To be consistent, I must respond to Ross Weeks's reaction to my attempt
at provoking a discussion about museum bureaucracy. I reject the notion
that it's a "given" that state or federal museums will have mindless
bureaucracy. This represents a pernicious prejudice and stereotype of
government which is precisely what I was complaining about. What I
consider a "given," Ross, is that you will find mindless bureaucracy,
inefficiency, waste, and outright stupidity all around you--in
institutions of all stripes, as well as among people who are not
affiliated with institutions or organizations. Government has no
monopoly in these areas.
     To be more specific about the kind of dialogue I was trying to
stimulate: It's common for "creative" people, such as curatorial staff,
to complain about unreasonable bureaucracy among administrators and
registrarial folks--and the biggest curatorial complaint I've heard
about a "bureaucratic" registrar, Ross, came from a private museum, not
a government institution.
     Curators and registrars sometimes are in apparent opposition (which
ideally could represent a healthy balance of powers, but in the
worst-case scenario could constitute gridlock): curators may consider
registrars unreasonable, bureaucratic obstacles, while registrars
envision curators as eccentric, sloppy prima donnas. Detail freaks vs.
head-in-the-clouds academics or antiquarians (pick one, depending on the
style and politics of your institution).
      Can anyone recommend some relevant recent writing on this topic?
Something other than psychobabble about the personality types that
gravitate toward one extreme or the other---? --David Haberstich