This Boston Globe (3/20/2003) article will likely disappear today into the
paid archives, so if you think you might want to read it, you may want to
do it soon.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/079/living/MFA_cancels_spring_catalog+.shtml
Basically, the story tells the sad tale of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts'
apparently unsuccessful attempt to spin-off a catalog company (MEP).
Here is a brief excerpt for review purposes:
Daniel Ranalli, director of BU's arts administration program, wonders why
the MFA has taken so long to get out of retail. In class, when he's used
the merchandise department's balance sheet as an exercise, he says his
students can't believe how much the MFA spends to bring in what is, even in
good times, a minuscule profit.
Clearly, Ranalli says, the museum's attempt to run MEP hasn't been successful.
''If you're going to develop a for-profit subsidiary of the museum, it
ought to make a profit,'' he said. ''If by doing this you're trading off
some decision about aesthetics or educational validity, why do that?
Anybody can lose money. The old staff was able to do that.''
If the article is already gone from the Boston Globe site, go to Google,
select News search, and enter ["museum of fine arts" boston mep] and you
should go right to it.
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VERITAS INFORMATION SERVICES, 9 Alton St., Arlington, MA 02474
(781) 643-7811; (781) 643-1136 (fax) mailto:[log in to unmask]
Fundraising Research Consulting http://www.veritasinfo.com
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