"If we lose every, every, every, every, everything" : Selection and prioritization in the work with disaster preparedness ar Swedish museums

This thesis clarifies how the selection process of museum collections is performed when creating priority lists for disaster preparedness at Swedish museums. It also clarifies the thoughts and feelings of museum staff when they prioritize their collections, and if this process changes the perceived value of the objects and the museum collections. The method of this essay was semi-structured interviews performed with staff from following seven institutions: National Museums of World Culture, National Historical Museums, Naval Museum, Army Museum, Gotland Museum, Sörmland Museum and Helsingborg Museum. Thereafter thematic analysis has been used. The results show that due to unstable global geopolitics, such as the war in Ukraine, disaster preparedness has increased at the museums. The staff initially saw this task as impossible but later noticed that it was easier than they had predicted. Cultural-historical value, provenance, uniqueness and local or national perspective are some of the selection criteria that the staff must take under consideration when prioritising their collections. The organisational culture influences the choices. Similarly, the choices are affected and reflected by object hierarchies. This thesis found that through the process of disaster preparedness, these hierarchies have been challenged. For example, objects that had been forgotten were rediscovered, exhibited and put on the lists. Due to lack of time, resources and information about the collections it has been a difficult task for the staff, who felt a huge responsibility and feared choosing the wrong items. At the same time, for staff it has been a fun process in which they have learnt a lot about their collections. One of the main conclusions of this thesis is that prioritization has led to positive, and synergetic, effects, primarily by expanding the knowledge and care of the museum collections. This is a two-year master’s thesis in museum and cultural heritage studies.