I have a copy of "Professional Standards for Museum Educators" dated 1989.
 When I saw the date, my first thought was that they document would
probably be outdated given the expanded notions of museum education
articulated in "Excellence and Equity" in 1992.  But the 1989 statement
calls for cooperation among staff, trustees, and volunteers to ensure:

- the integrity, authenticity, preservation, and quality of the objects
the museum presents;
- the accuracy of information disseminated to the public about those
objects;
- the intelligibility and usefulness of such information to the museum's
audiences;
- the quality of its presentation;
- the recognition of the diversity of audiences and the importance of
intellectual integrity in the exchange of ideas and in the collection and
presentation of objects.

Although these priorities might be listed in a different order today, it
seems like the key issues are covered.  It would be interesting to compare
the two documents.

To learn about EdCom's current position and initiatives, you may want to
call Mary Ellen Munley, chair, at the New York State Museum, 518-474-1569.