Many thanks to Nancy Powell for a lucid and, I think, convincing argument for
the significant role played by "for-profit" museums.  It bolsters my
contention that it is a mistake to overlay the basic definition of "museum"
with assumptions about "non-profit" status.  For purposes of basic
definition, or delineating the essence of a museum, I don't think it's useful
to insist that "museum" denotes "non-profit".

If AAM and ICOM insist that members be non-profit, that's their business, but
it should be noted that their "definitions" more or less indicate that they
are ad hoc statements defining terms of suitability for membership.

On the other hand (and I may sound like I'm contradicting myself), one can
well understand where AAM and ICOM are coming from.  Non-profit status for
museums embodies notions of operating institutions and holding collections
for the public trust, and connotes a certain level of stability.  I assume
that for-profit institutions are excluded from membership because they do not
necessarily have the same assumptions (or perhaps we might say they cannot
guarantee that such assumptions will always be valid) about permanence and
the public trust.  Corporate and private museums, however significant and
user-friendly they might be, rely upon the dedication and good will of their
operators for their continuing existence.  As one who once tried
unsuccessfully to help find a (non-profit) home for a corporate museum's
collection which was being dispersed and possibly destroyed because the new
owners of the company wanted to reorganize and jettison the museum, I know
how tentative, contingent, and impermanent such museums can be.

Nevertheless, despite the above admission that non-profit status tends to
support the permanence of a museum and its collections, it's still my
contention that loading the idea of "non-profit" onto a definition of
"museum" is unnecessary and that it is not part of the essence of a museum.
Non-profit status relates to a complex network of laws and regulations which
have evolved over time, and which in any event are not uniform in all
jurisdictions and countries.  I would hate to have the definition of a museum
rely upon a system of laws which theoretically can be changed by the stroke
of a pen.  I think the basic definition or essence of an institution such as
a museum lies outside the laws and regulations which happen to govern it at
any given point.

David Haberstich

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