I have to agree with Matthew.  I worked in a larger museum (though not as
large as the Smithsonian by a long shot) as Associate Registrar.  It was
good and I learned.  Years later I'm Curator of Collections in a small local
history museum.  At this small, limited-staffed museum (3 full-time, 3
part-time plus 3 summer attendants), I am the Collections Department.  I
also assist with exhibits, education, docenting, and I'm acting director
when the director is gone.  I find this challenging, fullfilling, and with a
variety of tasks I am rarely bored (at times overwhelmed, but rarely bored).
  I also feel I'm making a contribution to preserving the history of this
small, rural Alaskan community that has a very interesting history.

If all the plays were on Broadway, only New Yorkers would have theater.
Doesn't mean actors in regional and local theater are any less professional
or that the plays are not as well performed.  It's just a smaller venue, and
the tickets are cheaper.

Happy in my little museum.
Jerrie

Jerrie Clarke
Curator of Collections
Valdez Museum
http://www.alaska.net/~vldzmuse/index.html

>From: Matthew White <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: museum experience (taking exception)
>Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 13:16:57 -0400
>
>Michael MacDonald said:
>
> > Getting your foot in the door is a very important first step.  Small
>museums
> > do not have the prestige or glamour as the nationally known museums, but
>they
> > offer valuable job training and experience might help you move up to a
>better
> > position.
> >
> > I found that the museum world is kind of like professional baseball; you
>have
> > to spend some time in the minor leagues before you get to play in the
>majors.
>
>Was I the only person on this list that found Mr. MacDonald's  comments
>offensive and insulting? (Although he is not the only to make these biased
>claims, he did so most directly)
>
>Where do I begin?
>
>First of all, working in a large museum is not "better" than working in a
>large one. (nationally known or not) There are plusses and minuses in both
>types of institutions.  While larger museums may be better funded and their
>names better known, they can also burden staff with piles of bureaucracy in
>terms of hiring and exhibit & program development among other areas, trap
>people in narrow and rigid job descriptions and duties, and offer limited
>advancement, not to mention the already discussed competition for the
>openings.
>
>Small museums are less well funded and your name tag may impress less
>people
>at AAM meetings, but a small shop can give a museum staffer more
>professional flexibility, a less formal and friendlier work environment, a
>more prominent place in the local community, and endless opportunities for
>new experiences and accomplishments.
>
>As far as his inaccurate comparison of museum work to pro baseball, there
>could not be a more misleading simile. Baseball is baseball and the skills
>learned in little league are basically the same as those used in the World
>Series although the skills are practiced at a higher degree of complexity
>and competitiveness.  A ball is thrown, a ball is hit, and a ball is
>caught.
>The standards by which you judge success are as objective as human beings
>can get.  You hit the ball or you don't.  You catch the ball or you don't.
>You win or you don't. As Mr. MacDonald correctly points out the path to
>professional success tends to be an upward climb through ever more
>challenging players, teams, leagues, and games, culminating in the MLB
>World
>Series.
>
>Museum work is nothing like this.  Skills learned at smaller museums (minor
>league in Mr. MacDonald's size-ist parlance) are not always transferable to
>larger institutions. It is certainly not the case that a position at a
>small
>museum will inherently train you for a position at a large one as he
>states.
>Nor are skills and experiences learned at larger institutions always
>portable to smaller museums. (I have seen too many people make this move
>and
>quit in frustration to believe this is remotely true.) It is certainly NOT
>the case that a museum professional exercises the same skills and aptitudes
>at a larger museum as they do at a smaller museum but with more
>professionalism, experience, and skill which is what his baseball simile
>implies.
>
>The standards by which you judge a successful professional are also much
>more subjective.  We can all agree what makes a good educator, registrar,
>curator, or exhibit fabricator, (then again we may not) but  intangibles of
>the job such as focus, flexibility, ability to work on a team, ability to
>work independently, creativity, etc. are harder to define and different
>institutions do not require the same mix of these abilities.  No one cares
>if a baseball player works well with others, has an even temper, or is
>creative. All that matters is do they catch the ball, do they hit the ball,
>or do they strike out the batters. We do care if our curator is a whiny,
>territorial person no matter how much they know about the subject.  Can you
>imagine a registrar spitting in a donor's face and only getting a two day
>suspension? Or how about a bench clearing brawl between Hagley and
>Wintertuhr [You know you want to see it ; )] and no one getting punished?
>The point is that different sizes and types of museums require different
>subjective skills they don't teach in museum schools and that happiness and
>success at one does not translate into happiness and success at another.
>
>The two types of institutions require fairly distinct and/or slightly
>modified skills, aptitudes, temperaments, and experiences. I have seen many
>people who were successful in one venue make the jump to a different size
>institution and fail miserably.  To imply that a job at a bigger
>institution
>is "better" and playing in the "big leagues"  (and thus a small museum
>"worse" and "minor league") depicts an inaccurate hierarchy of professional
>accomplishment within the museum world and is offensive to those who choose
>to work, specialize, and flourish in smaller institutions.
>
>Why does this matter on this particular thread?  Because when the topic of
>professional training arises (as it does every 3 months or so) most people
>tend to speak in absolutes, i.e. "you must get an MA as soon as possible",
>"get lots of experience first", "intern at a large institution," or "work
>at
>a small institution, it will give you better experience."  What we should
>be
>telling young professionals (and career changing or retired individuals
>from
>other professions, an excellent source of competent staff) is that no two
>museum professionals are alike and that no two museums are alike. (The
>dichotomy expressed between small and large and the characteristics of each
>is a gross generalization that I reluctantly adopt to reply to the thread
>already started)  You will be happiest and most productive at the position
>that best suits your skills, temperament, experience, education, career
>stage, and professional goals.  For Mr. MacDonald (and perhaps Robin, I
>didn't read her original post) a position at a large, well-known
>institution
>may be "better," but it may not be better for others. And it may be better
>NOW for a person, but not in ten years.  New museum professionals should be
>encouraged to find what's best for them and to continue to foster their
>professional growth in WHATEVER direction it takes them until the day after
>they retire, if then.  They will be happier, more productive, and
>contribute
>more to the museum world and the community in which they work.
>
>I'm done.
>
>Thank you.
>
>
>--
>Matthew White
>Director of Museums
>The Mount Washington Observatory
>North Conway, New Hampshire
>
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