While new ED's or even influential donors or board members like to play with
names, that issue needs to be very carefully considered and only attempted
when the negatives of the name are substantial. There are models from the
business world on how to "rebrand" an entity-consider Datsun and Nissan. The
example cited was an inept attempt that appears to be more motivated by ego
than organizational considerations.

More subtle, and to my mind significant, is the issue of changing a museum's
interpretive ideas as the institution matures. A great article dealing with
this issue is Edward L. Hawes' "The Delicate Tasks of the Folklife/History
Museum: Balancing the Givens."

The thesis is that founders have certain preconceived notions, visitors have
another set of preconceived notions, and that professionals have another set
notions that can be based on good research but which contradict the notions
of founders and visitors. An effective museum needs to balance these
"givens" in order to function, and sometimes needs to forego some degree of
historic accuracy when that interpretation is rejected by founders and
visitors without further education. For example, in my own field visitors
usually express their conviction that historically craftsmanship was
superior to current craftsmanship. This prejudice flies in the face of known
reality (based on archeological research) yet one needs to actively
re-educate visitors to wean them from this misperception.
nburlakoff

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of David Ryan
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 3:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Museum Name Changes

Dear Kathy,
Our museum went through a proposed name change about 10 years ago.  Our
former director was absolutely adamant about changing the name of our
museum, going so far as to have stationary, envelopes and business cards
printed with the name: The Colorado Springs Museum.
In fairness the Pioneers Museum name is somewhat of a misnomer.  There are
many museums along the Front Range with "pioneer" as part of the name and
they are usually small volunteer run one-room houses or log cabins.  We are
a municipal museum of art and history with a 66,000 square foot facility
and 12 1/2 full time positions.  In our former director's mind the
name "pioneer" conjured up negative images.
The name change attempt led to a huge backlash in the community who have
always known us as the Pioneers Museum.  The El Paso County Pioneers
Association (which is still very active) threatened to take back their
donation (from 1937) which constituted the first 3,500 objects in the
collection.  The gift agreement contains language that the museum must
always be known as the Pioneers Museum.
Our former director was chastised for his intransigence on the issue and
eventually left partly because he did not get his way.  Alas, for better or
worse we remain the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.
Sincerely,
Dave Ryan
Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
www.cspm.org

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