Revisiting membership scheme typologies in museums and galleries

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There is a dearth of literature or studies of membership schemes in the UK and globally. This paper is significant as it represents the culmination of the development and refinement of typologies of membership schemes over 6 years. Previous research by Slater includes a study of membership schemes in large London museums and galleries (those with more than 100,000 visitors). From this three typologies of membership schemes were developed with a co-researcher. These were Social Club Group, Public Members’ Scheme and Integrated Membership Scheme. In 2002, Slater undertook another study using the database of the British Association of Friends of Museums, an umbrella organisation to test and refine the typologies. The sample comprised 127 organisations, ranging from small social groups with less than 15 members to those with more than 35,000. The characteristics that had been used in the first study were refined and a number of sub-typologies were developed.

Slater published some of the primary data in the International Journal of Heritage Studies (2003) and wrote a paper in the International Review on Public and Non Profit Marketing (2005) discussing the methodological approach of developing and refining the original typologies. The paper that presented the re-evaluation of the typologies was published in 2004. It has now been selected to be re-printed in a collection of classic papers on Museum Management and Marketing in the Leicester Series of readers in Museum Management (Janes, R.R. & Sandell, R. (eds) 2007, Museum Management & Marketing, London: Routledge). Its significance lies in the development of the work over six years to identify typologies of membership schemes and refining and developing a range of membership scheme sub-categories.