I generally agree that libraries have made their public service point better than museums. Here in NYC the situation is instructive: The libraries in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island are all under one centralized management. Queens and Brooklyn, I think (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) are separate entities. However, they all lobby for budget money in a pretty coordinated fashion. They are tremendously effective in getting the public to write to council-people and the mayor, and any other major player. Their press coverage is better than paid advertising: miraculously positive in this day and age of muckraking journalism. They have also positioned themselves as vital resources for schools and businesses, social service programs, and general do-gooders. By contrast the museums are all administered separately, with their own boards of directors, administrators, strengths and weaknesses in program and collections, etc, etc. We have struggled mightily to present a unified voice, but our interests are quite disparate. Even those museums who receive significant city funding, who have coalesced in the Cultural Institutions Group, all have divergent interests, big from small, outer borough vs Manhattan, living collections vs...*dead collections* (I work in a botanical garden, so I might have the lingo a bit skewed). But you get the point. The Libraries have been superb in presenting their case, and in providing services. They are a vital resource for families of all social and economic groups, they are located in every council person's back yard, and their message is clear and coordinated. The Museums are all over the map in terms of their message: are we economic development and tourist draws, are we educational resources, are we luxuries for the upper crust, better supported through private donors, are we dusty warehouses for dead white male art? These are the issues we struggle with year in and year out, in terms of our own practices and our public's perception. Our very diversity, while a strength for the City as a whole, makes it very difficult to present ourselves clearly. As far as professional qualifications, In New York, at least, the level of professionalism has improved dramatically in the past ten years, in my experience. While there may be an absences of standardized certifications, I don't get the sense that curators are under-qualified, let alone administrators and educators. Eric Siegel [log in to unmask]