Hi all,

seems we all are observing similar developments in our field - not  
only in the US. Research, collection and preventive conservation work  
is on the lose. Regarded only as a field to cut costs, not regarded as  
a field that is the foundation of all other museum work.

I just recently wrote an article about the registrar's work that talks  
among other aspects about the phenomenon of neglecting collections  
work. If someone is interested, it's called "The registrar: A strange,  
endangered breed of animal rarely spotted" and you will find this  
under the subheading "An endangered species?" here:  
http://world.museumsprojekte.de/?p=920

Try to keep on fighting. This might be a losing battle, but as long as  
there is still one conservator or collection manager in one museum  
left, we have to keep on doing our important work.

Best wishes
Angela


Angela Kipp
Collection Manager
TECHNOSEUM, Mannheim, Germany
www.technoseum.de

Join the Registrar Trek at http://world.museumsprojekte.de/





Quoting "Sarah LeCount" <[log in to unmask]>:

> Marc,
>
> Thank you for bringing this out, and I agree wholeheartedly. In my  
> career I've seen conservators and curators overworked, underpaid,  
> and their positions left unfilled when they leave an institution. I  
> admire what educators do (goodness knows I haven't the patience for  
> it!) but I feel that the boards and administrators of many museums  
> are forgetting what is important - collections care and  
> preservation, and research - in an effort to get more bodies through  
> the door.
>
> Just my 2 cents . . .
>
> Sarah
>
>
>
>
> ---- Marc A Williams <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Deb, and all,
>>
>> If all of us are allowed to gripe for a moment, I would postulate  
>> that currently the bottom of the ladder are conservators.  How many  
>> small to medium institutions have staff conservators?  Virtually  
>> none?  How many such institutions would have anything to educate  
>> about if they did not have collections or historic buildings?  Why  
>> is preservation of such historic assets near the bottom of their  
>> agendas?  Everything lasts forever without planning and  
>> preservation actions?  In this era of digital collections, it just  
>> might be possible to have a "museum" without a collection.  But is  
>> this what most institutions want?  I was trained in the 1970s as a  
>> conservator.  In the nearly 40 years since then, there has been  
>> very, very little movement in museums/institutions hiring  
>> conservators on staff.  ALL museum professionals are having a hard  
>> time gaining employment, partially due to too many training  
>> opportunities being offered at all the universities/colleges across  
>> the country without consideration for the number of potential jobs.  
>>  However, the number of conservation training venues has remained  
>> fairly constant, excepting paper/library/archival programs, which  
>> have been a bit exuberant.  But, not that many more conservators  
>> are on staff at institutions.  Why?  Every survey that has ever  
>> been done indicates that preservation in our institutions is  
>> severely neglected at best.  And in smaller institutions, it is  
>> nearly non-existent.
>>
>> I suggest that every institution advocate for preservation of their  
>> collections, whether objects or architecture.  And I mean REAL  
>> advocacy, not an occasional mention.  With real physical objects  
>> being preserved, institutions can educate and tie their collections  
>> to their local history.  Without them, can they still do this?   
>> Will a "collection" with virtual objects be the same?  Advocacy for  
>> preservation generates interest and excitement and a growth of the  
>> perceived need for educators, curators, and museum administrators.   
>> And this leads to jobs and perceived worth.  What is the base of  
>> the pyramid, and what is the top?
>>
>> Marc
>>
>> American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
>>      4 Rockville Road
>>      Broad Brook, CT 06016
>>      www.conservator.com
>>      860-386-6058
>>
>> Marc A. Williams, President
>>      MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
>>      Former Chief Wooden Objects Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
>>      Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>
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