[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Collection management: trade or profession?

[Liath Appleton]

Trades in the US don't generally require a bachelor's degree, but are
regulated, and often do require certifications based on State law. I agree
with Douglas Yanega that a trade is also a profession, but there are
professions that require at least a bachelor's degree in a related field
(and some universities are now offering Collections Management as a degree
itself). I think of Collections Management as a specialization that falls
into the profession category. Having a degree in art history qualifies you
to become a specialist in art collections, for instance. I think of myself
as a biologist who specializes in museum collections, rather than a
biologist who specializes in field research.

Collection Technician to me is the same as a Curatorial Assistant. I would
hire someone without a BS to this position. Can a Curatorial Assistant
without a BS move up to the position of Collections Manager? With enough
experience, I would think yes. But that doesn't make it a trade.

I do not believe that a Collections Manager requires a MS or PhD, unless
the institution is also hiring that person as a researcher.

On Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 11:42 AM Dirk Neumann <d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de>
wrote:

> Hi Paul,
>
> depends on how you understand Collection Management.
>
> Here in Germany, a US Collection Manager would be the Collection
> Technician. For this education, there are either specific schools, like the
> one that Senckenberg in Frankfurt runs
> <https://www.senckenberg.de/de/karriere/lehre-und-ausbildung/>. Here, you
> start in a trade and graduate after two years as a technical staff. This is
> very similar as the education (school where you graduate) as a biological
> technical assistant (BTA), or - similarly, chemical technical assistant. (BTA
> profile link <https://web.arbeitsagentur.de/berufenet/beruf/6315>).
>
> That is something between a trade and university education, but a proper
> profession (Berufsausbildung - knowing that you get along with the German
> terms). The other option would be a bachelor in biology would theoretically
> have the same level of education, but of course is less skilled at the
> start of the career.
>
> But this is typically not was is understood here as collection management.
> This is a position that is situated between curators and technical staff,
> and would have a more "active" management component. In the UK, the
> collection managers are the Curators, while the traditional curators are
> research scientists (if these are still hired).
>
> I assume you are asking for the person that technically runs a collection
> and in responsible for it maintenance and management?
>
> My answer would be it can be both.
>
> Interesting question!
> Dirk
>
>
> Am 23.02.2024 um 17:34 schrieb Callomon,Paul:
>
> Folks,
>
> As research for a planned paper, I thought I'd canvass you all on the
> following question:
>
>
>    - Is collection management a trade or a profession? What's the
>    difference?
>    - A trade begins with learning, practice and experience (an
>    apprenticeship). Apprentices pass tests and become journeymen; they then
>    produce a masterpiece (the origin of the term, nothing to do with the Mona
>    Lisa) and gain master's certification and sometimes membership of a guild,
>    which allows them to take their own apprentices and renew the cycle in
>    their place of work.
>    - A profession begins with study and examinations. Practice with real
>    clients can only begin once both have been completed (think: lawyers;
>    surgeons; accountants). A period of internship or further training is
>    usual, but a professional qualification (MD, JD, CPA etc) allows one to
>    start doing things that are otherwise illegal (like cutting live people
>    open, representing a defendant in court, etc).
>
>
> A master craftsperson is mobile between workplaces at master rank, but a
> partially-completed apprenticeship might not be accepted outside the
> workplace in which it was created. There is no rank above master, and
> senior institutional management tends to be taken from the ranks of
> professionals.
>
> Any capable young person can become an apprentice, and the lower bar for
> entry means the trades are often more inclusive than the professions
> (though unions can and do bias hiring somewhat). Master tradespeople can
> make more money than at least junior professionals, and are arguably more
> important to the running of infrastructure-based institutions like museums.
>
> *Paul Callomon*
> *Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates*
> ------------------------------
>
> *Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia*
> *callomon at ansp.org <callomon at ansp.org> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170*
>
>
>
>
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> --
>
> ******
>
>
>
> *Dirk Neumann*
>
> Collection Manager, Hamburg
>
>
>
> Postal address:
>
> *Museum of Nature Hamburg*
> Leibniz Institute for the Analysis
>
> of Biodiversity Change
>
> Dirk Neumann
>
> Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3
>
> 20146 Hamburg
> +49 40 238 317 – 628
>
> *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de <d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de>*
>
> www.leibniz-lib.de
>
>
>
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> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels
> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany
>
> Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts;
> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian
> Grüter (Kaufm. Geschäftsführer)
> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn
> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst
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> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>
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