The Swedish National Museum of Sweden's museums have asked 96 museum managers around the country about how the opportunities to conduct a good business are based on the economic situation. Half of them say that the museums' finances are worse than the year before. Several also state that the economic situation has been under pressure for several years. In some cases, the economy is so strained that museums risk closure.
Smaller museums are heavily employed as regions and municipalities make hard priorities, according to Jeanette Gustafsdotter, secretary general of Sweden's museums.
"Short-term thinking runs the risk of being hit both locally and regionally," she says in a press release.
The lack of resources has led to difficulties in operating and updating the collections. This means that the opportunities for collecting and documenting the present are small.
Despite the economic crisis, 76 percent of the managers surveyed state that their operations have good opportunities to contribute to the public conversation and to be a strong player in society.