Greg Stemm asked 'Anyone out there have a good definition of "public good"
vis-a-vis the
obligations and responsibilities of Museums?'

This question was considered in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
study  'Admission Charges: The Issues'.  Here are some extracts.

Public museums discharge mandates that are part of a relationship between
users and providers which are not accounted for by pure models of
marketplace economics. As repositories of a nation's cultural heritage they
undertake unique preservation and presentation functions and embody
important values that accumulate over time. This is an example of market
externality, in which the museum's benefits are not restricted to specific
groups, such as those who attend exhibitions, but exist in the best
interests of society as a whole.

Other defining features of museums'  public good include:

the political and social consensus that museum activities are intrinsically
worthy of government support [perhaps more true in New Zealand than the
USA];

the detrimental effect on society of the absence of museums' functions;

a museum's educational benefits to an individual are conferred on society at
large: everyone gains from other citizens being literate and informed,
rather than ignorant;

museums make a unique contribution to the formation of national identity.
'Psychic income' is gained through feelings of national pride and
consciousness of collective identity;

joint consumption; one person can 'consume' the benefits of museum activity
without diminishing the amount available for others;

museums are a trust for the future; society does not want to hand on a
cultural legacy less rich than that which it inherited.


I have some free copies of the study available if anyone is interested.
Contact me off list with a snail mail address.


Mark Lindsay
Policy Analyst
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

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