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Hi Christian, First, a quick moan about terminology. I think most people who develop, care for, document, and make available collections bristle a bit about the use of the term "curation" to describe creation of an exhibition. Or maybe that's just me... There was an good example of a kind of community curation (in my sense of the word), at Chatsworth, where Mick Cooper and Russell Society members re-curated the wonderful Devonshire collection (ie completely upgraded documentation, storage etc). I don't think there was involvement with display though - perhaps others can correct me on this? In terms of selection of items for display, it can be very refreshing to get non-specialists to select objects, and I quite often seek such advice for individual items. I'm not sure I've ever seen a whole geological exhibition selected on this basis, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be successfully done for some particular purpose. My view is that such input is never a substitute for specialist expertise. Rather it's a potential alternative or addition to it, and for some kinds of exhibits and activities it can probably work very well. In answer to your question "are we making too much of scientific expertise when it comes to displaying collections? ", I would hope that the answer is no. Scientific expertise is essential in the assembly and care of geological collections, and in getting the most out of their use. However, it needn't (and shouldn't) be the only thing that informs your displays, although it should always be capable of adding something to them. How you put together an exhibition depends, on what you're try to say, and to whom. Humour, hyperbole, pure aesthetics, associated histories etc can all make for engaging exhibits, as indeed, can scientific expertise, or any combination of the above. Cheers John Dr JW Faithfull Curator of Mineralogy and Petrology Hunterian Museum University of Glasgow G12 8QQ The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401 Tel: 0141 330 4213 Fax: 0141 330 8001 Email: [log in to unmask] Online catalogue: http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk <http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/> ________________________________ From: The Geological Curator's Group mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ] On Behalf Of Christian Baars Sent: 02 February 2011 14:17 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Community curation of geological collections Hi, there have recently been various initiatives to involve the local community in helping museums to determine which objects they ought to display, and how. This appears to work quite well, at least in social/local history. My question is: is anyone aware of a community curation type approach in natural history? And if yes, how did you go about it? Did you invite specialist amateurs into the building, or the general public with relatively little subject knowledge? How did you then define the criteria for the selection of specimens that would later go on display? Presumably there would have been certain exclusion criteria constrained by space, budget, conservation, etc. considerations. Part of the background to the question is that I am working with pupils from two local schools who will be selecting some geology specimens for a little display. The other part is curiosity, as I have heard very good things about community curation but find it hard to imagine it working really well in disciplines where a considerable amount of expert knowledge may be required. Or are we making too much of scientific expertise when it comes to displaying collections? Best wishes Christian Dr Christian Baars Department of Geology National Museum Wales Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NP UK Telephone: 0044 (0)29 2057 3352 YMWADIAD Mae pob neges ebost a anfonir i neu gan Amgueddfa Cymru yn cael ei sganio gan systemau diogelwch awtomatig er mwyn rheoli negeseuon digymell a dileu cynnwys amhriodol neu beryglus. Cafodd y neges hon ei sganio am firysau cyn ei hanfon, ond dylech hefyd fodloni'ch hun bod y neges, a phob atodiad ynddi, yn rhydd o firysau cyn ei defnyddio gan nad yw'r Amgueddfa'n derbyn cyfrifoldeb am unrhyw golled neu ddifrod o ganlyniad i agor y neges neu unrhyw atodiadau. Gall y neges hon ac unrhyw ffeiliau a atodir ynddi gynnwys gwybodaeth gyfrinachol a fwriadwyd ar gyfer y derbynnydd yn unig. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn y neges trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i ni a chofiwch ddileu'r neges. Safbwyntiau personol yr awdur yw'r safbwyntiau a fynegir yn y neges hon, ac nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwyntiau'r Amgueddfa. 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