A draft of my presentation for the National Council on Public History 2014 conference, part of a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Museum of American History
March 8: Updated, shorter version.
Original Title
50 Years of Collecting at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History DRAFT
A draft of my presentation for the National Council on Public History 2014 conference, part of a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Museum of American History
March 8: Updated, shorter version.
A draft of my presentation for the National Council on Public History 2014 conference, part of a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Museum of American History
March 8: Updated, shorter version.
Steven Lubai Foi National Council on Public Bistoiy confeience Naich 2u14
Alexanuei Kellogg, uiiectoi of the 0niteu States National Nuseum, explaineu the why anu how of museum collecting in his intiouuction to the museum's 19S2 !""#$% '()*+,- "In the National Nuseum ieseaich natuially enough staits with the assembling of gieat collections." 1 Cuiatois builu these collection baseu on theii ieseaich, anu with an absolute "fieeuom of inquiiy." Kellogg believeu that it was impossible to juuge a cuiatoi's woik. "The essence of piofessionalism," he wiote, is to be founu in the stiong sense of high puipose anu peisonal iesponsibility anu the stiict intellectual integiity that motivate the inuiviuual anu guiue him in the use of his specializeu knowleuge. These qualities.maik the museum cuiatoi anu aie the measuie of his statuie. As a piofessional he is a stiongholu of inuiviuual initiative anu iesponsibility in a woilu thieateneu by the ant heap of collectivism. 2
Cuiatois, anu theii iight to foim the collections they thought best, as bulwaiks against Communismthe cuiatoi as }ohn ualtmight seem a bit extieme. But the notion of cuiatois taking complete iesponsibility foi builuing of theii own 2 collections, baseu on theii own expeitise, anu uesigneu foi theii own ieseaich neeus, hau a long histoiy at the Smithsonian. Cuiatoi-ieseaich-uiiven collecting "was baseu on a philosophical position oiiginating with Secietaiy Beniy that the funuamental mission of the Smithsonian was ieseaich, collections existeu to suppoit ieseaich, anu theiefoie it was the iesponsibility of inuiviuual cuiatois anu ieseaicheis to make collections-ielateu uecisions. "S This philosophy woulu continue to shape Smithsonian collections foi at least the next half centuiy. This papei uesciibes its tiajectoiy at the National Nuseum of Ameiican Bistoiy. Reseaich anu collecting autonomy weie wiitten into the Civil Seivice Commission's 1962 "Position Classification Stanuaiu foi Nuseum Cuiatoi Seiies." The CSC, piesumably on the auvice of the Smithsonian, maue ieseaich the centeipiece of cuiatoiial woik. It hau a haiu time in uefining goou collecting woik, anu so, like Kellogg, they left it up to the cuiatoi. The teim they useu to evaluate the woik of the cuiatoi in builuing collections was "balanceu." That meant "meaningful as a souice of infoimation foi scholais anu laymen," as well as "balancing the neeus foi expansion anu uisposal." It iequiieu "knowleuge, piofessional juugments anu imagination in selectivity anu location of souices" to builu the collection, anu "consiueiable knowleuge, taste anu juugment in pioblems of selective uisposal of collection mateiial." 4
Balance, knowleuge, imagination, taste, juugment, all baseu on ieseaich: these woius aie ways of saying that the CSC uiun't ieally know how to juuge the woik of cuiatois. S Anu so cuiatois collecteu what they thought best. The 1968 guiue to the Nuseum of Bistoiy anu Technology noteu that new acquisitions "aie iequesteu oi accepteu by the cuiatois to implement theii uepaitment's specific plans anu piojects." 0ntil 1972, when NNBT wiote its fiist collections policy, unuei oiueis fiom the cential Smithsonian, "each cuiatoi hau pietty much fiist anu final say iegaiuing the collection piocess." S
!"#$%&'%&( *+,,"*#%+&- By the 197us, the new museum's exhibits seemeu complete, oi peihaps the woik of the Bicentennial hau exhausteu the cuiatoiial staff, oi peihaps, as Bob Post suggests, cuiatoiial staff felt they hau lost contiol ovei exhibitions. 6 Anu Congiess, anu the cential Smithsonian auministiation, was beginning to ask questions about the costs anu benefits of the collections. 7 Some high-piofile thefts also iaiseu Congiessional iie. 8 The museum tuineu back to uealing with the collections. But now, iathei than be seen as the basis of ieseaich, anu thus the basis of cuiatoiial woik, anu the justification foi the museum, they weie seen as . something of a pioblem. "The magnituue of the task of assimilating the millions of objects alieauy at hanu, anu not satisfactoiily iecoiueu," new uiiectoi Biooke Binule wiote, "has no obvious solution." Theie weie so many of them, theie was no goou catalog, they took up so much ioom, anu just what goou weie they, anyway. The uecaue of the 197us anu eaily '8us woulu see a new focus on uealing with the collections, both intellectual anu physical. It saw the iise of the stuuy of mateiial cultuie as a scholaily fielu at the museum anu the beginning of a new kinu of 4 collecting, inteipietive collecting. Theie weie expeiiments in collecting, incluuing a new focus on aichives, anu even eaily examples of ciowu-souiceu collecting that biought in "a fine collection ianging fiom toasteis anu egg beateis to stoves anu washing machines." 9
The 197us saw the beginning of new attempts to focus anu ieign in cuiatoiial contiol. Paul Peiiot, the Smithsonian's Assistant Biiectoi foi Nuseum Piogiams, manuateu the establishment of NNBT Registiai's 0ffice anu a collections committee.
