I didn't set out to write a political blog, and I still certainly don't intend to, but I couldn't help wanting to voice a few thoughts on the discussion that's going on all over the place at the moment about the lack of fuss people seem to be making over threats to heritage provision by recent cuts.
The #savelibraries campaign has been amazingly evocative and effective. Some fabulous examples spring to mind; the school children campaigning to save their local library, the nine year old who wrote directly to the head of the MLA, the Milton Keynes library emptied of books by local residents. Can anyone name a single news story about the public defending their local museum? I know I can't think of one.
I've heard a few opinions on why this is; most worryingly that we in museums don't engage our stakeholders as much or as well as libraries do. I'm not sure that's the entire story, and I think in fact that it might have more to do with the way that our stakeholders interact with us, compared to the way they do with libraries.
A library is a public service. You don't get private libraries that offer collections of subject specific books, not outside of universities anyway, and certainly not that the general public can borrow from. Libraries are funded from the tax payers' pockets. Libraries provide a free service to everyone, giving people access to all the media (books, CDs, DVDs, etc) that they want without having to pay for it, or paying significantly less than they would to buy it in the shops.
Museums can be public services too, but often they're not. For every local authority museum there are ten or more heritage sites and galleries that charge entrance, and are funded by their visitors and grants. They often have specific collections, rather than the general appeal that a public library has. Neither do they provide something for free that can be taken home; a museum's collections are not available to take out on a ticket, they exist purely within the confines of the museum's walls.
Museums and libraries are often equated because they both provide access to knowledge. But when you start to evaluate them on a deeper level, that's almost where the similarities stop. It's almost like trying to equate a theme park with a toy shop; they're both about fun, but no-one expects to be able to take the rollercoaster home with them, do they?
I'm heartened by the passion that has driven the #savelibraries campaign. I would like to think that there is some similar passion out there for museums too, but I think we're going to have to look for different ways to harness it if we really want it to make a difference.
