Dear listers,

Maybe it would be helpful if we discussed what we expect AAM to do about the
salary issue.    They already publish a study that is updated from time to
time listing salaries and museum budgets -- a national survey that is
available from the AAM Bookstore.   I just gave my copy of the 1997 version
away to a university administrator so that the university can better
understand what it will cost to run their museum (they are in the start-up
phase, taking on a community, volunteer-run historical society).

I think the issue is disparity in salaries.   Small, rural, privately-funded
museums who essentially don't get government support (e.g., local governments
cannot afford to support them; local governments in these areas often can
barely afford to run the basic services of government; and these institutions
are not competitive for IMLS funding, either) cannot pay proper salaries.
Those of us who work in these institutions do so out of love and maybe
financial stupidity.   For example, my salary is currently $20,000 less than
it was when I worked in a local government-owned museum.   I had better
benefits there, too, but the political situation was intolerable.
It was not a matter of personal comfort, it was a matter of the museum's
survival and keeping very, very basic museum standards which I could not
compromise.

I have a friend in New York who works at a museum that is a public-private
partnership between local government and a private friends society of museum
supporters.   In her museum, the situation is even worse.  The staff salaries
are so low that I wouldn't even call them salaries -- they are more like
graduate student stipends.    This museum is located in one of the most
expensive suburbs near New York City.   How can that be?   Well, there's a
history of wealthy society women working in the museum just to have something
interesting to do -- they didn't need the money.   Times have changed but
since there are more qualified museum professionals than museums to employee
them, the gluted market place perhaps has also kept salaries low.

One problem is that lay people (non-museum people) don't have any idea about
what it really takes to run a museum.   They don't want to pay for exhibits,
consultants, qualified personnel, proper archival supplies. Forget about
conservation -- that's too abstract.    They think "museum" means "expensive"
and they are going to beat the system and pay as little as possible.   They
think everything should be donated.  Good luck.

One solution to better salaries is better boards.  We need to train and
educate board members, the museum supporters and our basic bastion of
funding, about these issues.   It's tough.   Old, rich people who are retired
CEOs and the movers and shakers and founders of their communities, the
philanthropic pillars, don't take advice well.  At least in the South, they
don't!   I cannot speak for the rest of the country.
Also, the wealthy who are self-made (the majority in my area of  the nouveau
riche)
got that way by NOT SPENDING ANY OR HARDLY ANY MONEY.   They are very frugal.
 So it is hard to pry the money out of their hands -- you cannot take it with
you -- and the museum is not a crisis-serving organization like a hospital or
shelter.  The attitude of boards I've encountered is that most of the
operating expenses should come from earned income, particulary admissions.
Well, we know we can boost the earned income to a point, but it's not going
to pay for everything.

Maybe the Museum Trustee Association, which seems like a good group of
informed board members, is the place for this discussion to best be
addressed.  They are an AAM affiliate and they do sponsor programming at
AAM's annual meeting.

Can someone on the list formulate a list of issues regarding salaries that
might be a good action plan for the Trustee Association?   Are there any
members of the Museum Trustee Association on our  MUSEUM-LIST?

What are your ideas?

pamela s.

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