HARVEY DAVID ... COLLECTIONS wrote:

> The big question is whether all kinds of scales of museums and exhibits and interpretation approaches can be sustained and whether everything we do will be consumed by the psychology of entertainment, marketing, and merchandising.  As we creep ever closer to this is it any wonder that visitors might first mistake us for theme parks and then come to expect it of us?

I agree with Harvey about questioning the efficacy of museums pursing an economy of scales when it comes to how we measure our success. Why are we -- primarily large museums -- obsessed with comparing ourselves to,  and competing with, the private, for-profit sector? By following this course it is becoming increasingly difficult for smaller organizations to survive, while larger ones are forced to compromise. We can't possibly try and compete with a corporation like Disney, nor should we try. Bigger is not always better.
--
Daniel C. Danzig
Coordinator, Grants & Government Funding
Natural History Museum Foundation
of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA  90007
Phone: (213) 763-3309
Fax: (213) 746-2249
Email: [log in to unmask]

http://www.nhm.org