> There's a long history of problems with the board in
> the past, due to 
> "control" issues between the board and the
> small-town government that we 
> have to deal with.

Boy, that really hits home. I was elected to the Board
of Trustees of a local library, at a time the local
town government was trying to remove most of the
trustees from the Board, through a lawsuit in Common
Pleas Court! In this case, the town simply did not
want to fund the library, and they hoped to get
control of our historic building.

Had they succeeded in removing the trustees and taking
over the library, I believe they may have closed the
library and moved the municipal offices into the
historic building, out of their then-dilapidated
building. Fortunately, the strong trust agreement
provided to our library by Andrew Carnegie prevented
the municipal takeover through the courts. However,
with minimal municipal funds, the library was in a
constant struggle to stay open.

Through intervention of local civic leaders,
compromises were made and the town agreed to provide
some funding for the library. However, this took
several years to happen.

> There's almost a divide between
> some members due to 
> their "Loyalties."  The priorities are not "what's
> best for the museum" 
> but "what's in it for me?"  

In our case, there was no "almost" about it. The Board
was split down the middle between two factions; one
faction supported the town government while the other
worked to keep the library open and independent. So,
you have to always be careful who is elected to your
Board, and whether they are truly interested in the
future of the library or museum, or if they are
serving on the Board for political reasons.

> Recently,The museum has
> been awarded a grant 
> through a state agency that will help with board
> training, under the 
> condition that they approve a board resolution of
> acceptance.

That is a very good sign. In Pennsylvania,
Commonwealth Libraries provides an annual conference
[titled "Trustees' Institute"] to provide training to
trustees of public libraries throughout the state. A
two-day event, this conference is free-of-charge to
all trustees of public libraries in the state. And,
since Pennsylvania is such a large state, the
conference occurs twice each year; once in the
Pittsburgh area and once in the
Harrisburg/Philadelphia area.

> I have 
> tried for two weeks to gather the group together. 
> (I naively thought that 
> they would care about the possibility of losing the
> $20,000 operational 
> grant.  Silly me, I've been trying for four months
> to get have a regular 
> board meeting to no avail.)

Yes, getting a Board meeting quorum has been an
ongoing struggle with our Board. Particularly if you
live in a small town, it is not easy finding enough
people willing to actually do the work necessary to be
on a Board--including attending meetings!

> It's almost like they feel that
> since they've hired a 
> director, they don't need to do anything more -
> including fund raising.  
> (By the way I am the only full time employee.)

This is quite typical of a lot of Boards. Most Board
members are busy with their own businesses or
activities and expect the Executive Director to take
care of the museum or library. As a strong library
advocate, I found that I was often one of only a few
Board members to really take an active interest in the
institution; this was quite disappointing and
disconcerting.

I would have to agree with the other person who
replied to your plight. Work with the Board President
and the Executive Committee for what needs to be done.
And, if By-laws need to be changed, to accomodate for
Board members who are not participating, then you
should seek such By-law changes.

gaw

--- G Moore <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:39:55 -0400 
From: "G Moore" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Board Advice 
To: [log in to unmask] 

> I'm sure that this has been covered many times in
> the past, but I am in 
> dire need of advice on how to motive my museum
> board.  
> 
> We are a new museum (less than one year old) and the
> board was very active 
> in the planning of the museum and the opening.  They
> did not hire me, the 
> director until one month before the opening.  After
> the opening, the board 
> has shown less interest in everything and I am
> having a very hard time 
> regrouping them.  It's almost like they feel that
> since they've hired a 
> director, they don't need to do anything more -
> including fund raising.  
> (By the way I am the only full time employee.)
> 
> There's a long history of problems with the board in
> the past, due to 
> "control" issues between the board and the
> small-town government that we 
> have to deal with.  There's almost a divide between
> some members due to 
> their "Loyalties."  The priorities are not "what's
> best for the museum" 
> but "what's in it for me?"  Some members have
> changed.  However none of 
> the members seem to have any experience being on
> boards, especially museum 
> boards.  And most don't want to learn about what
> their roles as board 
> members actually entail.  For instance I have
> presented them with a Board 
> Committment Letter that outlines their duties at
> four different meetings, 
> and they never signed it.  Recently,The museum has
> been awarded a grant 
> through a state agency that will help with board
> training, under the 
> condition that they approve a board resolution of
> acceptance.  I have 
> tried for two weeks to gather the group together. 
> (I naively thought that 
> they would care about the possibility of losing the
> $20,000 operational 
> grant.  Silly me, I've been trying for four months
> to get have a regular 
> board meeting to no avail.)  
> 
> I feel like I'm beating my head against a brick
> wall.  I feel like I don't 
> have their support and there's nothing I can do to
> make things better.  
> Some of the members I can't get them to return my
> calls.  There's only one 
> or two that will actively help with fund raisers
> that I have to put 
> together.  I've even had my job threatened by a
> member due to the fact 
> that I didn't give in to their professionally
> unethical requests.  Thank 
> goodness, I had the support of the board president
> on that case.  
> 
> As a museum professional who has been in the
> business for 10 years, I am 
> so frustrated by the lack of interest and support. 
> My feeling right now 
> is to find another job.  But before I do, I thought
> I would reach out to 
> others in the field for advice as to what I can do
> to better this 
> situation.  
> 
> Thanks for your help.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] > 
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://www.planetarium.cc > 
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: 
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer & Optician John A. Brashear: 
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com > 
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: 
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc > 
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://www.incline.cc >

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