I'm going to throw one more idea into the discussion here and that is to
suggest that if you don't have an audience of some kind you don't have a
museum.   This is not original with me, but was planted in me in my
formative years as a museum professional by a colleague, who, when asked in
one of his museum studies classes (at Texas Tech) "what is the most
important thing in a museum?" his answer was "the person who walks in the
door".   I would argue that as important as preservation is, use is equally
important, whether that be study or exhibition.

BTW I have no problem whatsoever pish-poshing Gene, but of course I've seen
the inside of his closet.

janice

Janice Klein
Director, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College
[log in to unmask]
www.mitchellmuseum.org

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