subject of the study. A new edition of a classic text brings questions about how different it is from the original (Serrell, 1996). The author explains that much stayed the same, but key changes include twice as many photos (of better quality) than the first edition, a focus on new challenges to the field (i.e., the ever-changing digital media landscape, visitors’ changing expectations regarding interaction and social experiences), updating terminology and approaches to reflect changes in the field around experience design, and acknowledging the vast increase in the number of publications in the field. The core of the book though (i.e., principles, references, examples, and recommendations) remains true to the first edition. The current edition of Exhibit Labels incorporates some newer examples and references including case studies written by other authors, such as Daryl Fisher, Karen G. Nelson, and Carlos Plaza, yet still has references going back 40 years or more. This new edition is aimed at museum professionals and museum studies students alike, especially those early in their careers and those late in their careers. The book is well organized into 22 chapters in five sections. Each section—Overview, Considering the Audience, Enhancing the Visitor Experience, Tasks, and Conclusions—digs into another aspect of writing highly effective and well-used exhibit labels in a wide range of informal, nonformal, and free-choice learning experiences. Like a good exhibition, each section expresses a clear topic and each chapter starts with a main idea and is chunked into well-labeled sections to further organize the information. Examples are drawn from a wide range of learning sites (mostly in the United States) including museums of all sorts, zoos and aquaria, and outdoor parks.