Understanding the behavior of visitors in museum exhibitions is essential to the creation of effective presentations of meaningful content and experiences for the public. This article summarizes a recent aggregation of 65 tracking-and-timing studies that builds on the data for 110 older studies previously published and examines the issue of "thorough use" with two numerical indexes - the sweep rate index (SRI) and the percentage of diligent visitors (%DV). These metrics reveal patterns of the most basic evidence of visitors' engagement with exhibitions. In addition, a metascattergram visually presents the variables along with benchmarks - 300 SRI and 25% DV - that can be used to compare the data from one exhibition to another or to compare the same traveling exhibition at different sites. SRI and %DV contribute useful measures for discussions about diagnosing and improving audience engagement in exhibitions, and the process of collecting and analyzing the data is a useful activity for museum professional development.

Some people wait until the day before the meeting to visit the assigned exhibition and fill in the work-sheets. Others prefer to have at least a few days to think through their experience before completing the assessments. Either way, people should fill out the rating levels and Rationales on the Framework before coming to the second group meeting. They should have carefully thought through their own choices and reasons before they are possibly influenced by others in the group.

The judges each visit the exhibition on their own, during public hours. They take the Framework with them and write Call-outs (on page 2 of the form) while they walk around and at the end of the experience. They can take as long as they want. Some people do it all in one pass; others walk through the exhibition several times. It's up to the individual.

One of the questions or suggestions we heard from our peers during the development of the Framework was a request to see examples of excellence. People wanted to see specifics. We could certainly understand the desire for this, but for several reasons it was difficult to comply. The Framework is meant to be used in situ, as a full-body experience in a whole exhibition space. Considering an exhibition piecemeal would mean taking the parts out of context–yet context is so much the point of an exhibition experience. We were also reluctant to show examples because we feared that if we held up individual cases, people would see them as concrete prescriptions for what to do (or not do) rather than seeing the functions that they stood for.

Beverly Serrell presents the reader with excellent guidelines on the process of exhibit label planning, writing, design, and production. One of the museum field’s leading consultants and label writers, Serrell’s 1996 edition of Exhibit Labels has been a standard in the field since its initial publication. This new edition not only provides expert guidance on the art of label writing for diverse audiences and explores the theoretical and interpretive considerations of placing labels within an exhibition, it also features all new case studies and photographs and thoughts about interpretation in digital media. Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach is a vital reference tool for all museum professionals.

Curator: The Museum JournalVolume 52, Issue 1 p. 45-65 New Roles for Evaluation at the Detroit Institute of Arts Matt Sikora, Matt Sikora Matt Sikora (msikora@dia.org) is director of evaluation and research at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan 48202.Search for more papers by this authorDaryl Fischer, Daryl Fischer Daryl Fischer (Daryl@MusynergyConsulting.com) is principal of Musynergy, P.O. Box 685, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417.Search for more papers by this authorBeverly Serrell, Beverly Serrell Beverly Serrell (bserrell@aol.com) is director of Serrell and Associates, 5203 S. Kenwood Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60615.Search for more papers by this authorDeborah Perry, Deborah Perry Deborah Perry (DLPerry@SelindaResearch.com) is director of Selinda Research Associates, 801 S. Plymouth Ct., Suite 521, Chicago, Illinois 60605.Search for more papers by this authorKen Morris, Ken Morris Ken Morris (kmorris@dia.org) is assistant evaluator at the Detroit Institute of Arts.Search for more papers by this author Matt Sikora, Matt Sikora Matt Sikora (msikora@dia.org) is director of evaluation and research at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan 48202.Search for more papers by this authorDaryl Fischer, Daryl Fischer Daryl Fischer (Daryl@MusynergyConsulting.com) is principal of Musynergy, P.O. Box 685, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417.Search for more papers by this authorBeverly Serrell, Beverly Serrell Beverly Serrell (bserrell@aol.com) is director of Serrell and Associates, 5203 S. Kenwood Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60615.Search for more papers by this authorDeborah Perry, Deborah Perry Deborah Perry (DLPerry@SelindaResearch.com) is director of Selinda Research Associates, 801 S. Plymouth Ct., Suite 521, Chicago, Illinois 60605.Search for more papers by this authorKen Morris, Ken Morris Ken Morris (kmorris@dia.org) is assistant evaluator at the Detroit Institute of Arts.Search for more papers by this author First published: 15 January 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2151-6952.2009.tb00332.xCitations: 1 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume52, Issue1January 2009Pages 45-65 RelatedInformation