State Funding for the Bishop Museum
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STATE FUNDING FOR THE BISHOP Joyce D. Kahane Rescarchcr Report No. 2, 1988 Legislativc Reference Bureau State C:apitol, Room 004 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 FOREWORD This study on the Bishop Museum was prepared in response to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 56, adopted during the 1987 legislative session. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 56 requested that the Bureau study the feasibility of designating the Bishop Museum as the State Museum for Natural and Cultural History with an annual line item appropriation for the operation of the Museum, and to consider state acquisition of Museum real estate properties that are of cultural and historic significance to the State. The study primarily focusses on the question of state funding to the Museum. We extend our sincere appreciation to Bishop Museum staff and administration for their gracious cooperation and assistance throughout the course of this study. We also wish to acknowledge administrators of Hawaii state departments and agencies, and state agencies, museum organizations, and museums around the nation who responded thoughtfully to our questionnaires and provided us with valuable information and help. SAMUEL 8. K. CHANG Director January 1988 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ... FOREWORD ..................................................... 111 1 . INTRODUCTION .................................................... 1 Methodology .................................................. 2 Organization of the Report .................................... 3 2 . BACKGROUND ...................................................... 4 Overview ...................................................... 4 State Financing of Museums in the United States .............. 6 The Smithsonian Institution: A Public-Private Partnership .... 9 Facilities. Activities. and Finances of Selected Museums ........ 15 Attitudes of Museum Administrators Toward Museum Funding . 30 3 . THE BISHOP MUSEUM .............................................. 36 Brief History .................................................. 36 Government Repository ........................................ 37 Structure... and Organization .................................... 38 Fac~l~t~es...................................................... 41 Activities of the Museum ...................................... 41 Collections .................................................... 41 Research ...................................................... 42 Publications .................................................. 43 Public Education .......................................... 44 Library ...................................................... 45 Information Resource for the Public ............................ 47 Government Funding .......................................... 50 Waipi'o Valley ................................................ 54 4 . PERCEIVED CONTRIBUTION OF THE BISHOP MUSEUM TO THE STATE OF HAWAII .......................... Department of Agriculture .................................... Department of the Attorney General .......................... Department of Business and Economic Development ............ Department of Education ...................................... Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Historic Sites ............................................ Department of Transportation .................................. State Foundation on Culture and the Arts .................... University of Hawaii Center for Oral History .................. University of Hawaii Department of Anthropology .............. University of Hawaii Department of lndo-Pacific Languages .... University of Hawaii Department of Linguistics ................ University of Hawaii Music Department ........................ University of Hawaii Press .................................... University of Hawaii School of Hawaiian. Asian. and . Pactf~cStudies ................................................ 62 University of Hawaii Social Science Research Institute.......... 63 . Unidenttfied .................................................. 63 5 . FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................ 64 Findings ...................................................... 64 Recommendations .............................................. 69 FOOTNOTES ........................................................ 71 Exhibits 1 . Smithsonian Operating Expenditures. by Source 1847-1976 .......... 16 Percent of Smithsonian Operating Expenditures. by Source 1847-1976 ................................................ 19 Facilities: 1971 and 1987 .......................................... 22 Exhibitions: 1971 and 1987 ........................................ 23 General Activities: 1971 and 1987 .................................. 24 Role of Research .................................................. 25 Number of Staff and Salary Ranges: 1970 and 1986 ................ 26 Sources of income: 1970 and 1986 .................................. 27 Expenditures: 1970 and 1986 ...................................... 28 Nature of Government Funding. 1987 .............................. 29 Bishop Museum Corporate Leadership .............................. 39 Bishop Museum Organizational Chart ................................ 40 State Contribution to Expenditures of the Bishop Museum .......... 52 State Contribution to Income of the Bishop Museum ................ 53 Appendices A . Senate Concurrent Resolution No . 56. Senate. Fourteenth Legislature. 1987 Regular Session. State of Hawaii .................. 73 B . Bernice P . Bishop Museum . Deed of Trust ........................ 75 C . Bishop Museum Charter of Incorporation ............................ 83 D. Bishop Museum Amended Charter of Incorporation . .. .. .. .. 93 E. Bishop Museum Press: Annotated Catalog of Books and Series in Print, 1988 .... .. ... .. .. .. .. ...... ... ... .. .. ... 103 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 56 (see Appendix A) requests that the Legislative Reference Bureau "conduct a feasibility study on designating the Bernice P. Bishop Museum as the State Museum for Natural and Cultural History with a line item appropriation of an annual public contribution for the operation of the Hawaii State Museum and further, that the study consider acquisition, by the State of Hawaii, of those Bishop Museum real estate properties that are of cultural and historical significance to the people of Hawaii." The Resolution states the Bishop Museum would be a more stable and productive educational and scientific institution if such public funds were made available, and points out that the Bishop Museum contributes to the public because: (1) Specimens and objects of natural, botanical, ethnological, architectural, historical, and archaeological value or interest are transferred to the Bishop Museum, pursuant to section 6E-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes; (2) The Bishop Museum is a rich reservoir of educational resources for Hawaii's students; (3) The Bishop Museum conducts research programs in the Pacific region and these studies help preserve the arts, artifacts, and biological specimens of the Pacific; and (4) The scientific research conducted by the Bishop Museum on animals, plants, and cultures of the Pacific is beneficial to research institutions throughout the world, and this research focuses international attention on Hawaii. STATE FUNDING FOR THE BISHOP MUSEUM The Resolution offers as a model for the relationship between state government and the Bishop Museum, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., an educational and scientific institution founded and operated under the concept of public-private partnership. The issue of state support for the Bishop Museum is not a new one. In response to legislative requests, the Legislative Reference Bureau published two reports entitled: Feasibility Study: State Acquisition of Bishop Museum' and Financial Vicissitudes of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum,' in 1972 and 1973, respectively. The 1972 study concluded that "state acquisition of the Museum is not a viable option at this time.. Financial assistance, rather than government acquisition of Bishop Museum, appears to be a practical and feasible method by which the State of Hawaii could support a part of its responsibility in the area of providing museum services.. Financial assistance to Bishop Museum could enable it to play a greater role as the institution for the learning, preservation, and presentation of the unique culture and heritage of the children of Hawaii".' Methodology In order to determine whether it would be feasible to establish the Bishop Museum as the State Museum for Natural and Cultural History with an annual line item appropriation, and for the State to acquire certain Bishop Museum real estate properties, it was decided to gain a broad perspective on museums; learn about the funding of museums in other states, and the concept of the public-private museum partnership; better understand the workings of the Bishop Museum, in relation to other museums in the nation; and examine the contribution of the Bishop Museum to the State of Hawaii. The emphasis of the study, as in Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 56, was on the question of state financial support to the Museum. Accordingly, the principal data gathering activities consisted of the following: INTRODUCTION (1) Review of certain printed materials on museums, and attempts to locate information on government funding to museums in the United States; (2) Investigation of the concept of the public-private museum partnership and the workings of the Smithsonian