In article <9602022127.AA07537@corb> Indianapolis Art Center
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 16:27:31 -0500
>From: Indianapolis Art Center <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Collection Management Software

>>Where is your evidence that curators (as symbol processors) somehow
>>naturally have the information modeling and algorithm implementation
>>background (either natively or through training) to build robust
>>long-lasting information management systems?

>Conversely, where is the evidence that programmers know beans about what
>curators need now or might need in the future?  Curators are not good at
>comunicating their information storage needs, and programmers are not good
>at explaining how their algorithms work.  However, I think curators can be
>taught the basics of programming easier than programmers can be taught the
>basics of collections management.


Well, I guess my evidence is that people spend 4-10 years in training in order
to acquire the skills necessary to analyze and create information systems.
Lots of professional tasks in this world require extensive experience and
training in their own right as well as an ability to understand disciplines
they interact with (like yours).  They don't need to know "beans" about
the alternate domain before they start their task.

Don't you think that the software engineers, information scientists and
programmers that create the system that manages your money at the bank, or
processes tickets for airlines or create knowledge systems for medical
diagnoses started each of those processes with no particular experience or
training in their customers discipline?  They weren't bankers or airline
professionals.  They are trained to learn such things from their clients. Do
you really think your problems are so special that nobody else in the world
can understand them?

Part of the problem is the many people, particularly within museums for some
strange reason, think that these kinds of jobs are just rote tasks that can be
learned and accomplished easily.  I presume this is simple ignorance of the
skills and training required to do a good job.  But the singularity with which
software creation gets singled out for such condescension is perplexing.

Julian Humphries