> In other words, at our facility, the issues of the forest
> are far greater than the issue of a single tree.  What I am
> driving at is that institutions are at variuous stages of
> professional growth, and I'm willing to bet that there is
> a far greater need for general knowledge among the majority
> of the nation's museums than specialized knowledge.

You are absolutely right! Also right on the mark when you suggested there
are likely many museums in a similar situation.  So many collections were
started with the object in mind, a kind of isolated curiosity. Perhaps
this is where we can identify the goals of our collections. Our visitors
are not all "specialists of agricultural tools." Our curators need to
help encompass all of the myriad of general information in the collection
and share that same initial interest that started our collections in the
first place.  In many historical centers we cannot afford specialized
positions, or even basic positions. Thus our curator becomes the
conservator, registar, educator and a list of other duties that defend the
public trust.

It is as if we have been given a treasure chest the size of a city and as
much as we want to seek knowledge and expertise from each of the thousands
treasures, it is simply far too overwhelming. What we must do is remember
what our goals are and where we started, who we exist for. Our curators
are doing the best they can to take this mass of information and make it
manageable. What a dream to have a job as our friend the "agricultural
tools specialist" if only to be so lucky to focus on one thing. For now
all of us involved in musuems must jump into the fray and devote all our
skills to defining a focus in a city of treasures.


Colleen Sharpe
summer curatorial assistant
Heritage Park
Calgary, Alberta

"A body at rest cannot be stopped!"