In a message dated 95-10-18 15:42:22 EDT, you write:

>using one's own collection to enhance an exhibit
>(or a resource library) would seem to be beneficial, not detrimental. Am I
>missing some detail here?

Not really. The ethical dilemma stems from when a curator's personal
collection surpasses or jeopardizes that of the museum. Objects come up for
grabs and being in the museum business, we tend to hear about them first. So,
if a curator purchases the object for his own collection with his credit card
while the museum board of directors is trying to decide if they should buy it
and how should they pay for it, then his actions as a collector have impeded
his ethical responsibility to the institution for whom he works. I've seen a
great deal of this and it always starts out with "I know someone else will
get it, so I'll just buy it to be on the safe side and let the museum use
it...."