Albany Times Union Letters to the Editor, first published Thursday, June 18, 2009
Recently there have been attempts in New York and elsewhere to monetize museum collections and to use that money for purposes other than the protection and expansion of collections. The Troy Public Library is an example ("Troy Public Library sculptures on auction block," June 9.)
The economic downturn has increased the financial pressure on these cultural institutions. However, selling pieces of their collections is inconsistent with accepted practice.
Without a law, the financial pressure and the bean counters will endanger collections that took centuries to acquire, many of which were donated by people who may not have intended to have their gifts sold. Unless these rules are codified, the integrity and existence of collections handed to us by earlier generations will be endangered.
Libraries and museums aren't private businesses. They are the custodians of our common cultural and historical heritage and have always been publicly supported, be it by tax preferences or direct cash. Collections aren't assets, to be tapped when things get genuinely difficult. If you sell sculptures to keep the doors open, soon you'll have open doors and no sculptures.
We have worked with the Board of Regents and the Museum Association of New York to craft legislation (A.6959) that incorporates the long-standing policies of most museums that are necessary to protect our cultural heritage in a time of economic stress. We urge you to join us in support.
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky
92nd Assembly District
Elmsford
Thursday, June 18, 2009
How Museums Inspire Me
The first of our Wordles and haikus have arrived! We here at MANY look forward to your thoughts about how museums inspire (or challenge) you.
A haiku by David Palmquist, Head, Museum Chartering, NY State Museum:
The deaccessioned
work of art screams
but no one hears
From Lisa Delmonico, Director of Development, Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (NYC):
Museum tagline:
"Washington did not sleep here,
and neither can you."
Visit the MANY website for more.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Get Creative!
What's your vision for the future of the state's museum community? Where are we going as a community of practice and how do we get there? What do you as museum practitioners and museum-goers need to meet your vision? How do we harness our collective power? How can MANY help?
Get creative and tell us!
- create a wordle image from your written vision by going to www.wordle.net
- make a 1-minute (or less) video about your vision and email it to us or post it directly on YouTube
- email us photos of what you think museums do best
- compose a haiku
- post your thoughts on this blog
- plan to come to a conversation (see the schedule in the previous post)
- take the survey (the address for it is in the previous post, too)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Strategic Planning at MANY
As we work this year to update the MANY strategic plan, we are asking our members and supporters to help us set the course for our future. You have three ways to become involved in this important process: · attend one of the following discussions to ask your questions and offer your insights about advocacy, legislation, standards and trends affecting your work. Here’s the schedule so far:
Monday, June 8: Holland Land Office
Museum, Batavia; 3-5 pm
Tuesday, June 9: Tanglewood Nature
Center, Elmira; 1-3 pm
Wednesday, June 10: Oneida Community
Mansion House, Oneida; 10 am – Noon
Wednesday, June 10: Shaker Heritage
Society, Albany; 3-5 pm
Friday, June 26: Manitoga,
Garrison; 10-Noon
Thursday, July 9: Alley Pond
Environmental Center, Douglaston (Nassau County); 1-3
pm
Friday, July 10: Long Island
Museum, Stony Brook (Suffolk County); 10-Noon
Dates and locations are being confirmed for NYC.
AND....use this blog to tell us what your vision is for New York state's museum community
Photo: The Future Looks Bright by Cayusa
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Deliberating Deaccession
Posted by Senator José M. SerranoAlthough I am a frequent blogger, this is actually my first time delving into the guest-blog-stratosphere, and I am honored to do so on the MANY website. As the new Chairman of the Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, I am focused on exploring ways the State Legislature can best support and promote the tremendous cultural and natural assets within the State of New York.
Of course, this is not an easy time to be a proponent of arts and culture. On the one hand, the State is facing a massive fiscal crisis with looming budget cuts across the State. On the other hand, we know that New York’s creative sector will play a vital role in our economic recovery.
Cultural institutions, such as museums, make an enormous contribution to the State economy by stimulating tourist activity, creating jobs, utilizing other local businesses and generating tax revenue. In other words, it makes good financial sense to support the arts in New York. Not to mention, the contribution that the arts make to our quality of life and the health of our society which is immeasurable. This isn’t just political rhetoric, if you take a look at my legislative grants (AKA member items) you can see how serious I am about supporting the arts. Not only did I provide funding for a variety of art organizations, but I also took the unprecedented step of allocating $250,000 to the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) for grant-making purposes.
Museums throughout the state are grappling with enormous financial problems. Unfortunately, Museums are being forced to lay off staff and manage their collections, buildings and programs with fewer resources. In some instances, museums and other cultural institutions have been driven to consider deaccessioning and then sell collection items to raise needed funds. No matter how few times this has happened, I am deeply concerned about the effect this could have on the long-term health of our cultural institutions and what this means for the cultural heritage of our state.
I recently convened a committee meeting to discuss legislation (S.4584/A.6959) related to museum “deaccessioning” that I have introduced (along with co-sponsoring Senators Hassell-Thompson, Little, Montgomery, Morahan, and Schneiderman). To help us understand the intricacies of the bill, the committee was joined by Assembly sponsors, Assembly members Brodsky and Titone. Representatives from the Museum Association of New York, Everson Museum, Hudson River Museum, and the New York State Museum were on hand to offer their perspective on the fiscal crisis facing museums and the proposed legislation. All of our guests did a phenomenal job helping us to hash out the particulars of the bill. As a result, my colleagues and I have identified several flaws in the bill and are diligently working on some necessary revisions.
