Beyond the Turnstile argues that museums are indispensable to civil society, especially in an era in which museums often are reduced to cultural businesses or "edu-tainment" sites. Is it inevitable that a museum's success will be measured solely by how many people come through the door and how much money they spend? The eminent contributors to this volume provide museum leaders with a different set of criteria for evaluating the success of their museums, proposing a set of sustainable values that can help museums preserve themselves and advance their social mission in hard times—and help them thrive when times improve. While attendance and money will continue to count and be counted in our museums, numbers alone can never drive sustainable success. Only the unique dynamic identity that a museum can claim will do that.

Contributions by: Lita Albuquerque, Maxwell L. Anderson, Joseph Aoun, Anthony Appiah, Placido Arango, Javier Arnaldo, Leticia Azcue Brea, Elazar Barkan, Marco Barrera Bassols, Ivan Guillermo Barrios, David Bomford, Faya Causey, Elliot Davis, Alejandro de Ávila Blomberg, Graciela de la Torre, James Elkins, Shelly Errington, Gerardo Estrada Rodríguez, Steven Evans, James Folsom, Tom L. Freudenheim, María Isabel Grañen Porrúa, Fredrik Hiebert, Leonard Krishtalka, Ramiro Martinez, Gary Matthews, Charles Merewether, Carlos Monsivais, Bernard Mueller, Ilber Ortayli, Santiago Palomero, Carrie Przybilla, Nelly Robles García, Steven Seidel, Jon L. Seydl, Alan Shestack, Cherise Smith, Lori Starr, Gary Vikan, Vanda Vitali, Jorge Wagensberg, James Walvin, Jay Wiegel, David Wilson, Donny George Youkhanna