Whenever I get into these discussions during retreats or planning sessions, I always try to get the staff & board involved in determining the PURPOSE of a museum rather than a definition. If one considers the PURPOSE of a museum, it is easy to see that collecting and preserving are not the PURPOSE, but rather a PROCESS. One can also see that education is not necessarily the PURPOSE, but it comes close to the goal of preserving the important aspects of our society so that future generations can (hopefully) learn from the past and work towards an even better future. Of course, we are not sure that society learns from its past, but we in museums can be eternally hopeful. ***************************************************************** D. Neil Bremer Bremer Communications Image and Communication Skills for Business Office: (708) 848-5945 Fax: (708) 848-6011 Email: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.bremercommunications.com ========================================================= 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).