-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: "I fought the war museum" (error on globe) Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:57:45 -0800 From: Brian Bach <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Carlos, I think this attitude stems from a loss of face. To have visitors correct an inaccuracy in a public display is to admit a weakness, apparently. In contemporary society, admitting a weakness, even if it is trifling, seems to be unthinkable. Particularly in the media, no one corrects themselves - they just move on. Pres. Bush fumble-mumbled his way through mispronouncing BOTH the Israeli and Palestinian leaders' names recently, without the slightest effort or interest in correcting the blunder. Nothing new there. Some years ago I was in the Castle Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland, which has an exceptional military collection. In the India section, there was a photo of soldiers at the 1903 Delhi Durbar, but it was labeled as taken at the 1911 Delhi Durbar. Well, as chance would have it, I'm a fan of the Durbars and so I was able to write out a 'corrective' note, in which I sketched the difference between the two domed canopies, which were trademarks of each durbar. The '03 dome, which was in the photo, was modeled on the middle Mughal style, while the '11 dome was late Mughal and gilded (critics warned that the late Mughal choice signaled the decline of the Raj, and they were right!). At any rate, it was a sincere effort to humbly offer a correction on this tiny inaccuracy, but I tried not to come off as priggish or tut-tutting, in case the curatorial staff might be sensitive! Quite frankly, finding British museums to be particularly invitational and earnest in their high standards of accuracy, I assumed the note would be received with interest. So, I handed the note to an approving guard, who said 'Good stuff!', but I have no idea if they implemented the change or not. -b Brian P. Bach Documents/Maps Brooks Library Central Washington University 400 E. University Way Ellensburg, WA 98926-7548 USA [log in to unmask] http://www.amazon.com/Calcuttas-Edifice-Buildings-Great-City/dp/8129104156 >>> Maps-L <[log in to unmask]> 11/28/2007 9:15 AM >>> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: RE: "I fought the war museum" (error on globe) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:05:58 -0800 From: Diaz, Carlos <[log in to unmask]> To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]> So why does anyone think the museum is so reluctant to make the correction? Carlos A. Diaz Government Documents/Maps The Evergreen State College Olympia, Washington [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Maps-L Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 6:31 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: "I fought the war museum" (error on globe) Interesting story ... forwarded by Angie from CARTA-L -------- Original Message -------- Subject: "I fought the war museum" (error on globe) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:17:01 -0500 From: Ed Dahl <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: CARTA-L : Canadian Map & GIS Libraries and Archives <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Apparently, the globe has now been removed from the exhibition. Ed Dahl ***** http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=ccc63d95-9d75-4526-b932-32ff30926158&k=74618 <http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=ccc63d95-9d75-4526-b932-32ff30926158&k=74618> *Bill Schroeder: I fought the war museum* How my effort to fix a small inaccuracy in the Boer War exhibit became a two-and-a-half-year odyssey Bill Schroeder Citizen Special Monday, November 26, 2007 Earlier this year a human interest story appeared in the press about a boy who noticed a mistake in a display at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto and duly pointed it out to someone in charge. Young Parker got his picture in the paper, the museum got some free publicity, and we all could feel warm and fuzzy about a precocious kid doing the right thing. I have had less success in my ongoing battle with the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. In their Boer War section, on a large globe titled "The Bonds of Empire," a shaded region in southern Africa is incorrectly labelled. A territory that clearly corresponds to what was then known as Rhodesia (current Zimbabwe) is mistakenly identified as Northern Rhodesia (current Zambia). This is a quibble to be sure, and the museum has had to deal with a number of much more contentious issues since its opening, most notably the well-publicized controversy surrounding a panel describing the Allied bombing of civilian targets in Germany in the Second World War. Still, a factual error in a national museum is clearly unacceptable as I remarked in a letter sent to the museum following my first visit to the facility a week after it opened in May 2005. In due course a reply came, commending me for my keen eye and promising to "make the changes at the earliest moment." I did not expect my picture in the paper; a complimentary ticket would have been nice, but at least I had the