Museums have been working hard with their counterparts overseas to give an international dimension to this year's anniversary of Britain's abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. Patrick Steel reports

Maria Amidu has achieved a lot during her time as the head of a national project to help people understand the slave trade, but is now keen to return to more grassroots work. By Felicity Heywood

Museums Journal brought together eight leading figures in the sector and asked them to discuss what museums are for. The results of their thinking are enlightening, entertaining, and, in places, surprising...

This month's edition of Museums Journal carried an edited transcript of a meeting between members of the Museums Association, the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Royal Palaces. Here is the full transcript…

Louise Gray hears how Shibden Hall is more than just the home of Anne Lister, its most famous owner

Paul Lilley tells Simon Stephens about the challenges of creating the British Music Experience from scratch

Insurance raises questions about risk, responsibility and the value of collections that are at the heart of what museums do. By Katrina Burroughs

Museums and galleries are making their resources go further by sharing skills and knowledge, writes Rebecca Atkinson

Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar tells Simon Stephens about his passion for collecting and the way forward for museum acquisitions.

Anstruther's Scottish Fisheries Museum was created when a group of concerned people realised that the industry was in decline, learns Louise Gray

Julie Finch, the head of Bristol's Museums, has high hopes for a project that will tell the city's history. By Simon Stephens. Photographs by Phil Sayer

As museums and galleries in the Middle East continue to expand, Deborah Dunham looks at how their staff are being trained and developed