Hello all,

while there are some interesting points like the nap room (I wouldn't  
call it that but think to have a quiet room to sit down an relax away  
from the galleries is in general is a good idea), others would require  
what was severely reduced the last few years: staff. Staff to keep the  
museum open in the evenings, staff that explains why certain things  
are important for the protection of the artifacts, staff that does  
high quality tours. Nothing beats personal interaction, but you need  
well-trained staff and that means investing money. Personally, I think  
it's money well invested, much better than into technological gadgets  
that need maintainance and are outdated in no time - but I observe  
that the general thinking of politicians and donors is exactly the  
opposite.

I'm a little concerned about the idea the author expresses in "premium  
guided tours":
The reasoning of the author is: a volunteer docent provides  
low-quality content while the paid educator will provide high-quality  
content. Well, we all know that this is not true, that there are  
millions of excellent guided tours every year by highly qualified  
volunteers and I guess each of us knows at least one case of a paid  
educator who just isn't good at guiding tours. So, the payment isn't  
the issue, the training of the educators, paid or unpaid, is.

Providing "premium guided tours" puts the museum in a difficult situation:

- Who will guide those tours and who will not? Picking some docents  
for "premium" means unequal treatment within a certain staff group  
which causes a huge motivational problem. Letting only paid staff do  
the premium tours is an affront towards the volunteers.

- What message does your institution convey if they offer "free" and  
"premium" tours? On the one hand you try to reach out to people who  
can't afford expensive education on the other hand you tell them that  
there is better information for those willing to pay for it?

Just my two cents.

Best wishes
Angela


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

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Quoting Katherine Hoppe <[log in to unmask]>:

> Hello, fellow listers,
>
> This article was posted by a friend of mine who manages a National Guard
> museum in Oklahoma.  What strikes me is that, many of the points that are
> made seem like they could be solved by more education in preservation and
> conservation directed towards the public.  What do other people think?
>
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/sethporges/2014/04/26/our-museums-are-broken-these-5-fixes-can-make-them-fun-again/
>
>
> Katherine Hoppe
> George Washington University
> Washington, DC
>
> =========================================================
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