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I think what John articulated here is correct but perhaps unfortunate. </div>
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I would love it if there were an international guild of museum curatorial staff that had an apprenticeship system. (Or, alternatively, if collections management were professionalized to a greater degree and we became similar to university professors, art museum
curators, or librarians.) But neither scenario is currently the case.<span></span><span></span></div>
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It seems clear that: 1. there is a huge degree of variation in the way institutions treat collections staff, but that by and large, institutions tend to undervalue and poorly treat collections staff compared to, say, collections-affiliated faculty (in university
affiliated collections, or in freestanding museums with academic rank systems that divide staff and faculty), and 2. we should collectively make it a priority to advance our field in a way that makes careers in collections work more accessible for newcomers
and more economically sustainable / professionally fulfilling / for existing practitioners.<span></span></div>
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I think it is interesting to note the discrepancy between the public’s conception of our work and our professional treatment. I have rarely encountered someone who didn’t think collections work was the coolest job someone could possibly have.<span></span></div>
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But we can’t eat ‘coolness’. The poor compensation and lack of professional autonomy that many collections staff experience is a serious problem in the field.<span></span></div>
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I wonder how people in SPNHC might view something like professional certifications akin to those employed by the Ecological Society of America, as a route towards professionalization: <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.esa.org/certification/certification-requirements-checklist/" style="color: rgb(0, 120, 212);">https://www.esa.org/certification/certification-requirements-checklist/</a><span></span></div>
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These are certifications that are meant to guarantee that the certified practitioner has a certain level of expertise in a shared body of knowledge. These certs are held by academics, government ecologists, and ecologists in private industry, and often form
a prerequisite for hiring at certain levels.<span></span><span></span></div>
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There is an effort right now in the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society to implement a similar certification for 'Professional Malacologist' (in the sense of a professional freshwater mussel surveyor skilled in freshwater mussel identification and field
survey methods, commonly used in the US environmental consulting field).</div>
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Maybe SPNHC would benefit from this, or maybe not. I don't personally think professionalization necessarily guarantees better treatment or better pay, and it could serve as an unnecessary barrier to entry for newcomers to the field.</div>
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(Ex. The <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D6B538A4BBBA23CE4F4DB83FBEC95517/S0025727300042265a.pdf/physicians-science-and-status-issues-in-the-professionalization-of-anglo-american-medicine-in-the-nineteenth-century.pdf">
medical field in the US professionalized in response to a perceived excess of doctors in the late 19th and early 20th century</a>, and the result of that professionalization is the high-cost, inefficient, and exclusive system we have today, where
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/why-does-the-us-make-it-so-hard-to-be-a-doctor/622065/">
the supply of doctors is artificially limited by the American Medical Association</a> in order to keep average compensation high.)</div>
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<div dir="ltr">-Nate</div>
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F. Shoobs, </span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Curator of Mollusks<br>
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<div><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(187, 0, 0); background-color: white;">College of Arts & Sciences </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span></span>Dept.
of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University<br>
Museum of Biological Diversity</span></div>
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<span dir="ltr" style="color: currentcolor;">614-688-1342 </span><span></span>(Office)<br>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of John E Simmons <simmons.johne@gmail.com><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, February 26, 2024 1:42:21 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Callomon,Paul <prc44@drexel.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] Collection management: trade or profession?</font>
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Paul, I am not sure what it is you are really asking. Using the definitions of trade and profession in your original email, the answer is that collection management is neither a trade or a profession. Collection management is not a trade because
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<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Paul,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">I am not sure what it is you are really asking. Using the definitions of trade and profession in your original email, the answer is that collection
management is neither a trade or a profession. Collection management is not a trade because there is no apprenticeship, journeyman period, or other qualification that one has achieved mastery. Similarly, collection management is not a profession because it
lacks a professional qualification (as in your examples of MD, JD, CPA, etc.), but of course by this definition researcher, administration, and so forth are not professions either. What you have presented is really a false dichotomy, if we use your definitions.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Collection management is a profession, by the criteria that I listed in my response on 23 February. As for curation, I agree with others that
the definition here is highly variable from one museum to another. Dirk is correct that the word means “caring for something,” and originally those called museum curators were called that because their job was to care for the collection (in the UK, that title
was usually keeper). What we find now in museums is that “curation” means many things, from collection care to research. The title alone does not tell you what the person does. We see a similar thing with other titles for people caring for collections. When
I advise students, I tell them to ignore job titles and read the job description. Often the same duties are described for the person with the title collection manager, curator, registrar, curatorial associate, and so on.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">But back to the issue of the question you asked, “Is collection management a trade or a profession? What’s the difference?” The way the terms
trade and profession are used on by the majority of people and institutions do not conform to the very limited definitions you proposed. Most people would probably say that collection management (and research and administration) are professions, based on the
way we routinely use the words. For example, these are the definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary:<span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in; font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Profession:
</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt">“A vocation, a calling, esp. one requiring advanced knowledge or training in some branch of learning or science, spec. law, theology, or medicine: gen. any occupation as a means of earning a living.”<b><span></span></b></span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in; font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt">Trade:
</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt">“The habitual practice of an occupation, business, or profession, esp. as a means of livelihood or gain. Now usu. a mercantile occupation or skilled handicraft (esp. one requiring an apprenticeship), as distinct from
a profession, or skilled handicraft, as distinct from any other occupation.”<b><span></span></b></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">There are more detailed definitions of profession and trade, but these are not reflective of common use of the terms nor do they conform to
the way they are used in museums. By the more detailed definitions, collection management, curation, and research are neither trades or professions. Here are the definitions from Wikipedia, that Knower of All Things (and note that the following definitions
are not supported by English language dictionaries)<span>:</span><span></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><b><span>Profession:
