>Where might a new museum obtain collections especially considering the
>low budget?  I think it would be wise to advertise the opening of the
>museum in the newspaper and hope people would bring thier old things to
>it to donate or obtain a loan as the first exhibit.


The Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana was faced with this
problem when they first formed, except they had no building (just money to
build one).  You might try contacting Karen Vincent at (317) 282-4848.
Their first staff people were the director and collections manager (the c.m.
was Esther Hockett, who is now the Executive Director of Midwest Museums
Conference in St. Louis), then they added a curator after a few months.

Good luck.

Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center