Retorts

Museums and Funding

I have to wonder where K. Kerr [Retorts, July] acquired the strange idea that the primary function of museums is to "educate and entertain the public". I am certainly not decrying this function, but to question the importance of research in museums is thoroughly misguided. A museum that eschews research, at least in natural history, is in danger of becoming pointless, a mere conglomeration of meaningless objects. It certainly is not going to attract top calibre people to look after its collections -- who wants to spend all his or her time dusting displays, writing labels and answering questions from members of the public?

Unfortunately, K. Kerr's attitude seems to be shared by many politicians and others in power. There was a time when those who looked after museum collections were called "keepers" or "curators", but the trend is now for them to be referred to as "collection managers". I don't know who came up with this job description, but it reeks of the ethos that goes with the much-vaunted "enterprise culture" and its overweening emphasis on management skills and the like.

As for the claim that there is too much government-funded research, please forgive my cynical snort! Much has been made of the increased funding for science in the recent budget, but a close look shows that most of this, as well as the existing Public Good Science Fund, is slated for research aimed at improving The Economy or whatever else is deemed politically expedient. (One field to be funded is oral history -- I would be grateful if anyone can explain what this has to do with scientific research!)

The Crown Research Institutes are being increasingly forced into doing work with a commercial slant, and the universities will find themselves in the same position as they dip deeper into the PGSF for their funding. While this is going on one important field of basic research, biosystematics, is seriously underfunded, despite the fact that our government is a signatory to the Biodiversity Convention. Just how biologists are supposed to survey the New Zealand biota without doing taxonomic research has never been explained. If the museums can continue to carry out the necessary research in biosystematics in the face of these trends, then more strength to them!

Phillip Maxwell, Waimate