Dear Museum-Lers:

Here is a question that has concerned me for some time.  Why is the museum
profession in the United States making such a small contribution to museum
scholarship?  Clearly, the British, Canadians, Italians, French, and even
the Finns are making much greater contributions to the advancement of
museum scholarship than we are.  One only needs to check the publication
list of Routledge and the Oxford University Press to see that this is true.
I just received a 293-page book entitled "Essays on Museums and Their
Theory" published by the Finnish Museums Association.  A check of the AAM
Booklist will show that the vast majority of books that are being offer
were published by other organizations.

Museum News certainly does not fill our needs because it is really a trade
magazine.  A very fine trade magazine, but still a trade magazine.  Most of
the pages are filled with ads and public announcements of someones latest
megashow.  The few articles tend to be short, personal opinions rather than
scholarly work,  tend to be aimed at the mechanical side of our business
rather the historical and philosophical, and are generally puff pieces for
individuals or organizations.  We get articles on fund raising, building
partnerships, women in museums, museums on the web.  We never see the
questions asked why are we fund raising?  Would our time and energy be
better spent doing something else?  What has been the role of women in the
history of museums?  What contributions have been made by women that have
changed museums and the museum profession?  Why build partnerships?  What
is the up side and down side to partnerships?  Historically what
partnerships have been successful and which have failed (remember there are
very few new ideas)?  How is WWW going to change what museums do?  Is the
WWW different from the print medium?  What do you know about the Museum
Masters listed by Alexander beyond what is in his book?  The magazine
drifts from one issue to another and never explores any issue in depth.

The question then is how do we make the museum profession in the United
States more professional and scholarly?  Is the AAM our vehicle?  Or do we
need to create a scholarly organization?  How do a few members of AAM
impact the organization given the new organizational structure that has
concentrated the power in the organization in the hands of a very few
people headquartered inside of Washington's beltway?  Can we get AAM back
into the book publishing business?  Can we get AAM to work with a publisher
in the U. S. to match what is being done by Routledge?  Can we get AAM to
make Museum News into more scholarly outlet?  Or can we get AAM to publish
a scholarly journal focusing on museum theory, history, and philosophy?  If
we can't change the AAM, where do we go?

I will be quite interested in your thoughts on these questions and needs.

Hugh H. Genoways




++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hugh H. Genoways
Professor
University of Nebraska State Museum
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
W436 Nebraska Hall
Lincoln, NE   68588-0514
Voice:  no telephone   FAX  (402)  472-8949
Email:  [log in to unmask]