Hi Mariana

Since no one else has weighed in yet on your question, I thought I'd get
things going --expecting some major or minor disagreement in return, or
perhaps some better ideas or knowledge I don't have about current GOS
rules.

Actually, I'm surprised you haven't had this come up before. I reviewed
IMS grants throughout the '80s and '90s, and 1 FTE staff has always been
a requirement, and if by chance the IMS staff didn't catch it in their
preliminary check (they are usually very thorough), then the reviewer
would. Would this be a talking point for getting the University
Administration to increase your FTE? The other possibility, since I
believe that a full-time professional volunteer may meet the
requirement, might be to volunteer the other portion of your time,
though, frankly, I think that is a suggestion that undermines the value
of all of us as professionals. Do one or two of your regular volunteers
have qualifications as professionals to make up the difference, if it
would meet the requirement?  Perhaps others will have better
suggestions.

After working directly with IMS staff on the panel that reviewed problem
grants, I know how hard they work to make things equitable for all
museums, and to meet their mission.  Since a large part of the IMS-GOS
goal is to set standards and provide reward/incentive to improve
museums, it is an appropriate requirement. I know that statement is
likely to set off a cry from those who will say they first need the
grant money in order to improve, and from the all volunteer museums that
do a professional job (though I think they are few). But the other side
of that is that these are our very own federal dollars (wrote my tax
check today!) and it seems appropriate to me that they go to museums in
which local support is evident at some minimum level.

Best,
Lucy Sperlin
Chico, CA

Mariana Mace wrote:
>
> For the first time the IMLS would not even consider our IMLS-GOS
> grant application because they decided we did not have the"
> equivalent of a full time professional person in charge of the museum
> and its collections".  I was a bit taken aback since this had not
> been an issue in prior applications.  We're a small museum with only
> one part time professional staff member and make liberal and
> effective use of volunteers and students who are trained to do the
> necessary work of registration, visitor services, exhibit work, etc.
>
> I'm curious what sorts of combinations of staff other small museums
> have put together that have satisfied the IMLS staff interpretation
> of this requirement.
>
> Thanks in advance for taking time to answer.
>
> Mariana Mace
>
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