Yup, talk about overreacting. It isn't necessarily about change, but about how to deal with life as it punches the heck out of you, in a museum setting of course. O Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard Yorba Linda, CA 92886 (714) 993-5075; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail: [log in to unmask] On Tue, 17 Feb 1998 19:18:30 EST David Haberstich <[log in to unmask]> writes: > I can't say anything about this book because I haven't read it, but I >would like to give an opinion on "change"--in museums or anywhere. >There >seems to be a sort of institutional prejudice against people who >"really >don't want to change." To maintain perspective, don't forget that >"change" is not automatically good. There's something uncomfortably >Orwelleian about the implication that all change is good and must be >accepted. > Much change is NOT good, such as the changes Hitler brought to >Germany; some changes are neither good nor bad, just different, and >sometimes a difference is a good idea, sometimes not (if it ain't >broke, >don't fix it) and sometimes you can't tell until the smoke clears. >Sometimes the mechanism to accomplish a "good" change is badly >engineered. Anyway, I don't believe all change--in museums or >anywhere-- >must be embraced with alacrity. I hope museums and related >institutions >take a critical and cautious attitude toward proposed changes in >missions, programs, administration, etc.--neither too quick nor too >slow >to change things that need changing--but willing to debate and >evaluate, >and have the wisdom not to change things that can't or shouldn't be >changed. > Opposing change out of fusty rigidity is the problem people fret >about, but sometimes opposition to a proposed change on the grounds >that >it's harmful is mistaken for rigidity by change enthusiasts unwilling >to >let a conservative viewpoint upset some juggernaut of change. In the >area of historic architectural preservation, developers try to be >agents >of change by demolishing historic structures, calling their opponents >old fuddy-duddies, out of tune with the times. It's ironic that people >who seek to perform a similar "conservative" function within their own >institutions sometimes get the "developer" response from their >colleagues. > Sometimes change impacts negatively upon one's career, and it >should be obvious why such a change might be resisted (with good >reason); if you believe in what you're doing and you're told the >coming >change means you can't do it any more, you may think the change is a >huge mistake). With the arrival of a new director at the Baltimore >Museum of Art, the abrupt dismissal of the head curator has stunned >the >staff; the rationale for this change seems to be a change in mission. >When the human consequences of a change are so severe, it might be a >good idea to question the foundation of the change, as well as its >implementation. > I don't mean to overreact to the mere mention of "change," but >change in museums is not automatically good, any more than it is in >other spheres of activity. As far as change being "traumatic" is >concerned, I suggest that the more ill-advised or unnecessary a change >is, the more trauma that may ensue. Guess I'd better read this book. > --David Haberstich > _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]