[lg policy] The National Museum of Language tries to avoid becoming history

[kto2 at COLUMBIA.EDU]

I haven't been able to go to the museum as yet, but appeal to every  
linguist to do our best to keep the museum open, and in fact, to  
expand its hours. I would also like to see its resources become  
digitized for access on-line. For example, I've often thought...  
"There ought to be a museum where I could listen to all of the Italian  
dialects before they become extinct."  We need to see this project  
through the initial phases until we will be certain not to lose it.

Kathleen O'Connor-Bater
Asst.  Prof. of Modern Languages
SUNY College at Old Westbury

Quoting Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com>:

> Museum tries to avoid becoming history
> Lack of donations, grants has members questioning its future
> by David Hill | Staff Writer
>
>
>
> The National Museum of Language in College Park opened in 2008 as the
> first facility of its kind in the United States - a museum dedicated
> specifically to teaching the history of the world's languages. But
> now, museum members are worried that a lack of funding could spell the
> end for an idea that was nearly 40 years in the making. "We need
> money. We're broke. There's no real polite way of saying it," said
> James McFadden, the museum's treasurer. "It's a crisis situation for
> us." The museum offers free admission and has relied almost entirely
> upon donations, visitor memberships and occasional government grants
> since it opened in April 2008 on the second floor of an office
> building at 7100 Baltimore Ave.
>
> Since its inception, the museum has featured an exhibit tracing the
> roots of early alphabet languages, such as Arabic, Latin, Greek and
> Hebrew, as well as one featuring the Chinese and Japanese
> character-based languages. There are also interactive computer,
> writing and reading activities. "[Parents] may be able to read a book
> to their children in another language that's not available [in the
> U.S.]," said Leah Mason, a volunteer. "It's really nice to have it
> right here in College Park."  Museum volunteers said they've received
> positive feedback from residents and visiting school groups, but have
> nonetheless struggled to pay the costs of rent and resources. A lack
> of funding, they said, has made it difficult to attract visitors and
> build the museum's profile through advertising and full-time public
> relations work.
>
> "We need to hire people," said museum founder and president Amelia
> Murdoch, who first came up with the idea for the museum in 1971.
> "There's so many aspects that need some sort of support activity."
> The museum - which is open Tuesdays, Saturdays and the first and third
> Sundays of each month - pays $2,000 a month to rent its 16-foot by
> 24-foot exhibit hall, as well as another room for a library and
> office. It has received thousands of dollars in grants to buy
> computers and fund specific projects, but overhead costs are funded
> almost entirely through donations.
>
> There are currently about 150 museum members and their annual dues
> range from $20 for seniors and students to $5,000 or more for
> corporate sponsors. The museum needs about 800 members to be
> self-sustaining, McFadden said, and the next few months will likely
> determine whether it can stay in business. The museum plans to add a
> new exhibit in February which will focus on the difference between
> American and British language that arose around the War of 1812, as
> many Americans began spelling some words differently ("color" instead
> of "colour") and adopting American Indian terms, such as succotash,
> raccoon, moose and terrapin. "We've got a lot of ideas," said board of
> trustees member Gary McCone. "Now it's time to make them concrete."
>
> http://www.gazette.net/stories/12102009/bowinew154910_32553.php
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