My understanding is that a recent study, done perhaps by AAM, is that there are over 7,000 Museum Studies people currently in school, and that the figure doesn't include related areas like Art, Art History, and broader Education majors. That doesn't seem to indicate a lower level of knowledge, nor that the museum field has shrunk, but, instead, the opposite seems to be happening. -Steve Eichner Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated [log in to unmask] ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: why museum salaries are low Author: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> at Internet Date: 7/28/97 11:42 AM At 06:49 AM 7/28/97 GMT, you wrote: >continue-In the history and some art fields the curatorial profession is >already much smaller and the skill level lower than it was ten years ago. >Until the 1980's nearly every museum had curators who were expert in some >area. I'm not sure the knowledge level is lower, or that the field has begun to shrink for that matter. People may know different things, but there are still knowledgable curators in museums across the country who do interesting and innovative research. We know so much more and present so much more in museums about the lives of ordinary men and especially women and minorities. A great deal of the basic research in material culture and folklife has been done by museum curators and interpeters. I don't see how a case can be made for a decline in expertise among curators and myuseum staff generally. >They were knowledgable about glass or local history or Southern >furniture or folk art or costumes or widgets. And they still are. > Now the typical curator has a good background in visitor services, computer catalogs, a little knowledge of legal issues, taken a couple of courses in non-profit accounting And that's a good thing! Try and keep a museum running without knowing these things. Such knowledge is necessary and people who know it are essential >and so on but subject matter is kind of an after thought. Sort >of a one size fits all. I'm not sure what museum training program you are refering to, but without denying that there may be one that treats subject matter as an "after thought", I have never seen or read about one in more than 20 years in the field. And in the course of developing our curriculum I investigated a large number of programs' curricula. Everyone in the field knows that subject matter knowledge is important and every program I've looked at includes course work to develop both that knowledge and the tools for developing it in the course of a professional career. In terms of growth, while museums and cultural institutions generally remain understaffed, there has been some growth, largely related to the rise in heritage tourism. It hasn't produced enough jobs for those wanting to work in the field and qualified to so, and it hasn't produced adequate salaries, and it may not last, but the problem is not, profession-wide, declining employment opportunities. And, it most definitely is not a decline in knowledge among museum professionals. William H. Mulligan, Jr. [[log in to unmask]] Associate Professor of History Director, Public History Programs Forrest C. Pogue Public History Institute Murray State University Murray, KY 42071-0009 Phone:(502) 762-6571 Fax: (502) 762-6587 Home Phone:(502) 753-9033