A good friend of mine that compiles a top online source of historical tidbits about Vancouver recently sent me a link to a story from Seattle's Crosscut.Com about the possibly impending doom of the Oregon Historical Society. (Crosscut)
Two points stand out to me:
(1) the organizations involved are non-profit quasi-public institutions; and
(2) the idea that "in good times competing missions can co-exist but in tough times there are tough choices."
Whenever I read items like this I instinctively start thinking about situations closer to home. We have a Library, a Museum, an Archives, and several history-interest societies, including the Vancouver Historical Society, the Vancouver Heritage Society, and others. Is the situation in Oregon just a leading indicator to our own?
Is a crisis to our historical institutions coming down the track...? What will it look like? Can we stop or reduce the impact? What needs to be done? Who needs to do it?
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