Transcript Title What is a museum worker?

Museum professional
development and
training in Australia
Dr Lynda Kelly, Australian Museum
Dr Jennifer Barrett, University of
Sydney
The museum sector in
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Australia
• Around 1300 museums across Australia:
– large, national institutions
– small regional museums / historical societies
– Indigenous Keeping Places
• 49% no paid employees:
– over 9,000 volunteers
• 676 museums have paid employees:
– over 7,500 staff – 4,000 full-time; 3,000 part-time
– over 11,000 volunteers
– 13% curatorial staff
What
Titleis a museum worker?
• ICOM definition includes:
“All the personnel of the museum or institutions qualifying as
museums … having received specialist training, or possessing
equivalent practical experience, in any field relevant to the
management and operations of a museum, and independent
persons respecting the ICOM Code of Professional Ethics and
working for museums as defined above, either in a professional or
advisory capacity, but not promoting or dealing with any
commercial products and equipment, required for museums and
services”
Standards
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• Committee on Museum Professional Training
(COMPT/AAM):
– the “… education of museum professionals must enable them
to meet current challenges and anticipate future needs of very
complex organisations subject to ongoing, rapid change”
• International Committee of ICOM for the Training of
Personnel (ICTOP):
– ICOM Curricula Guidelines for Museum Professional
Development
– Selected Resources for Developing Museology Curricula
– define five broad areas of competencies, in areas of
knowledge, skills and abilities, needed to work effectively in
today's museums
Weil
(1990)
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• Majority of museum staff with ‘responsible positions’
never had formal training in museology
• Acknowledged the diversity of sector
• New types of museums need new types of skills and
experience
• Changing role of curator – no longer the single
‘authoritative’ voice
MacLeod
Title (2001)
MUSEUMS
COMMUNITY
OF PRACTICE
PRACTITIONERS
UNIVERSITIES
The
Australian scene
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• Professional development:
– on-the-job experience
– short, intensive training courses
– conferences
• Role of professional associations / government
agencies:
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Museums Australia
mgNSW
Museum and Gallery Services Queensland
Western Australian Museum Assistance Program
Collections Australia Network (CAN)
• Formal university museum studies programs
Challenges
facing museums
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• Funding and sustainability
• Collection acquisition and maintenance
• Change in role and authority of museums:
– due mostly to rise of Web 2.0
– user-generated content
• Globalisation
• Competition
• Staffing:
– attracting younger people as employees
– ageing workforce – capturing their knowledge and skills
• Training and professional development
• Climate change
The
“new museology”
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• Vergo (1989) developed new methods to study:
– a museums’ history and underlying philosophies
– the unspoken aims and policies
– their educational and social roles
• Overall aim to demystify museums to reveal how
museum constructs knowledge while acknowledging
the important role the visitor plays
“36% of online Americans consult Wikipedia ... [it
is] is far more popular among the well-educated
than among those with lower levels of education
... 50% of those with at least a college degree
consult the site, compared to 22% of those with
high school diploma.”
Pew Internet Report Wikipedia Users, April 2007
“Web 2.0 puts users and not the organisation at
the centre of the equation. This is threatening,
but also exciting in that it has the potential to
lead to richer content, a more personal
experience.”
Mike Ellis and Brian Kelly, Web 2.0: How to Stop
Thinking and Start Doing: Addressing Organisational
Barriers, April 2007
Australian data (n=2,006)
• 15% use a wiki
• 10% publish own web page
• 12% upload video/audio you
created
• 8% publish/maintain a blog
• 16% listen to podcasts
• 8% use RSS feeds
• 19% tag web pages
• 13% comment on blogs
• 15% post ratings/reviews
• 34% use social networking site
• 32% participate in discussion
board/forum
• 27% read blogs
Museum/gallery visitors (n=829)
• 20% use a wiki
• 13% publish own web pages
• 15% upload video/audio you
created
• 9% publish/maintain a blog
• 23% listen to podcasts
• 11% use RSS feeds
• 27% tag web pages
• 18% comment on blogs
• 21% post ratings/reviews
• 36% use social networking site
• 39% participate in
discussion board/forum
• 34% read blogs
How might we be working in
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the future??
Handy (2001): The Elephant
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and the Flea
• Think about the business museums are in:
– communicating knowledge & information in a variety of ways
(physical sites, online, publications)
– two-way interaction with range of stakeholders
• Workers increasingly want to believe in what they are
doing
• New models of organisations based on the information
economy:
– Fleas – small teams of generalists & specialists brought
together to work on projects
– Elephants – bring fleas together
– Theatre as an example
– Ageing, yet healthy, workforce
Gurteen (2006): Knowledge
Workers
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connect people with people
connect people with ideas
are good networkers
do not follow the rules
have strong communication
skills
like people
feel good about themselves
motivate others
are catalysts
ask for help
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demonstrate integrity
are self reliant
open to share
are not afraid
are goal oriented
are able to identify critical knowledge
add value to the organisation
have strong subject expertise in a
specific area
• network for results
• trustworthy - can be trusted and trusts
others
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make decisions
are not insular
do not conform
push the boundaries
assume authority - ask for
forgiveness, not permission
strong belief in the value of
knowledge sharing
are informal active leaders
take a holistic view
are catalysts, facilitators and
triggers
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good listeners - they listen first
do not need praise
see the wider picture
work well with others
do not have a 'knowledge is
power' attitude
walk the talk
prepared to experiment with
technology
playful
take calculated risks
What does this mean for future
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professional development??
Museology
2.0
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scope /
quality
building
community
?
Web 2.0
sustainability
/ flexibility
http.//www.australianmuseum.net.au/amarc/
http://amarclk.blogspot.com/