We kind of just went through a prolonged exchange of strong views on this
same subject.  No complex institution has a "single most important goal" --
and a museum is no different.  There are probably four or five "most
important goals" that follow the mission/purpose of the museum.

Disney, on the other hand, has as its "single most important goal" to
maximize profits, and everything being done by Disney places aims at
achieving that goal.

If an object has educational value, it ought to be made available for that
purpose.  To make it available, means creating an exhibit (display).  To
make sure people will come learn from it, the exhibit needs to be notable.
To make sure the museum receives income and contributions to pay bills, lots
of people need to come see those notable exhibits.

That's my two cents.




-----Original Message-----
From: K. Brecheisen <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 12:20 PM
Subject: goals of the museum


>   I was wondering what everyone thought was the single most important
>goal of museums: to educate, to preserve objects, or to have great
>displays? This is something I've been wondering about in regards to
>allocation of funds, education versus potential object damage, and the
>like. Everyone, please respond!
>Thanks,
>Kathy