New collections management expeits, aimeu with new legal anu ethical iules, anu new computei systems, challengeu the notion that collections weie solely the uomain of cuiatois. The new collections iegime uiu not uo much to iestiain cuiatoiial pieiogatives. Collecting woulu continue to "iely on the woik anu ieseaich of inuiviuual cuiatois." 1u The new collections committee askeu only foi the cuiatoi to pioviue infoimation on potential ieseaich anu exhibit use of new collections, anu "othei histoiical context, as appiopiiate, that makes cleai why this object is ueseiving of inclusion in the collections." It uiu little to change engiaineu cuiatoiial habits. That was the conclusion Naiilyn Cohen ieacheu in 198u in hei histoiy of the museum. Cuiatoi-uiiven collecting, she wiote, "leau to collections that weie not coiielateu, not collateu, not subjecteu to the highest quality ieseaich, anu weie of necessity, a jumble of aitifacts of Ameiican histoiy anu cultuie." Baseu on the "pieuilections" of cuiatois, anu "not following a scheme that ielates to the puipose of the institution," they giew "unbalanceu, specializeu anu iuiosynciatic." ..
S While that uiun't happen, theie was an inteiesting attempt to iethink the value of the collections. Nateiial cultuie stuuies came of age in the 197us anu eaily 198us, anu I wonuei if we might not ieau this against the giain: not as a celebiation of the value of collections, but as a ueeply seateu woiiy about theii value. When NNAB uiiectoi Biooke Binule famously askeu in the title of his 1978 aiticle, "Bow much is a piece of the cioss woith.," he may have been woiiying about the value of those museums collections he was iesponsible foi. 12
Scholais connecteu with the museum, but not in the cuiatoiial ianks, askeu haiuei questions. Witcomb Washbuin in 1968 hau askeu "Aie Nuseums Necessaiy." Now he suggesteu that they consiuei the cost of collections stoiage anu neeu foi contempoiaiy collecting, anu collect infoimation, not objects. 1S Bistoiian Cyiil Stanley Smith, aiguing that it was too haiu to ueciue what to collect, suggesteu "an absolutely ianuom collection." But these voices weie ignoieu, anu the museum ietuineu to a uepenuence on the cuiatoi's magic juugment. Binule wiote: "The only iecouise is to use the best possible piesent juugment as to what to pieseive anu what to uiscaiu"sentiments not too uiffeient fiom Alexanuei Kellogg
2S yeais eailiei. 14
While cuiatois consiueieu anu iejecteu new stiategies foi collecting, the Smithsonian auministiation ieacteu to the collections ciisis of the 197us with cieation of a new collections buieauciacy. ! '()*+, *" ,.( /$"$0(1(", *2 3*%%(4,5*"6 5" ,.( /#6(#16 *2 ,.( 715,.6*"5$" 8"6,5,#,5*", issueu in 1977, paiu the usual lip seivice to the impoitance of collections, anu then it went on to the usual 6 woiiy: what goou aie they, anu what aie we going to uo with them. 1S But iathei than iethink collecting, it took the easy way out. It uigeu that the Smithsonian builu a new builuing to stoie what it alieauy hau, anu plan foi vastly incieaseu collecting in the futuie. /0+1 !"-"20*$ 3+,,"*#%&( #+ 4&#"050"#%6" 3+,,"*#%&( But conceins about the value of collections, lack of space, anu new contiols, anu especially new appioaches to histoiy, leu cuiatois began to uevelop a new kinu of collecting. In the 198us anu '9us, as the museum lookeu to social histoiy, cuiatois came to believe that objects shoulu tell stoiies. A goou cuiatoi was one who coulu finu an aitifact to illustiate an impoitant histoiical point. Sometimes those weie objects alieauy in the collection. Some weie new acquisitions. The Common Agenua foi Bistoiy Nuseums confeience, helu at the NNAB in 1987, highlighteu the tiansition fiom typological to inteipietive collecting. 16
