I suspect the situation you have described in New York State is not unusual
nationally.  It might be interesting to do a survey.  The reasons strike me
as several: low pay, finite mission, minimal potential, lack of conviction
about the importance of the site being preserved and interpreted when
compared to other (larger) museums.  Lack of recognition and acceptance of
professionalism on the part of the transitory staff, trustees and
community.

Smaller history museums are often stepping stones for museum professionals
or entry level position for those just coming into the field, or leaving
the field.  Longevity is therefore lost.

good luck with your meeting.  I have organized a session on Collecting
Controversy which will be offered Saturday afternoon.  If I can be of any
help otherwise, please feel free to let me know.  I am only two miles from
the New York border and our museum encompasses regionally adjacent aspects
of New York State history.

Steven Miller
Executive Director
Bennington Museum
West Main Street
Bennington, VT 05201
[log in to unmask]

----------
> From: Anne Ackerson <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Looking for input
> Date: Saturday, September 11, 1999 2:13 PM
>
> Dear Listers:
>
> Last Fall, the Regional Council of Historical Agencies (RCHA), a museum
> service agency based in Cooperstown, NY, developed and implemented a
3-day
> retreat-style institute for new museum directors in NYS.  The project was
> funded by the NYS Council on the Arts. I assisted the director of RCHA in
> developing and implemented the institute (which was a great success, by
the
> way).
>
> A key factor in the conception of the institute was a trend we're seeing
in
> NYS among small to mid-sized history (primarily) museum directors -- that
> is, many have come to their directorships from other careers, some of
those
> careers being totally unrelated to museums.  We're also seeing a number
of
> these institutions going begging for directors, partly (I suppose) due to
> salary, location, and general lack of vision on the part of boards and
> staff to develop the potential of these museums.
>
> The RCHA director, an institute participant and I are going to present a
> panel discussion about the institute at this year's AASLH/MAAM annual
> meeting in Baltimore.  To help frame the discussion, I thought it might
be
> useful to get a handle on the bigger picture.  I'd like to ask the list
if
> the trends we're seeing in smaller institutions in NYS are trends that
are
> happening in other states?  Do you see  a shortage of qualified  museum
> leadership in the smaller institution? How critical is the problem?  What
> can be done to address it?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.  We'll incorporate them into our
> remarks in Baltimore.
>
> Anne Ackerson, Administrator
> Museum Association of New York
> 189 Second Street
> Troy, New York  12180
> 518-273-3400
>
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