> From:          Ross Weeks <[log in to unmask]>

> My own view is that probably we've developed too many museums in this
> country, not by design but by accident.  And too many of them are knocking
> on the same doors for financial support, once they found that government
> was backing off at all levels, in its support for institutions like ours.
> And we have universities creating museum studies programs -- not for any
> academic merit -- to keep their enrollments up.  So, we have a rapidly
> growing number of institutions without sufficient funds to endow
> operations; we compete with one another for funds; and there are more and
> more very good people entering the museum career marketplace.  It is not a
> workable jigsaw puzzle.

> No, it's not the fault of the boards.  It's a no-fault situation.  Salaries
> are lower than they should be simply because of the sheer numbers -- of
> institutions, positions, entry-level people, IMHO.

(The following are based on my experience in British Columbia, I do
not no how this would compare in other locations)

While I agree in part with the above, the number of institutions vs
salary is flawed. Salaries have always been low in the community museum sector,
even when in the past far fewer museums existed.

All you have to do is to compare the community museum to the local
community recreation facility. Universities and colleges pump out
lots of rec grads to run arena's, etc. The salary level is
significantly higher for these workers. Why? Well most of them are
run by municipalities and thus are unionized. Most community museums
are operated by non-profit societies.

Another issue is standards. I am in many ways typical of museum
workers. I have worked my way through this field and have been a
curator and a director. I did not need any piece of paper to call
myself one of these. My wife is a librarian, with her MLS. It would
be near impossible for year to get a librarian job with out the MLS. I
am not sure that I would like to see a system where I had to take
some sort of masters program to work in a museum, but I do think that
accreditation has to be looked at.

Interpretation Canada has recently developed a set of occupational
standard for Heritage Interpreters. I think that the rest of the
museum occupations need to look at this issue.

.

Lee Boyko
Professional Development Coordinator
Email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
Opinion expressed are not necessarily admitted to!