"Not satisfied with the assertion that museums have taken great strides in becoming representative, relevant and open in their preoccupations, 'A Museum in Public' contends that the supposedly public nature of their institutional role continues to be a rhetorical one. This book critically examines museums as institutions of the public sphere, questioning what assumptions are made about the publicness of their operations. Using as a case study the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Canada's largest museum, the book interrogates the public nature and political dynamics of the ROM as it completed a multi-million dollar architectural project and adopted a new vision"-- Provided by publisher.