BCraig1007 wrote:
>
> The Smithsonian's Center for Museum Studies announces a new workshop:
>
> Introduction to Museum Management
> February 23-27, 1998
>
> Application Deadline: December 23, 1997
>
> Organized in response to social, financial, and economic conditions of a
>  different era, museums are being charged to understand and deal with a rapidly
>  changing world. Yet, the pressing demands of daily operations often hinder the
>  ability of an administrator ability to consider new trends and their
>  implications for the organization. This workshop is designed to offer
>  opportunities to reflect on fundamental management concerns and to formulate
>  responsive plans.
>
> Sessions in this five day program cover:
>
>      Strategic Planning
>      Team Building
>      Managing Human Resources
>      Understanding and Controlling Finances
>      Facility Management
>      Development and Fundraising
>
> Visit the workshop web site to learn more about the program and down load an
>  application:  http://www.si.edu/cms/train.htm
>
> or contact Bettie Lee for more information and an application:
>
> Bettie Lee, Curriculum Manager
> Workshop Series
> Center for Museum Studies
> MRC 427
> Smithsonian Institution
> Washington, DC 20560
> 202-357-3101
> 202-357-3346
> [log in to unmask]
> Bruce C. Craig
> Center for Museum Studies
> Smithsonian Institution


I was pleased to see such a course offered and it sounds great for people already in the
profession, (though are they really going to sign up for an "introduction" course?), but
it seems to me that anything that is billed as an *Introduction* to Museum Management
really should have a section on issues of collection management.  Often it happens that
people with little or no museum experience are hired to run museums (for any number of
reasons -economic, Board wants MBA or fundraiser, etc.) I'd like to recommend such a
course to those people, but hesitate for fear they'll go away thinking they are fully
trained museum managers yet still not knowing what they need to know about collections
-the most critical part of museum work becaue mistakes are
destructive of non-renewable resources!

Maybe the course needs a different title, or, perhaps, just a more
comprehensive curriculum description.

(Someone please enlighten me if I am off base on this one.)

Lucy Skjelstad