Greetings. The theme running through most of the articles in this issue of the Bulletin is "change." Patricia Williams and Beverly Sheppard discuss the changing demands placed on museums today and what we can expect tomorrow. Marjorie Harth, one of our fellows in museum practice, writes about changing views in the curatorship and management of indigenous collections.
News of more change is to be found here in this column. The Center for Museum Studies is changing. We are merging with the Smithsonian Office of Education (SOE) to form the newest unit of the Smithsonian Institution. We will work together to promote understanding and use of museums and to enhance the capabilities of the museum work force. These goals, as stated in our strategic plan, are not just words on paper. Our two offices have worked for a year to examine our purpose, develop our mission, and reach agreement on what we do and why. In the process we have met with our program alumni, leaders in the museum community, and heads of other museum service organizations. They helped us gain an understanding of what works and what doesn't work. We discussed our role at a national level and examined what makes us unique within the United States museum community.
We learned a great deal more about the work of SOE Director Ann Bay and her staff to help schools and museums work together. Both offices share a public service mission and a commitment to helping museums realize their full potential as community resources. It is not trite to say that public service is our "middle name." The center has been, from the days when it was the Office of Museum Programs, an outreach arm of the Smithsonian, serving the nation's museum workforce with workshops and other professional development opportunities.
We have also learned about change itself. In institutions as tradition-bound as museums are sometimes wont to be, the very idea of change can be a challenge, a frightening jolt. People have invested their professional lives in endeavors that suddenly appear to be questioned. They ask "What is happening?" and "Why are we doing this?" In order to provide satisfactory answers we had many open and honest discussions about why we matter and what value we bring to the Institution and to the museum community. The process was hard and was not without stumbles, some a bit painful. However, I encourage everyone to go through this, and not because misery loves company. David Bowie sings that "Changes are taking the pace I am going through." In a post-modern world, these words probably sum up the tensions that all of us will face at some point in our lives, or at several points in our lives. Look no further for proof of this than in the academic programs that now offer graduate degrees in change management!
So what are we doing? Our refined mission is "to interpret the collective knowledge of the Smithsonian and serve as a gateway to the Institution's educational resources. Through research, publishing, and staff development programs for the education and museum communities, the Center promotes the understanding and use of museums."
To serve this mission we have already begun a national survey of post academic museum training in the United States and we plan to establish an electronic calendar of nation-wide training opportunities. Working with other museum service organizations, we are identifying core museum issues such as compensation and career tracking which demand further study. We are exploring ways to offer programming around the country, including services and curriculum resources that other groups, such as state museum associations, can use to deliver their own training. We are fund raising for Smithsonian internships aimed at economically disadvantaged students. Our merger with the Smithsonian Office of Education gives us an obvious advantage in developing programming aimed at expanding museum/school relations. We will continue to offer our highly successful "Diversity, Leadership and Museums" seminar as well as workshops for American Indian tribal museums. We will continue plan to publish the Bulletin and will re-design our Web site, www.si.edu/cms.htm
The staff members at the Center for Museum Studies deserve much credit for their work over the last year. At times it was difficult to conduct business as usual while engaged in internal discussion about just what that business should be. The staff's shared vision of our public service mission and its impact led us throughout and will be instrumental in shaping our ambitious agenda for museums in the coming years. I know some of you have met the staff here at the Center, let me briefly introduce everyone to you. Karen Cooper has led our American Indian Museum Studies Program and is now manager of all our training programs. Nancy Fuller is our research manager, continuing to direct the Fellowships in Museum Practice program. Now, she will also lead the new office in establishing a national research agenda in museum studies. Bettie Lee has coordinated many of our workshops and now will be responsible for our Washington, DC-based programming, including programs for Smithsonian staff. Elena Mayberry has served as our Intern Services coordinator and is now responsible for experiential programming, including our highly successful partnership with Montgomery College and its Paul Peck Humanities Institute. Stephen Weil continues as our senior scholar emeritus, offering his customary sage advice, opinions and insights on the nature and direction of museums. All of us continue to receive daily support from Eleanor David, our budget analyst, and Toni Willis, our program assistant and receptionist. As many of you know, we are also the home of the Museum Reference Center Branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. We depend on its librarian, Valerie Wheat, and her great breadth of knowledge about museums, and also on the friendly support of her assistant, Dawn Hawkins.
In the end, none of this change will be of much good if it does not deliver services to you and the rest of the museum community. As the national museum, the Smithsonian has a special mandate to reach out across the United States and help museums realize their full potential as community- centered organizations. I don't mean to boast, but to be able to work toward that goal makes me feel that we at the museum studies center have some of the best jobs in the world.