</span></b><span>“A <b>profession</b> is a field of work that has been successfully
<i>professionalized</i>. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals,
<i>professionals</i>, who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level,
and who are prepared to apply this knowledge and exercise these skills in the interest of others… Professional occupations are founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested objective counsel and service to others,
for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain. Medieval and early modern tradition recognized only three professions: divinity, medicine, and law, which are called the
<b>learned professions</b>. A profession is not a trade or an industry.”<b><span></span></b></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>What makes
</span>collection management, curation, and research fail to qualify as professions is what the Wikipedia site goes on to say is “t<span>he process of professionalization”:<span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">“Major milestones which may mark an occupation being identified as a profession include:
<span></span></span></p>
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<li class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">an occupation becomes a full-time occupation<span></span></span></li><li class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">the establishment of a training school<span></span></span></li><li class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">the establishment of a university school<span></span></span></li><li class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">the establishment of a local association<span></span></span></li><li class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">the establishment of a national association of professional ethics<span></span></span></li><li class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:normal; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">the establishment of state licensing laws”<span></span></span></li></ol>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">It is the last one (state licensing laws” that excludes nearly educated profession except medical doctors, lawyers, and CPAs, unless you want
to throw in engineers and a few other “professions.”<span></span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin:0in; line-height:107%; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">The Wikipedia definition of trade, significantly, is under the heading of Craft:<span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in; font-size:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt; font-family:arial,sans-serif">“A
<b>craft</b> or <b>trade</b> is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale production
of goods, or their maintenance, for example by tinkers. The traditional term <i>
craftsman</i> is nowadays often replaced by <i>artisan</i> and by <i>craftsperson</i>… When an apprentice finished their apprenticeship, they became a journeyman searching for a place to set up their own shop and make a living. After setting up their own shop,
they could then call themselves a master of their craft.”<span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in; font-size:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt; font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in; font-size:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt; font-family:arial,sans-serif">--John</span></p>
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<div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>
Writer and Museum Consultant</span></font></div>
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Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></font><br>
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<div dir="ltr" class="x_gmail_attr">On Sat, Feb 24, 2024 at 9:40 PM Callomon,Paul <<a href="mailto:prc44@drexel.edu">prc44@drexel.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
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The reason I brought up the trade/profession distinction is because the meaning of those two words, which was once so clear (as I defined them before, and based on different career pathways) has become so confused with a similar term as to defy simple definition.
When ambiguous terms are involved in discussions of power, however, it's often because their ambiguity makes them useful to the powerful. </div>
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"Profession" and "professional" are two different and largely unrelated terms, as demonstrated by their antonyms: "profession" vs. "trade" and "professional" vs. "amateur." CMs in many institutions in the USA see themselves as "professionals" because they are
in a "profession," but that is to mix the two terms. Collection management in natural history museums is something of a chimaera, in that its practitioners often have and apply a body of knowledge you would expect from someone in a profession (a doctor, lawyer
etc.) but are treated by management as tradesmen. A "technician" in the European sense is maybe a more apposite term for this. </div>
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In the struggle to be recognized and compensated as high-knowledge workers, we maybe do ourselves no favors by using ambiguous terminology. What many people mean by "professional" is "educated and salaried." There is also the social use of the term "professional"
with the antonym "unprofessional," which are subjective judgments of behavior unworthy of gentlefolk (and that sporting pair - "gentlemen" vs. "players" - is a synonym of "amateurs" and "professionals.")</div>
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Incidentally, the use of "professional" for museum curators and staff dates to the late nineteenth century and only means "employed full time" - that is, not amateurs. "Museum curator" has never been considered a profession like law or medicine, as it has no
legal privilege. For all their erudition, curators and CMs alike cannot legally perform surgery or prosecute people in court. </div>
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<p><span style="font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size:10pt; color:black"><b>Paul Callomon</b><br>
<i>Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates</i></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif; font-size:10pt; color:black"><b>Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia</b></span><span style="font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size:10pt; color:black"><br>
<i><a href="mailto:callomon@ansp.org" target="_blank" style="margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px">callomon@ansp.org</a> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170</i></span></p>
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<div id="x_m_4225741466036827902divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>From:</b> Nhcoll-l <<a href="mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a>>
on behalf of Laura Rincón <<a href="mailto:collectionslitclub@gmail.com" target="_blank">collectionslitclub@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Saturday, February 24, 2024 7:55 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> John E Simmons <<a href="mailto:simmons.johne@gmail.com" target="_blank">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Cc:</b> <a href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a> <<a href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: [KU SUSPECT SPAM] Re: [EXTERN] Re: Collection management: trade or profession?</font>
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<div dir="ltr"> I am uncertain about the potential issues that may arise if CM is considered both a trade and a profession. Could this correlation perpetuate low salaries and hinder an understanding of the tasks performed in collections?
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<div>Having this combination between on-the-job learning and university-trained professionals is a great recipe for me. I like what Liath says about Collections Management (CM) being a specialization within the profession category. For example, my undergrad
is in Information and Library Sciences, and I pursued a Master of Arts in Museum Studies. However, during my graduate studies, I discovered my interest in biological collections. Despite the fact that my master's degree did not specifically focus on natural
history museums, I decided to gain experience by working at the natural history museum of my university.
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<div>It would be interesting to explore how an Union or HR decides to assign a title to the CM position. What resources do museums rely on to implement significant changes in titles? There are many titles assigned to specific job positions, and this can vary
among natural history museums. Ultimately, it appears that some museums are still grappling with a clear understanding of what CM entails.<br>
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<div>Very interesting questions and discussions around this topic!</div>
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<div>Thank you,</div>
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