Archiving, filing into categories, and always reordering under changing aspects; formulating generalized ideas and preparing unique items for the public; creating value and setting benchmarks; forming theories and encouraging discourse; serving the community, being public, and at the same time generating new public audiences.

The book discusses how the different activities of a museum – its mechanisms, its way of functioning, and its logic – are reflected in the works of its own collection. On its 10-year anniversary, the MUSA is publishing a self-presentation which not only sheds light on the special features of the art collection of the City of Vienna, which has been created since the 1950s, but also discusses general questions on the institution of the museum.