On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, David E. Haberstich wrote:
> Lee, don't you mean "ecomuseum"? An economuseum sounds like either (a) a
> museum of economics, (b) a highly efficient, streamlined museum, or (c) a
> cheap one.
>
> David Haberstich
>
> =========================================================
David:
As Lee is presumably still in bed in Prince Edward Island perhaps I can
help out from a more easterly time zone?!
"ECONOmuseum" is right, and is not linked to the ecomuseum concept, at
least directly.
The term economusee was developed first in Quebec (I think by Pierre
Mayrand - certainly I first heard the term from him about 15 years ago -
though the word may have been coined by someone else previously), and I
must confess I have never seen the term used outside Canada so far,
though again I may be wrong.
The word means a genuine museum in the cultural and social sense, but
one that is operating in the "economic sector" as well - seeking to cover
at least some if not all of its costs from economic activities relating to
the museum's mission, rather that (or as well as) from admission charges,
public subsidies, catering, museum shops etc.
A good example would be a historic farm museum which also produces
organic crops, vegetables, dairy products and meat for sale commercially.
Locally, the Mill Green Museum historic water mill in Hatfield, England,
produces several hundred tons of stone-ground organic bread-making flour a
year for sale, mainly to one of our local specialist bakery chains, who
also help with publicity by selling the bread as their - extremely popular
- Mill Green wholemeal loaf through more than a dozen shops across
Hertfordshire.
Other examples that would meet the economuseum definition would probably
include the historic ship and boat restoration work for private owners and
other institutions of Mystic Seaport or the working blacksmith, tin-smith
and wood-turning workshops of open air museums such as Old Sturbridge
Village, both in New England.
If you accept the term at all I would be inclined to include at least
some working historic workshops of the factory museums of commercial
enterprises, such as potteries or the remarkable clog-making factory in
West Yorkshire, but others would argue that only non-profit bodies would
qualify.
Sorry to cut this explanation short - if I don't get to the village bakery
shop by 10.15am at the latest all today's delivery of Mill Green bread
will have been sold, creating a food supply crisis, especially with our
vegan son!!
Patrick Boylan
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