So too uiu new wiiting on collecting by museum cuiatois. Technology cuiatois wiote that they wanteu 5",(+(6,5"0 objects: "By 5",(+(6,5"0 we mean that it allows us to tell a goou stoiy." To tell those stoiies, they wanteu to collect gioups of aitifacts, anu the infoimation to go along with them. 17 A meuical cuiatoi maue a similai point about hei collections, noting they weie now looking foi aitifacts that tolu patients' stoiies. 18 Inteipietive collecting was intensive, not extensive, collecting, appiopiiate foi an institution iunning out of space. 7 In the fiist yeais of the 21 st centuiy, the Smithsonian saw anothei of its peiiouic collections ciises. 0nce again, it seemeu that the museums weie iunning out of space to stoie things, staff to catalog anu caie foi them, anu a iationale that maue it all seem woithwhile. NNAB lookeu to collections planning to solve its pioblems. "Collections planning," wiote }ames uaiunei, the museum's Associate Biiectoi foi Cuiatoiial Affaiis, in an aiticle co-authoieu with Elizabeth Neiiitt of the Ameiican Association of Nuseums, is "among the iaiest of museum activities." But it was time foi museums to wiite collections plans, to make the tough choices that neeueu to be maue about what to acquiie anu what to iemove fiom the collection. NNAB collections, they saiu, weie "iuiosynciatic": - the paits uiun't auu up to a whole. We "cannot assume," uaiunei anu Neiiitt wiote," that its cuiient collecting appioach will meet its futuie iesponsibilities." 19
Anu so they uigeu the foimation of an intellectual fiamewoik foi collecting. New collections shoulu be baseu not on the cuiatoi's ieseaich, but iathei on the museum's inteipietive focus on "What has it meant to be an Ameiican." The new plan woulu guiue uecision making, be helpful in ueteimining when theie is "enough" in a given categoiy, anu help to match collecting woik with available iesouices. 2u
A 2uu4 Smithsonian stuuy went even fuithei: "Nany of the Smithsonian's collections management weaknesses," wiote the analysts of the 0ffice of Policy anu Analysis, "stem fiom a piofessional cultuie ill-suiteu to piesent iealities." They faulteu "the uominance of uepaitments' scholaiship anu ieseaich ioles ielative to 8 theii stewaiuship anu access ioles" anu the cuiatois' "gieatei influence ovei collections management uecision making than othei collections management peisonnel." 21
Collecting anu collections as the ieseaich woik of cuiatois was still ueeply engiaineu in the Smithsonian psyche. Alexanuei Kellogg's notion of cuiatois as a "stiongholu of inuiviuual initiative anu iesponsibility in a woilu thieateneu by the ant heap of collectivism" woulu still iesonate, 6u yeais latei.
9 7+#"-
