I've read all the other responses to this query and as a former
     manager of a museum shop, I now feel I need to add my 98 cents worth.
     The short answer is yes, there does need to be a connection between
     items for sale in the gift shop and exhibitions contained within the
     museum.

     One of the key problems we had to grapple with was the primary
     function of the museum shop.  Did it exist to make a huge profit at
     the expense of the quality of material presented, or did we attempt to
     buy goods within the parameters of the museum's mission and through a
     combination of smart buying and bargaining with salespeople also
     manage to achieve a profit and maintain the good reputation of the
     museum.  Obviously we aimed for the latter despite attempts from
     outside forces (cuts in funding, staff and morale) to pull us towards
     the former.  We had our lean times and our good times, but overall,
     the shop made a healthy profit for the museum during my time there.
     Another key issue was that the shop was run by museum employed staff
     who felt that the image/reputation  of the museum was just as
     important as big bucks.

     We were very particular as to the sales people we dealt with, any
     items we sold as "replicas" were documented very carefully.  Replicas
     were tagged with who made it, how it was made and what was the
     original source of the item.  This information was all very clear on
     the item.

     I feel the Director needs to be aware of the shop policies, however if
     you have a Director that is constantly "checking up" on their staff,
     then nothing would be achieved.  A Manager should hire staff whose
     abilities and ethics they can trust.  Our Director hardly ever (never)
     interfered with the running of the shop.  He received regular reports
     on goods and sales and came down fairly regularly to browse, however,
     he did not dictate what we should buy and from whom.  Those decisions
     were made by the Shop Manager and Buyers.

     We believed that the main focus of the shop itself was not to educate,
     but to serve as an adjunct for the education that was hopefully
     acquired in the museum.  Yes we did sell souvenirs, however our
     biggest sellers were our books.

     Tourists buy from museum shops for a variety of reasons.  The main one
     given by those I spoke to was that they liked the fact that the
     profits went back into the museum and they felt they could "trust" the
     items they bought from us.  There are a million "tacky" souvenir shops
     attached to every major city in the world.  I don't think museums need
     to contribute.

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     Susan Meadows                      "Cataloguing is an art, not a
     [log in to unmask]               science" - George Cutter

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