This won’t help for the short term (ie the parade) but – is it a board that is willing to participate on working committees or task forces? Sometimes the best way to get people to understand a point of view is to have them “discover” it themselves, rather than being told. So – you could solicit participation in a task force to develop a collections policy – even just a very straightforward how we use the artifacts policy. And give them sources to look at other policies – perhaps they could go and talk with someone at another institution, or look online at policies. Make them responsible for finding the standards. And to expand on Michael’s question about who they answer to – what is the funding source of the historical society? Where did they get the money to hire you? If there is any public grant money involved, then that is another motivator for instilling professional standards. Agree also with Michael that bringing in an outsider can also be effective – especially if it is someone who is their “peer” – a board member from another similar institution that does follow best practices. Good luck! Cindy Boyer Director of Public Programs The Landmark Society of Western New York 133 S. Fitzhugh St. Rochester NY 14608 (585) 546-7029 ext. 12 [log in to unmask] Fax: (585) 546-4788 www.landmarksociety.org<http://www.landmarksociety.org/> Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12149056258> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Rebman Sent: Friday, July 08, 2016 1:45 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Board Members and Artifacts Rachael, Is this a non-profit board that answers to nobody else? Or is it a board that answers to a municipality or county government? If the former, you could hopefully educate them or find an outsider who can explain best standards and practices. If the latter, you could ask the municipal or county government for a new board, since the board is not allowing you to do your job and is posing a direct threat to the safety of the artifacts held in public trust. Michael R. On Fri, Jul 8, 2016 at 11:19 AM, Rachael Ward <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: Hello All! I am currently the director of a small historical society and museum where I am the first museum professional to be employed for their site. In a nut shell, there are no archival records of any sort, no collections room, collections policy, no provenance for a majority of the artifacts - essentially I’m starting from the ground up. Which, as trying as it is at times, isn’t why I’m writing to you all. The board of directors and I view the treatment of artifacts in drastically different manner. In the most recent scenario (and trust me when I say there are MANY scenarios), they came to me asking if they could use some of the artifacts (props as they termed them), on a float for local township parades. I explained that the artifacts could be harmed or stolen by exposing them to all the manner of variables a parade brings (rain, falling off a wagon and breaking, someone snatching the artifact when they weren’t looking), but they did not see the harm in this and continued to press the subject. I then tried to bring up other institutions and professional standards in the field of museums and let them know that it, quite frankly, is not acceptable, again not changing their minds. They ultimately have the final say and so I have expressed to them that I would respect their decisions regarding artifact usage outside the confines of museum, as is their right as the board. My question for you all is this: How do I convey to them that what they are choosing to do is harmful to the artifacts other than what I have already done? They claim to want to increase their professional standing in the museum community, but are unwilling to listen to my professional advice. I have had my fair share of ‘interesting’ situations regarding, shall we say, eccentric boards in my career, but this takes the cake. I’m at a loss on how to help them understand the ways of our field. Any advice on how you may have handled a similar situation would be greatly appreciated. I want to see this institution succeed, but right now that is looking rather bleak. -- Rachael Ward ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 ========================================================= 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).