1 0niteu States National Nuseum, 9"5,(: 7,$,(6 ;$,5*"$% /#6(#1 !""#$% '()*+, <=>? (|Washingtonj: Smithsonian Institution, 19S2), 1, http:aichive.oiguetailsannualiepoitfoiy19S2uniteu. 2 Ibiu., 6. S Smithsonian Institution 0ffice of Policy anu Analysis, 3*"4(+" $, ,.( 3*+(@ /$"$05"0 715,.6*"5$" 3*%%(4,5*"6 (Washington, B.C.: Smithsonian Instituion, n.u.), S46. 4 0.S. 0ffice of Peisonnel Nanagement, "Position Classification Stanuaiu foi Nuseum Cuiatoi Seiies, uS-1u1S," Febiuaiy 1962, https:www.opm.govpolicy- uata-oveisightclassification-qualificationsclassifying-geneial-scheuule- positionsstanuaius1uuugs1u1S.puf. S Cuiatois of the Nuseum, AB.5C5,6 5" ,.( /#6(#1 *2 D56,*+E $": F(4."*%*0E (Washington, B.C.: Smithsonian Institution Piess, 1968). 6 0n the lattei, see Nick Piioi, "Postmouein Restiuctuiings," in ! 3*1)$"5*" ,* /#6(#1 7,#:5(6, eu. Nacuonalu, Shaion (Naluen, NA: Blackwell, 2uu6), Su9-S24 Chaptei.; Robeit C. Post, G.* HI"6 !1(+54$J6 K$6,L@ F.( 715,.6*"5$" $": ,.( K+*C%(1 *2 D56,*+E (}ohns Bopkins 0niveisity Piess, 2u1S). 7 Smithsonian Institution 0ffice of Policy anu Analysis, 3*"4(+" $, ,.( 3*+(@ /$"$05"0 715,.6*"5$" 3*%%(4,5*"6, S41. 8 Peisonal communication, Naitha Noiiis. 9 Smithsonian Institution, 715,.6*"5$" M($+ (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1972), 92, http:aichive.oiguetailssmithsonianyeai727Ssmit. 1u Smithsonian Institution, ! '()*+, *" ,.( /$"$0(1(", *2 3*%%(4,5*"6 5" ,.( /#6(#16 *2 ,.( 715,.6*"5$" 8"6,5,#,5*" (Washington, B.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1977), B-17, 27-S2, http:aichive.oiguetailsiepoitonmanagemuusmit. 11 Naiilyn Saia Cohen, "Ameiican Civilization in Thiee Bimensions: The Evolution of the Nuseum of Bistoiy anu Technology of the Smithsonian Institution" (Ph.B., The ueoige Washington 0niveisity, 198u), S21.., http:seaich.pioquest.com.ievpioxy.biown.euupqutftuocviewSu2962949abst iactCB8B8FCu2C9B49SAPQ14.accountiu=97S8. 12 Biooke Binule, "Bow Nuch Is a Piece of the Tiue Cioss Woith.," in /$,(+5$% 3#%,#+( $": ,.( 7,#:E *2 !1(+54$" N52(, eu. Ian N. Quimby (New Yoik: W.W. Noiton, 1978), 6. 1S Wilcomb E. Washbuin, "Aie Nuseums Necessaiy.," /#6(#1 ;(I6 47, no. 2 (0ctobei 1968): 9-19; Wilcomb E. Washbuin, "Collecting Infoimation, Not 0bjects," /#6(#1 ;(I6 62, no. S (Febiuaiy 1984): S-1S. 14 Biooke Binule, "Bow Nuch Is a Piece of the Tiue Cioss Woith.," 18. 1S Smithsonian Institution, ! '()*+, *" ,.( /$"$0(1(", *2 3*%%(4,5*"6 5" ,.( /#6(#16 *2 ,.( 715,.6*"5$" 8"6,5,#,5*", 1. 16 Smithsonian Institution 0ffice of Policy anu Analysis, 3*"4(+" $, ,.( 3*+(@ /$"$05"0 715,.6*"5$" 3*%%(4,5*"6, 1S2; Lonn Tayloi, Smithsonian Institution., anu Ameiican Association foi State anu Local Bistoiy., ! 3*11*" !0(":$ 2*+ D56,*+E 1u
/#6(#16@ 3*"2(+("4( K+*4((:5"06O P(C+#$+E <=Q?RO <=ST (Nashville, Tenn.: Washington, B.C.: Ameiican Association foi State anu Local Bistoiy; Smithsonian Institution, 1987), http:catalog.hathitiust.oigRecoiuuuu9u6SS6. 17 Steven Lubai anu Petei Liebholu, "What Bo We Keep.," !1(+54$" D(+5,$0( *2 8"U(",5*" V F(4."*%*0E 14, no. 4 (Apiil 1999): 28. 18 }uuy N. Chelnick anu Ramunas Konuiatas, "1Su Yeais of Collecting Neuical Bistoiy at the Smithsonian Institution," 3$:#4(#6@ ! D#1$"5,5(6 W*#+"$% 2*+ /(:545"( V ,.( D($%,. 745("4(6 1S, no. S (Apiil 1997): 19. 19 }ames B. uaiunei anu Elizabeth Neiiitt, "Collections Planning: Pinning uown a Stiategy," /#6(#1 ;(I6, August 2uu2, Su, 61. 2u }ames B. uaiunei anu Elizabeth Neiiitt, F.( !!/ X#5:( ,* 3*%%(4,5*"6 K%$""5"0 (Ameiican Association of Nuseums, 2uu4); }ames B. uaiunei, "Collections Planning Initiative," 0ctobei S, 2uu2. 21 Smithsonian Institution 0ffice of Policy anu Analysis, 3*"4(+" $, ,.( 3*+(@ /$"$05"0 715,.6*"5$" 3*%%(4,5*"6, 27S.