To Museumellers,

The discussion about breaking up museum-l into component parts brings to
mind one result of a museum survey I once conducted.  Among other  things,
the survey tracked how individuals within the museum saw their role and
their set of responsibilities as a function of museum tasks.  One of the
more interesting results indicated that the younger staff members, by and
large, saw their set of responsibilities as limited to just their
particular specialization and its tasks, while the older, more experienced
staff members saw their roles as all encompassing and wide ranging, often
overlapping the jobs of others.

I concluded that those who had more experience and whose devotion was
tested by the passing of time had a greater stake in the welfare of the
museum as an institution, while those new to the field, who were just
learning about their job and its responsibilities had a much more narrow
focus and set of needs.

I wonder whether it is the younger members of museum-l who are more
interested in breaking it up, and the older ones who would prefer to keep
it whole.


Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93, Larchmont N.Y. 10538
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