Donating the royalties would be a nice gesture, but really wouldn't make much difference to the bank account of the museum or the curator. After all, we aren't talking about a bestselling thriller with print runs in the hundreds of thousands. And I doubt the curator had a financial windfall in mind when he or she opted to retain copyright. Keeping the copyright allows an author to change the book or use material from it in other projects legally and without asking permission of another copyright holder. So, for example, if the curator wants to produce another book and reprint a page from the original book that perfectly describes something, there will be no permission fee to pay to someone else to use his or her own words.

Although at first blush this situation sounded suspect, I do not see it as a real conflict of interest. If the curator agreed with the museum's board (or other ruling body) to produce a book using images from the collection and to do so on his or her own time, then retaining copyright seems a fair recompense for the work. A professional writer would have required a fee to do the same thing. As it is, the museum has a nice new book to sell that was written by an knowledgeable expert, and the curator has a nice new credit for his or her CV. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Elizabeth

On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 2:04 PM, lucysperlin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

An Arcadia book was made from our collections in similar manner, however, the curator donates all royalties to the Historical Society. I’d say that the curator put in some personal work to do the book and might receive something for that; the society gets some public image which may bring in other research dollars, but certainly at minimum, I’d ask the curator to split the royalties.

Lucy Sperlin

Chico, California

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Odell
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2013 9:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Conflict of Interest?

Thank you for so many thoughtful responses - excellent points!

Some responses to your questions:

Shana: The curator was given access to the images after hours (when the museum was closed). I don't know what equipment was used. Additional images were solicited from the public, and interested donors were asked to contact the curator at the museum. The curator met with image donors at the museum, during regular work hours. The book's acknowledgements thank the museum and state that "unless otherwise credited the images in this book are from the museum's collection." When asked about paying fees, the curator responded "If I have to pay for the images, I am not doing the book." This was my red-flag moment. (I am not the curator).

Robin: There is a conflict of interest policy, but it only applies to the board, not staff.

Cedar: This is a done deal - and it just feels wrong to me, and so I've come to you. So grateful for your first hand Arcadia experience! Lots of food for thought there . . .

Barbara: I raised my concerns with both the director and the board. Blank looks all around . . .

With gratitude -- Beth

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