Why are standards not used? What problems do museums have in adopting
standards, guidelines and codes of practice? In the UK, why do some
museums decide not to apply to the Museums and Galleries Commission to
become Registered Museums? Would a registration scheme for museums be
welcomed in other countries, and if not why not?

I am giving a talk on these matters to the Specialist Group for
Documentation of the German Museums Association early in October. While
I have information on many standards and guidelines that exist, and
plenty of statements that complying with them is A Good Thing, it would
be useful to have some case study evidence (or anecdotal comments) on
why museums decide not to adopt some standards.

The perspective will be a broad one, and as well as documentation can
include standards for management, collection development, access,
display, interpretation, conservation, storage, and anything else.

How important are the following aspects?

*       The cost of changing: museums that would like to adopt some
        standards but cannot afford the new equipment or premises that
        would be needed. Do these museums have a long-term plan to move
        gradually as funds become available?

*       Compatibility with existing practice in a museum or with other
        associated museums: changing would mean that old and new systems
        or procedures would co-exist for a long time, and the complexity
        of this is not worthwhile.

*       Disagreement with the content of standards: museums that think
        that some standard recommendations are not as good as their
        current practice. Have such museums tried to influence the
        standard-making processes? With what success?

*       Lack of knowledge of standards that exist, or difficulty in
        deciding which standard to adopt, where there is more than one
        covering the same field. Has there been a positive decision to
        defer a decision until one emerges as widely accepted?

*       Inability to find currently available products, such as software
        packages, which implement the standards a museum wishes to
        adopt.

*       Legal or administrative constraints. Do these prevent the
        adoption of standards, or would the adoption of standards impose
        restrictions on a museum's freedom to act as it wishes (e.g. by
        having an active buying and selling policy for items in its
        collections).

I am posting this to the MUSEUM-L mailing list and to the
uk.culture.museums newsgroup. If you have any ideas or comments of
general interest, I would welcome open discussion in these places. If
you prefer to contact me privately, please feel free to do so. I shall
summarise such comments for the list, suppressing identification
information if you wish me to preserve confidentiality.

Leonard Will
--
Willpower Information        (Partners: Dr Leonard D Will, Sheena E Will)
Information Management Consultants               Tel: +44 (0)20 8372 0092
27 Calshot Way, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 7BQ, UK.  Fax: +44 (0)20 8372 0094
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