ABSTRACT
Communities are increasingly on the minds of museum professionals. Likewise since the 1960s, folklorists who work with communities have an ever-increasing role to play in creation of public culture in museums, festivals, and heritage preservation. This chapter presents diverse cultural traditions and community histories to a wider public. It designs public education programs exploring the history and experience of local ethnic communities and involving community members in presentations. The chapter directs outreach and field research efforts undertaken with new immigrant communities in the greater Philadelphia area. It discusses in the essay areas in which museums can collaborate with local communities to shape how groups are represented in museum programming and increase community involvement in museum as a whole. Community collaborations will likely entail a shift in the structure and expectations of museum programs that may be out of the control of staff members at a time when nonprofit boards and administrators are interested in increasing visitor volume and earned income.
