Dr. Keenleyside deserves the support of every Islander

by Ian Scott a former executive director of the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation in the 1980's.

I applaud Ella Wood Willis for her letter (Guardian Feb 24, 2007, We need a central museum) and her recognition of those who diligently built the PEI Provincial Collection into a significant museum collection. In her mid 90's, Ella, a life member of the Museum & Heritage Foundation, remains passionate for the dream of a facility that will display this amazing collection more fully than the existing heritage sites now can, a dream shared by generations of Islanders back to 1881.

People of all ages want to see these treasures and believe that we deserve a museum that will tell the full story of the Island, the land, and how it was formed over the eons, the life forms that have called it home and who reclaimed it after ice ages receded and dry land appeared. There is a compelling story of the creatures who have made our waters and skies their abode long before mankind arrived 10,000 years ago. The journey of mankind circling the globe, carrying the DNA each of us contain, is an equally amazing story - of land bridges from Africa connecting to Asia and Europe and the Americas that brought the first Islanders to this land. The stories since are just as amazing, yet we must travel to Saint John or Halifax to be told fragments of the PEI story in provincial museums there.

This land and its people have powerful and unique stories and we deserve to hear them through an innovative modern museum. Study after study has shown the significance that cultural tourism will continue to play for PEI as a fast growing part of quality tourist development, yet plans for displaying the Provincial Collection are not a priority of the minister responsible for culture and heritage.

While some things take time to achieve, we have patiently waited for generations for natural and human history components within our provincial museum system. The creation of the Foundation in 1970 and the natural history mandate in 1983 were important steps, but the chronic under-funding of the Foundation by government has left Islanders with nothing to show for that. The fulfilment of this mandate as well as the full mandate in human history is one that takes planning and concerted effort. A motion in the Legislature in 2006 called for solid planning to achieve that. It called for members to, “endorse the concept of a provincial museum and urge the government to begin planning as soon as possible.” Without support from the government and the minister responsible to start a planning process, this motion was defeated by the government majority, indicating that their priorities are elsewhere.

Leadership and solid planning are needed for obvious reasons. Professional planning was started in the 1980's for all aspects of the provincial museum system including natural history. While location, location, location is always a topic in which there are at least triplicate opinions - the planning at that time dealt with these sensitivities very well, in addressing the broad needs of the entire province. One significant issue related to the geographic debate was the fact that a small province in fulfilling the various scientific positions of a museum should attempt to achieve this through cross-appointments of professional staff with UPEI, in which specialists in zoology, or botany for example could balance an academic career with responsibility in the museum system. Salary costs would be shared. This benefits the public and enriches the university and the museum system, but requires the free flow of staff who could be teaching a morning class at UPEI before leading a group of high school biology students through the study collections of say, the insects or birds, plants or mammals of PEI in the museum collections facility. Museums like universities are major research institutions as well as being educational organizations and these commonalities are significant when numbers of professional positions are limited.

Having the study collections of the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation housed where they are most useful for researchers, staff and accessible for use in permanent and temporary displays for the public should remains a key consideration in any planning.

The chair of the Museum and Heritage Foundation, Dr. Dasgupta said, “The Board continues to discuss its hope of acquiring an appropriate home for the provincial collection and dreams of establishing a provincial museum where much of the Island history presently housed in our ‘artifactory’ could be presented and interpreted to the public.”

The Board while announcing plans to relocate the Provincial Collection to Southeastern Kings, is also on record as saying “development of this facility is beyond our control”. While clear responsibilities were granted by the Legislature to the Board in the Museum Act, if this is the current reality and the Board functions simply as handmaiden of the current government, we are in a sorry state. I believe the Board and the membership have important roles to play. A project, that is so central to their future functioning, using public funds should not be “beyond their control.”

Divorcing the housing of the Provincial Collection from planning for the Provincial Museum means that the operations of the overall organization will be further challenged - with a tiny professional staff even more fragmented. If there is to be sound planning for museum exhibition space, which the Board states as their goal, then this planning should be done in advance of the construction of a major collections management facility - wherever that is.

The premier is clear that the proposed Murray River facility "will not be a full-fledged museum." If this is a temporary measure to manage things for a few years until a plan is in place -- then this could potentially leave the Northumberland Community Development Corporation with an large empty building to try and find a new tenant for, if an integrated provincial museum & collections facility is eventually located elsewhere.

The PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation owns the current collections facility, and it has had many upgrades over the years. With a few basic repairs it could continue as a temporary collections management facility for the present. To have a $4.9 million dollar structure constructed with public funds by a community development corporation, simply to lease as a temporary facility for a few years and to avoid planning for the future, simply seems a bit short-sighted.

Dr. David Keenleyside, the new Executive Director of the Museum should be given a fair chance. He should be given the time and support to carry out the consultations and planning study mandated by the Foundation at their AGM without presupposing any of the conclusions prior to his undertaking this study. That process should conclude with a long term plan for fulfilling the mandate of the Museum, in all areas of research, publishing, collections management, conservation, interpretation and exhibitions

The Legislature granted a provincial museum mandate through the Museum Act, 25 years ago, yet that mandate has not been realized. For government to continue to starve the organization and offer "take it of leave it" solutions which grant no other option but to go along with plans of being an anchor tenant of a mini-mall in the premier's riding is quite unfair. Input in planning and due process in determining suitability for long-term needs is essential.

We need a proper study and Dr. Keenleyside deserves the support of every Islander in being allowed to carry that out without one hand being held behind his back. We have waited for over a hundred years and surely something as significant as this should merit taking a few months to allow him the opportunity to examine the options available and then we can be assured that at least that all options have been well examined.

The members of the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation at their AGM recently voted for such a study and for a moratorium until this process has been concluded. A study and a moratorium on new development is the only reasonable option.