What I believe began as a discussion on salaries has turned into a focus
on certifying museum employees. I would like to comment on both.

To use the doctor analogy again (that museum employees are not
responsible for the lives of their customers), we actually need to have
much more specific knowledge than a medical doctor.  Medical doctors can
take standaradized tests because body A has the same organs as  body B.
Does  an employee in an art museum have the same body of knowledge as an
employee in a science museum?  Are two history museums so similar - one
in a major metropolitan area and the other a historical society run
mostly by volunteers?

The general knowledge that an employee brings to a museum about ethics,
practices, etc (which could be gained through a ceritification course or
just through being well read in the field) is important but what is most
valuable to the actual day to day functioningof the museum is the
person's skills and competency in general.

As for salaries and the above, school teachers take classes that keep
them abreast of trends in education and those classes also serve the
purpose of raising a teacher's salary.

That's a model I would like to see pursued, but again, I don't think it
could be enforced widespread.


Allison Weiss
Director of Education
McLean County Historical Society
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