BOSTON, MASS.- Buffeted by winds of change-- financial, cultural, and technological--- museums are struggling to adapt. Museums are popular as never before but how can they best serve their new and expanded audiences? Are museums making full use of new technologies to help visitors understand their collections and mission? Are boards of trustees and the structure of museum governance keeping up with the changes and challenges?

A series of three panel discussions at the Boston Athenæum on January 27, February 10, and February 24, 2014, at 6:00 p.m., will address these and many other important issues with experts from around the United States. Panelists will include the directors of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the president and C.E.O. of the J. Paul Getty Trust; innovating technology leaders from The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum, and Google; and trustees and board members from MIT, the Boston Symphony, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Boston Athenaeum.

“We are honored and pleased to host such a distinguished group of national experts for our Future of the Museum series,” said Deborah Hill Bornheimer, president, Board of Trustees. “Just this past month, we co-hosted, with the Boston Globe, a panel on the future mayor of Boston. Together, these represent our renewed commitment to a long-standing Boston Athenæum tradition: to present the best new thinking about where we all should be headed next, as a city and as a nation.”

All three programs are open to the public free of charge. Reservations are required and may be made starting January 13, 2014. To make reservations, please visit the Athenæum’s website at bostonathenaeum.org.