Jennifer, My recommended reading material to familiarize yourself with the museum profession is exactly the same as Vincent's response, which I pasted below. However, I will not beat around the bush as to what you will find in the archives. I would guess that well more than 50% of the postings have to do with looking for jobs and about low salaries for those who find them. Salaries, or I should say low salaries, are an ever recurrent thread on MUSEUM-L. Non-profit museums are notorious for wanting new employees to have the best of credentials and yet for paying fast food eatery salaries. It is just a fact of life of this field. You need to read the threads in the archives and then ask yourself if this is really what you want. One frequent and surprising answer is that the interest, the challenge, the atmosphere and the associates are so positive that many are willing to sign on. If on the other hand you aspire to have a nice apartment, a nice car and do a lot of things, once you land a job, you are not likely to find them here. My point is not whether you should look for a job in museums but if you do, do it with your eyes open and with a greater knowledge of the experience of many others. Many of whom woke up with an MA in Art Appreciation, tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt and a job that puts them on the lower rungs of the economic ladder and they angrily and frustratingly wonder how they ever got there. You must make your own decision, but do it in an informed way. I wish you well, John Bing Subject: Re: Recommended reading? From: Vincent Lyon <[log in to unmask]> Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 16:49:08 -0700 You must absolutely read the archive of this newsgroup. I have found in following here, that it gives an excellent idea of work place conditions to expect, as well as a broad profile of people with whom you might be working (if you are lucky and know the right people and are able to get a job.) On Mon, 14 Aug 2000 16:50:16 -0400, Jennifer wrote: >I am a student getting my BA in Museum Studies. I am relatively new to the museum field and was wondering if anyone had any reading recommendations for books to get me more familiar with the museum profession. Anything I must read or stay away from? > >Thanks, >Jennifer Lynn >Tusculum College >Class of 2001 >Go Pioneers! ========================================================Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).