From The President of the Museum Computer Network
It's been a very busy four months since MCN 2002 came to a successful conclusion in Toronto. As the New Year gets under way, I think it appropriate to send warm greetings to the members of this list and to members of MCN (I will elaborate on the importance of this distinction in a moment.) I want to fill you in on the work done this fall and winter as we prepare for our meeting in Las Vegas and implement improvements to our publications and member services. And I want to ask for your help, so even if you are not a member of the Museum Computer Network - indeed especially if you are not a member, please read on.
MCN is nothing if not dedicated to the greater good of the museum community. We do this in a variety of ways, which include offering low membership fees, deeply discounted registration fees for delegates from small institutions who attend our meetings, and making this discussion group freely available. From time to time these policies are the subject of fierce debate at our board meetings. It shouldn't be hard to understand why: without dues-paying members, none of our "good works" are possible. Yet to take a single example, fewer than half of the subscribers to the MCN list -- which you are reading now and which is cited in dozens of sources as one of the most important discussion groups for all things related to museum automation and informatics -- are members of the MCN. Are you? If so, thanks; you're what our organization is all about. If you aren't yet a member, please consider it - without your help, MCN could go away and with it this discussion group, along with all of the other great stuff this group provides. Those of you who were in Toronto and caught MCN founder Everett Ellin's talk on the history of the organization know that we've not just been in the vanguard of museum computerization since 1967, we are the vanguard.
That's the plea. Now, here's the news, some good and some, less so:
Management Transition
The first and biggest change for MCN is that we are under new
management. Unknown to most attendees, the September meeting marked the transfer
of daily operations from our previous company to the firm of Clarke Association
Management Services. We know that our members have had
problems with our services and this move is a first, major step in addressing
them. It's a change that, we believe, will significantly improve member
services, help operate MCN more efficiently and improve the workings of our
conference. As anyone who has gone through dramatic organizational change knows,
it can be daunting. But we are moving files, updating databases, re-designing
the web site and addressing a wide range of logistics that are part of the
process. We know we are up to the "challenges ahead" and look
forward to working with Clarke to make a better future happen.
MCN 2003: "Balancing Museum Technology and
Transformation"
Charles Nesson To Deliver Keynote
Although the New Year has just begun, plans are well underway for MCN 2003 in Las Vegas. Visit the conference site at www.mcn.edu/MCN2003/index.html and mark your calendars (and your budgets!). You can submit a presentation proposal on the site using the Web form.
A particularly exciting new development is the announcement that Charles R. Nesson, William F. Weld Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, has agreed to be our keynote speaker. Professor Nesson is a brilliant speaker on the impact of computing and communications technology on society and one of the world's leading scholars in the area of cyberlaw. His talk alone is bound to be worth the trip. Our conference theme "Balancing Museum Technology and Transformation" is designed to deal directly with the impact of technology on our culture and, more pragmatically, on some of the dilemmas we face in our work places.
WWW.MCN.EDU: New Look,
New Features in the Coming Year
Start Your Technology Search in the Virtual
Marketplace
We have major plans to revamp the Web site in the coming year. We have already introduced a prototype of the MCN Virtual Marketplace - a listing of vendors in the museum and archives computing market place that can be searched by company and a wide variety of topical headings. We hope to make this the place to go when searching for technology hardware and software for our membership. You can help us by urging your vendors to list their services here.
Stay Informed with eSpectra
eSpectra moves into its third year as the best place on the
Web to find news, jobs and resources for the cultural community.
Other changes that we hope to implement in the coming year
include more extensive Special Interest Group areas, a revamped museum directory
and "members only" areas with issues and articles from Spectra, as well
as results from surveys studying our community.
JAPAN SIG
An exciting development has been the growth of the Japan Special Interest Group into a regional branch of MCN. This development promises to bring a new dynamic to our organization, with an opportunity to share knowledge and information with colleagues in Asia on a much grander scale than was heretofore possible.
SPECTRA
Our journal, Spectra, is MCN's flagship paper publication, normally published three times per year. Alas, this has not been a normal year. Transition costs added to the expenses of the Toronto conference have left MCN without the resources for print publication of the upcoming issue. We are exploring various electronic publication options that will allow us to get the latest issue to our subscribers and that may result in a format that is more convenient and flexible for our subscribers.
The State of the Association
The past few years have not been easy ones for MCN. While museum budgets, especially travel budgets, have been cut, the costs of publishing and putting on conferences have risen. Compounding these pressures, recognition that our previous management company was unable to meet the standards for programs and services we expect resulted in the transfer of administrative responsibilities to Clarke Associates. Our new team at Clarke has given us every reason to feel optimistic. The work to rebuild the MCN is well underway. But transitions are costly and our organization, like many non-profit organizations, faces a difficult year ahead. While our meeting in Toronto was a huge success from an intellectual standpoint and the delegate reviews were overwhelmingly positive, it undermined MCN's finances and put us in the position of beginning the year with very little funding to underwrite our projects.
What can you do to help? Join at www.mcn.edu/membership/index.htm
This part is simple. Join MCN; get others to join with you and support us with your membership dues as soon as possible! An institutional membership, in particular, is a tremendous bargain for the benefits received. It is a bargain for any institution that for the cost of one conference attendee makes that great contact, acquires a new skill in a workshop, compares software with one trip, or "stumbles" across that one idea that saves or makes the day. How much is a great idea worth? We know what consultants cost. We know what membership costs.What if MCN-L and e-Spectra were gone? Do you think that then your budget for consultants would go up next year? Yes, MCN-L and the www.mcn.edu are "free" and we would like to keep them that way, but it can't be done without the support of the community.
What more can you do to help? Volunteer
We need help staffing MCN tables at upcoming Museums and the Web and AAM meetings. We need help with publicity, sponsorships and fund raising, to name just a few things. Take part in the activities of the organization - join a Special Interest Group, put together a panel for the conference, run for office!
The Museum Computer Network is not a machine; it's a network of individuals working together to promote the sensible and productive implementation of technology in the cultural workplace. MCN has been around for more than three decades, but it has never been more vital to the interests of the cultural community than now. The next 30 years will bring amazing changes, but those years come one at a time. Be part of it. Now. Please. Email me at [email protected]
Chuck Patch, The Historic New
Orleans Collection
President
Sam Quigley, Harvard University
Vice-President/President-Elect
Marla Misunas, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Secretary
Christine Bostick, Oregon Historical Society
Treasurer
Leonard Steinbach, Cleveland Museum of Art
Past President
Amalyah Keshet, The Israel Museum
Jim Devine, Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
Kati Geber, Canadian Heritage Information Network
Lynn Ann Underwood, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Murtha Baca, Getty Research Institute
Rob Lancefield, Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University
Bill Weinstein, Philadelphia
Museum of Art
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