Introduction

Transforming Practice is a record of the thinking and practice of museum professionals who are committed to documenting their thoughts and experience for the benefit of the profession. In every instance, key elements of practice intersect and lead to transformation within individuals and institutions. In a report of evaluative research conducted at the Getty Museum, Richards and Menninger identify a gap in the museum's strategic approaches to working with adult visitors. Provoked by contemporary enmity in the political and historical environment, Stokowski describes an attempt to establish an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding between young people in Poland and Germany. Reports of imperfect and unanticipated results or flawed strategies become guideposts for the next effort—the bumps in a team's decision-making process, the barriers to continuity of community-based partnerships, the impossible bureaucracy, or a board's resistance.