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Expression of Public Trust

Public trust is defined as stewardship and public service. Public trust is expressed and given a strong meaning in the administration and delivery of preservation and interpretation activities. While on the other hand, the public trust ensures that heritage will be transmitted to the forthcoming generations. This study will demonstrate how preservation and interpretations of both tangible and intangible heritage resources build trust in museums, archives, and historic places. The study will examine administration, preservation, and visitor policies that boost and maintain public trust. Additionally, this study will also define the key terms used before discussing public trust, these terms include conservation, preservation, tangible, and intangible heritage.

It is indicated in the study guide that, conservation is the practice of safeguarding and protecting a variety of heritage resources while preservation is defined as the specific act that aims to achieve conservation. On the other hand, tangible heritage refers to the art, buildings, archives, archaeological data, landscapes, artifacts, and environment that carries cultural and historic value. While intangible heritage is defined as the cultural traditions, languages, and practices, they include dance, music, stories, feelings, and lifestyles of culture. In addition, intangible heritage can be defined as the manner in which culture treats its tangible heritage (Page and Mason, 2003). For example, the cultural practices that surround artifacts like menstrual taboos and proximities to artifacts. In this regard, heritage management institutions need to put efforts into conserving and preserving tangible and intangible heritage resources.

In heritage management, public trust is encapsulated through efforts that are directed towards the conservation and preservation of heritage resources including historic and cultural places, archives, and museums to benefit communities (Harvey, 2001). Heritage management institutions generally work as non-profit agents, they serve and assist to express public trust in heritage resources. Harvey (2001) asserts that it is the executrix of the state to ensure that public trust among them and the community endures benefiting the present and the future generations. For example, the Canadian parks in their guiding principles and operational policies substantiate that riches of national historic value are held in the trust to benefit and gratify the present and future generations. In this regard, public trust can be realized through the conservation of heritage resources which are referred to as ongoing care and maintenance. However, communities or the public have a responsibility to show stewardship in the use and utilization of heritage material. To ensure that heritage resources are taken good care of, the state bears the burden to increase benefits to the public.

The government laws and policies play an important role in achieving reputable public trust and these laws and policies should support conservation and preservation efforts. Public participation is very crucial in formulating and aligning these laws and policies to conserve and preserve heritage resources (Noble et al., 2015). For example, Canada introduced and reinforced laws and policies that describe heritage and express heritage resources in certain groups based on what the resources are made for, such regulations are detailed with few complications. Noble et al (2015) add that achieving public trust entails the creation of positive and mutual relationships amongst stakeholders in heritage resources. Cooperation and collaboration among stakeholders allow effective communication that leads to the maximization of benefits retrieved from archives, museums, and heritage sites. The public who are shareholders of heritage resources edifice benefits in understanding their reason in supporting and learning to treasure heritage resources. The public reinforces support in conserving and preserving heritage since the public and the government have equal initiatives as associates of heritage resources.

Museums consisting of both tangible and intangible heritage are sources of knowledge to the public and act as an essential medium in its dissemination (Edson and Dean, 1994). These types of descriptive heritage mainly deal with the collection of movable and scientific heritage resources. Tangible heritage stored in museums includes equipment, cultural artifacts, and objects while intangible heritage consists of documents that directly hold data of national value and identity, exhibitions, and paper cuttings (Edson and Dean, 1994). Public trust is appropriately expressed by tangible heritage through recognition of mechanisms established to help relay information for conservation and preservation. Public trust requires museums to facilitate and create knowledge that notably is understood through the collection and precise data relating to physical and intellectual benefits when served by museums. Edson and Dean (1994) assert that for museums to act as a central point for development, learning, discussing, and guarantee of impartiality of opportunities for accessibility are required. The guiding principles and operational policies need that efforts to be directed to endorse public edification and increase public understanding of substantial and net-worthy heritage as a service to the public, this should be enacted in a manner that respects and protects physical integrity and historic value of the heritage resource. Concerning responsibilities, the study guide states that museums have two main responsibilities that are public service and stewardship. Stewardship trust requires museums to acquire, preserve, and document collections as agreed with official and institutional policies such that they are answerable and can pass them to future generations in the community in a valuable condition.

Archives with both tangible and intangible heritage resources are ancient institutions. Tangible heritage materials in archives include maps, drawings of people, and pictures showing natural structures among others while intangible heritage material includes manuscripts, records, magazines, books by authors among others (Wilson, 2015). Recently, archives were committed to conserving essential documents to the institution such as the church and the government. Wilson (2015) adds that contemporary archives have furthered their role in conserving the community’s collective memory and these archives act as research centers. Mainly, archives operate as heritage agencies or public trusts due to their devotion to conserve cultural resources that are deemed worthy and very important for conservation (Lewis, 2004). The study guide indicates that the function of archives is to comprehensively serve and support the public based on the fact that they maximize public trust of all agencies by preserving and offering public access to records that assist in keeping public agencies answerable.

Mainly, public trust is built and given meaning through addressing completely the needs of the community and preserving the heritage resources of that community (Edson and Dean, 1994). This is achieved through public audience reassurance and confirmation. It seeks clarification and additional intelligence as well as cultural knowledge that is already learned by the audience (Edson and Dean, 1994). As a result, offering services and information that relay the value and importance of such heritage material effectively to the public would greatly help to create and build trust in various dimensions. This is concerning the rationale that conservation and preservation of historic heritage places and buildings together with their originality setting can give these heritage sites more meaning (Lewis, 2004). Heritage historic places, tangible and intangible heritage mission all together is to re-form the context of the proceedings which happened in the past. Concerning the outcomes of conservation of heritage sites and places, the context makes these sites and places equitable and viable (Donovan, 2006). Consequently, conservation of heritage sites and places is more ecology conscious than destruction. According to Donovan (2006), demolition or destruction of heritage buildings, sites, and places lead to waste of scarce resources and immense consumption of energy that could have been alternatively used in other areas to reduce maintenance and setting up construction expenses.

In conclusion, public trust is expressed and given meaning in the administration and delivery of conservation and interpretational activities. Concerning its impact, public trust functions to ensure that heritage will be transmitted from the current generation to the next generation in an improved manner. This intergenerational inheritance of heritage can be achieved through better conservation and preservation of heritage resources in museums, archives, and historic heritage material. This study has broadly demonstrated and presented how the provision and presentation of interpretational services for both tangible and intangible heritage facilitate the creation of public trust in museums, archives, and historic heritage sites and places. Preservation, administration, and visitor policies that boost and maintain public trust have been explored to explain how public trust is expressed and given meaning.