I have been appointed to a newly created board charged with the task of
creating a Parish (we're in Louisiana) museum and genealogical library.
If our eventual plan is approved by the Parish governing body and the
voters, we will be operating on a small tax-based funding and depend on
donations and private sources for most of our operating funds.  We have
not yet started our planning meetings and I would appreciate any
pointers to publications or manuscripts that address the many problems
we will face. I've been placed on the committee as the "professional,"
even though I'm only a community college history teacher with no museum
studies or library science training.  Any first-hand advice from those
experienced in such projects would be welcome.  Our community has tried
to start such a museum on three other occasions since World War II, all failed.
Thanks,
John Agan
Minden, Louisiana