Laura,
        I'm sorry if my comments were hurtful - I was responding to what I
perceived as a message written with much eye-rolling and a "can you believe
what these people are doing?!?!" attitude.  The museum world is full of
people who want to reinvent their organization, and who will say anything
in order to make their view stronger, without regard for the people most
affected by change. I've been there - I know what it's like for senior
management to write to the Board and the State Legislature that in his
opinion the organization had "the worst collections management program in
the country".  As Registrar I knew this wasn't true, and it hurt. My
reputation was damaged without cause and I had no recourse.  When I read
your message I reacted to what I perceived as a Board member slamming their
organization in order to enhance a personal position.

        While I stand by my assertions: advocate, don't dictate; recognize that
change is scary; good procedures and practices need adequate support, I
also apologize for the harsh tone of my comments.

Jodi






At 02:16 AM 10/30/1998 EST, you wrote:
>Jodi, if you only knew all the hurtful details of the real story... I
>appreciate your comments - I feel them as a museum employee [as I've been] as
>well as feeling like a truly non-important board member.
>
>My M.A. didn't prepare me for a small group of people with outdated ideas -
>we're all idealists. They want to paint or re-upholster furniture "because it
>will look better" - if we just into decorating Victorian houses, that
would be
>fine. A museum is different. And they don't get it. That's the problem. Sorry
>you didn't get that the 1st time.
>
Jodene K. Evans
Registrar
State Historical Society of Iowa
600 E. Locust
Des Moines, Iowa  50319-0290
515/281-3295
FAX 515/282-0502
e-mail [log in to unmask]