Eric and others who responded to my post: Let me backtrack a
bit. I really don't mean to imply that libraries are passive,
and yes, they often do things similar to what museums do. But
I'd still maintain that managing a collection of items that are
themselves interpretations (books, CD-ROMS) is different from
managing a collection of artifacts in the level of translation
involved to allow the visitor to "read" the material. Of
course, the original documents in many libraries (manuscripts,
graphics) are artifacts comparable to museum artifacts. It is
just because of the museum's responsibility to teach the
visitor how to "read" the objects that a museum operates in
different ways. Not to imply better, just different, and in
response to the original post on this topic, justifying
different sorts of backgrounds and skills in the people who
work there. That's all.
 
Carol Ely
Virginia Discovery Museum
Charlottesville