Hello Maggie,

I was not addressing the popularity of such a window, but
offering my personal reaction.  Of course it is popular to
watch museum staff at work.  My point, perhaps stated better
in the form of a question, is: Is it appropriate to make
staff work in such an environment?  If staff want to, great!
But what about those staff who would be too self-conscious
or distracted to work under such conditions?

Second, I did not suggest museum work should be a "secret."
(Obviously, some areas of the museum ought to be kept secure
. . . which is different than "secret.")  On the contrary, I
suggested 'behind the scenes' tours which would, based on my
experience, be less intrusive to curators and collections
staff.  I have taken 'behind the scenes' tours in several
museums (or arts organizations) -- some regularly scheduled
and some specially arranged -- for example: Royal Ontario
Museum (Toronto, ON, Canada), Stratford Festival (Stratford,
ON, Canada), Museum of Anthropology (UBC in Vancouver, BC,
Canada), Musee Matisse (Nice, France), Kunsthistoriche
Museum (Vienna, Austria).  A volunteer can explain in words
what goes on . . . far more "educational" than merely
watching the activity with no interpretive information, and
far cheaper than producing a documentary film.

I recognize my opinion differs from most on Museum-L.  All
arguments in favor of having such a window on curatorial and
collections work are well known.  But how many on this list
are bold enough to think about museum staff every once in a
while rather than the public's right to see and be educated?

Sincerely,

Jay Heuman, Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
342-3300 (telephone)     342-2376 (fax)       www.joslyn.org


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Maggie Harrer
> Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 5:37 pm
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Viewing Collections Work Rooms
>
> Dear Jay,
> Actually this method was used at the "Exploratorium" in
San
> Francisco and became one of the most popular "exhibits."
The
> audience LOVED seeing exhibits in the making, and
artifacts
> being created or restored.  Surely it could be limited if
some
> aspects of the work wanted to be done behind closed doors
>.....but the sense of getting involved in the actual life
of the
> museum was so strong...talk about bringing your audience
> into the museum, that really does it.
>
> Why should it be some secret?
> Best, M

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