I've always enjoyed conversations about measuring the performance of a
museum, they seem to go around in circles.  Certainly the American
Association of Museums has tried to establish some sense of how well, or
not-so-well, a museum does when it accredits institutions.  However, their
approach is not precise and there is room for interpretation.  But, I have
worked hard to continue the accreditation of my museum (and am proud to say
we were recently accredited again).

I have always thought the true measure of a good museum can't be determined
until its been in existence for about fifty years.  After that time, if it
still exists that is a measure of performance.  If it has the collections
it began to acquire from the beginning (or knows why it doesn't) that too
is a reputable measure of success.  How has its record keeping been?  What
is the accuracy and depth of the information it has acquired and
disseminated?  What is its financial situation?  How well has it been
governed?  These are considerations formed around American museums which
for the most part are entirely private and not government operated.
Different questions might be appropriate elsewhere.

These are just a few considerations but they strike me has more telling
than some scorecard drawn up by people who really don't understand museums.

Steven Miller
Executive Director
Bennington Museum
West Main Street
Bennington, VT, USA
05201
(802) 447 1571


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----------
From: Thomas D. Meier <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Performance Measures
Date: Thursday, September 02, 1999 1:33 PM

Hi

Does anyone know of a performance measuring system for museums that
actually works in practice? Quite a lot of material is available that
treats the increasingly important subject on a rather theoretical level.
The museums I know off are all still struggling to develop their own
system, often just because they are forced to do so and not because they
have learned to use performance measures as a means to improve the
managament of the institution.

Yours

Thomas Dominik Meier
Director
Museum of Communication
Helvetiastrasse 16
CH-3000 Bern 6
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