The fiscal crisis may be temporary, but the long term effects of unfettered deaccessioning will be long lasting. This legislation will place some necessary limits on deaccessioning without being overly restrictive. While changes to the bill are in the works, the essential goal of the bill will remain the same---help us maintain the cultural heritage of the State of New York in a time of deep fiscal crisis.
Just as I was able to work with the museum community on the issue of deaccessioning, I look forward to working closely with all members of the museum community on future issues. Together we can ensure New York remains the premier cultural destination in the world.
Museums throughout the state are grappling with enormous financial problems. Unfortunately, Museums are being forced to lay off staff and manage their collections, buildings and programs with fewer resources. In some instances, museums and other cultural institutions have been driven to consider deaccessioning and then sell collection items to raise needed funds. No matter how few times this has happened, I am deeply concerned about the effect this could have on the long-term health of our cultural institutions and what this means for the cultural heritage of our state.
I recently convened a committee meeting to discuss legislation (S.4584/A.6959) related to museum “deaccessioning” that I have introduced (along with co-sponsoring Senators Hassell-Thompson, Little, Montgomery, Morahan, and Schneiderman). To help us understand the intricacies of the bill, the committee was joined by Assembly sponsors, Assembly members Brodsky and Titone. Representatives from the Museum Association of New York, Everson Museum, Hudson River Museum, and the New York State Museum were on hand to offer their perspective on the fiscal crisis facing museums and the proposed legislation. All of our guests did a phenomenal job helping us to hash out the particulars of the bill. As a result, my colleagues and I have identified several flaws in the bill and are diligently working on some necessary revisions.
The fiscal crisis may be temporary, but the long term effects of unfettered deaccessioning will be long lasting. This legislation will place some necessary limits on deaccessioning without being overly restrictive. While changes to the bill are in the works, the essential goal of the bill will remain the same---help us maintain the cultural heritage of the State of New York in a time of deep fiscal crisis.
Just as I was able to work with the museum community on the issue of deaccessioning, I look forward to working closely with all members of the museum community on future issues. Together we can ensure New York remains the premier cultural destination in the world.
Photo: Statue sunbathing in the new Greek/Roman room at the Met by ext212, flickr
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Conference Draws 250+ to Tarrytown
Opening Keynoter, Nina SimonThis year's Upstate History Alliance/Museum Association of New York conference underwent a major redo that focused plenaries and sessions on conversations. The range of topics was not only timely, but meant to attract museum professionals, board members, volunteers and students from across the wide spectrum of the field. The goal was to be a fresh, issues-oriented, and dynamic gathering of colleagues.
Did we succeed?
One participant made it a point of seeking me out to tell me that she really enjoyed the conference more than other years. "The discussion format allowed for more issues to be raised that never would have gotten out on the table," she said. Indeed, it's hard to predict where a topic might go when left to a group to manage it, but that was part of the intent...and, hopefully, the joy one gets from discovering something new or different.
Judging from the high buzz among participants in many venues, it seems that we got close. As we continue to refine and practice the conversational method, we will no doubt get better.
So, let us know your impressions of Tarrytown 2009.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Staffing Cutbacks and Hiring Freezes on Rise in NYS' Museum Community
Pre-Recession Facts
17,000+ the number of people employed in the New York State’s museums and heritage organizations
3.1% projected employment growth by the New York State Bureau of Labor Statistics for museums until 2016
$1 Billion+ the operating expenditures of New York State museums, the majority of these expenses are returned to the state’s economy in the form of wages, purchases, and sales taxes.
The Labor Situation Now
In polling conducted by MANY of its membership in January and March 2009:
· institutional operating deficits are significantly on the rise (from 36% of reporting institutions in January to 53% of reporting institutions in March)
· staff cuts and/or freezes are now in effect at nearly half of reporting institutions
Staff reductions are running between 10-20% at institutions across the state. Furloughs and salary cuts are two measures some museums are using to avoid layoffs.
The vast majority of museums in New York State are small, historical societies and historic sites. Many of these institutions employ part-time professional staff, such as curators, educators and tour guides. These employees may be the first to be laid off because of their part-time status or they may be forced to leave because they cannot afford to stay in a part-time situation. Wrote one museum director, “I am very afraid that we will lose the talented recent Cooperstown graduate who is our part-time education director. She has mentioned that people who work in low skill jobs such as warehouses earn more than she does.”
The Impact
· reductions in museum programming that benefit New York State residents
· a “brain drain” of talent from the field to other fields where employment may be more stable, pays more and offers benefits
17,000+ the number of people employed in the New York State’s museums and heritage organizations
3.1% projected employment growth by the New York State Bureau of Labor Statistics for museums until 2016
$1 Billion+ the operating expenditures of New York State museums, the majority of these expenses are returned to the state’s economy in the form of wages, purchases, and sales taxes.
The Labor Situation Now
In polling conducted by MANY of its membership in January and March 2009:
· institutional operating deficits are significantly on the rise (from 36% of reporting institutions in January to 53% of reporting institutions in March)
· staff cuts and/or freezes are now in effect at nearly half of reporting institutions
Staff reductions are running between 10-20% at institutions across the state. Furloughs and salary cuts are two measures some museums are using to avoid layoffs.
The vast majority of museums in New York State are small, historical societies and historic sites. Many of these institutions employ part-time professional staff, such as curators, educators and tour guides. These employees may be the first to be laid off because of their part-time status or they may be forced to leave because they cannot afford to stay in a part-time situation. Wrote one museum director, “I am very afraid that we will lose the talented recent Cooperstown graduate who is our part-time education director. She has mentioned that people who work in low skill jobs such as warehouses earn more than she does.”
The Impact
· reductions in museum programming that benefit New York State residents
· a “brain drain” of talent from the field to other fields where employment may be more stable, pays more and offers benefits
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