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Date: | Sat, 22 Jul 1995 21:41:48 -0600 |
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>From: David Haberstich <[log in to unmask]>
>I'd like to add a MAJOR dissent to Cathy Brady's minor dissent about the use
of
> the word "center." Take it from someone who works in a "center": you do end
u
>p spending a lot of time explaining what your organization does because
"center
>" is such an ambiguous, meaningless, essentially STUPID buzzword. It's
becomin
>g one of the most overworked words in the English language. My advice is to
re
>sist this asinine fad of naming everything from a closetful of A-V equipment a
>"media center" to a whole county office building a "multifunctional center" (I
>have such an absurdity in my county). I think it's an exercise in obscurantism
>to call everything a center, and I can't see pandering to people who think
they
> hate museums by sneakily calling it a "center" instead; sooner or later
people
> will catch on and will deliberately stay ON THE EDGE, avoiding all centers!
>Let's stop cheapening the language this way. If you're a museum, say so
proudl
>y: to call yourself a "history center" is an exercise in non-communication.
Of
> course, if you're trying to expand and do more than traditional museum
functio
>ns so that you think the word "museum" is inadequate to describe what you do,
m
>aybe it's a signal that you're becoming unfocussed and losing sight of your
mis
>sion! --David Haberstich
I'd like to agree with you on one buzzword and raise you another - heritage.
If there has ever been a word abused into uselessness, that has to be it. In
our area we have real estate ads reading "Heritage houses - pick your colours
now !". The idea of calling a museum a heritage centre makes my skin crawl.
I am curator of a small community museum and archives near Vancouver, BC and
we just call it the Maple Ridge Museum and Archives. No confusion there.
Val.
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