On Tue, 26 Nov 1996, Farar P. Elliott wrote:

> If
> you are distressed over the matter, why not
> (1) look for a job in another field that will give you experience that
> will serve you well when you DO find a museum position, and
> (2) Organize -- send out a call to agitate for change not to Museum-L,
> but to your local, state and federal legislators, corporations and
> foundations.

I wonder how well such an organized effort might work, given the
fact that funding for museums from most outside sources has dropped
considerably.  Wouldn't that reduce their ability to change anything
within the museum field?  An organized effort to set some kind of
reasonable standard, in terms of salary and benefits, might be more
useful--as would the collective refusal of museum professionals
to work under such conditions.  The sad fact, however, is that there
will always be someone eager for the job, in spite of its low salary
or poor benefits, precisely because it is in a museum, and offers
the intangible benefits of a museum setting.

I am always distressed to see this thread appear on Museum-L,
because it indicates how little changes.  I once worked in a
small museum, on the curatorial staff.  I found out, quite by
accident, that the janitor made almost twice the salary
that I did.  When I asked a senior administrator why
there was such a discrepency, I was told, in all seriousness,
that curators were dispensible, but janitors were not.  So much
for the relative value of one's training.

Academia, of course, is not always much better in terms of
salary.  But in the ivied tower, at least, benefits have been
better defined.

Jenni Rodda, Curator
Visual Resources Collections
Institute of Fine Arts
1 East 78th Street
New York, NY  10021-0178
(212) 772-5872, fax (212) 772-5807, [log in to unmask]