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

[Peter A. Rauch]

Some misdirection questions raised by Paul Callomon's original question and
by many of the responses to it:

-- What is (are) the relationship(s) of "Collection Manager" --the job
position-- to those who use collections?; to the institutions which support
/ sustain / provide buillt and logical infrastructure for the Collection
being Managed?

-- Who are the advocates for why and how a (biological) Collection is to be
operated (as a Goal, not simply in a day-to-day sense)?

-- Are any of those "related" folks necessarily the "Professional"
leadership of those Collections?

-- Does a Collection Manager need to (deeply) understand the user, the
institutional goals / objectives for the Collection, the lingo of the
"Professional" leadership of those Collections, in order to properly
"Manage" the Collection? If so, would that make the Collection Manager a
"Professional" also?

Do we need to know / understand / appreciate the answers to these questions
before we can adequately assess (or perhaps better, DEFINE) the
professionalism (if any) required of a Collection Manager?

"Misdirection", I say partly in jest, but mostly because Paul's question
and the responses to date seem to echo a similar identity (or mission?)
crisis that was most recently reflected in the Duke University declaration
to get rid of its botanical collection.

The systematic / taxonomic /biodiversity communities are challenged to
defend their (own, and their supporting Collections) very existence
--nothing new there but the recognition that it's a long-recurring theme
(i.e., not just a "Duke" thing).

All that said, I'd otherwise agree with Doug Yanega's original reply of Feb
23, 2024, 9:32 AM.

Peter
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