satisfaction of helping out in a small way. My next visit to the museum was a year and a half later. While I agree with reviews that suggest the war museum is one of the finest museums in Canada, I was again drawn to the Boer War section. I imagined myself closely examining "The Bonds of Empire." I wondered if I would be able to detect a slight difference in paint hue where the word "Northern" would be painted over. I promised myself I would not tell. It be could our little secret -- a museum and a concerned citizen, bonded by the resolute desire to get it right. But much to my chagrin, nothing had changed on the globe. My understanding of the concept "earliest moment" is something less than 18 months and the second letter I sent was a little more pointed. I waited a few months but there was no reply. On my third visit I again headed straight for the globe and this time was not surprised to see the word "Northern" still boldly identifying the wrong place. More letters to various museum officials followed. In spring the CEO resigned so I sent a letter to the new acting director. I sent letters to the Canadian Museums Association, the Zambian high commissioner and even the federal minister of heritage but received no reply from any of these offices. During one of my visits two reporters happened to be in the building and I tried to interest them in my concern. I showed them the display; they seemed interested, took my particulars, and asked if I could send more details in writing, which I did. But the article that appeared in their paper a few days later focused only on what kids were doing during the March Break. I gradually realized that the sheer inconsequentiality of my concern mitigates against its resolution. While the tour guides and security guards on the museum floor who have heard my ever-more-polished mini-presentation have offered encouragement and surprise that my persistent campaign has not been successful, they are obviously not authorized to get some masking tape and correct the mistake themselves. Higher ranking museum officials evidently have weightier issues to deal with than such a mundane concern. It is probably for the best that our federal cabinet has more important files to address. And the notion that a foreign diplomat might use an inaccurate representation of his country in a Canadian museum to foment an international dispute is similarly farfetched. Still, while the issue may seem minor, it is disturbing on a number of levels. First, it is an example of the unresponsiveness of institutional bureaucracies that detracts from the fine work the museum does. The public relations optics are horrible. It simply should not take two and a half years, and counting, for a simple matter to be confirmed and corrected. Admittedly the frequently changing names of obscure African outposts is an example of the type of arcane geographic awareness that even the learned experts at the museum may initially miss, but in this google era facts can easily be verified. I am not a trained cartographer but I have lived in the region and the mistake is immediately apparent to anyone with a reasonable familiarity with the area. Is there no one on the war museum's staff whose job description includes fact checking? Secondly, the persistence of incorrect information impacts the credibility of a facility for which factual accuracy is an obvious priority. A mislabelled map is not a complex matter of interpretation, such as the debate over the Allied civilian bombing campaign, for which a wide spectrum of opinions can be plausibly argued. As I peruse the many engaging exhibits, how can I be confident that the information is accurate when I know of one example where an error endures? In late August 2007 I made one more visit to the museum, this time armed with a few props -- my own globe, an encyclopedia and a souvenir T-shirt from Africa with a map of the continent on its front. I approached the information desk and asked to see the acting director. I was told that I could not go up to the administrative floor without a specific appointment and when I said I would like to try anyway they directed me to the security office. A security guard behind the glass listened to my request and, perhaps sensing the potential for institutional embarrassment, made a phone call upstairs and asked me to wait. About a half-hour later, following several more calls, an administrative assistant to the acting director came down to meet me. She was apologetic and mentioned that she had perused the expanding file of my correspondence. We went straight to the "Bonds of Empire" display and I quickly made my presentation: pointing out the incorrect Northern Rhodesia label which was easy to cross-reference with my own accurate globe and an entry in the encyclopedia I had with me. I pointed out where in Zimbabwe I lived and showed her my T-shirt, which she complimented me on. The assistant could only sheepishly acknowledge the obvious and she assured me that the acting director was being informed of the issue and that I would receive a reply promptly. It is now mid-November and I still have not heard from them. In the meantime my quixotic crusade has become fodder for staff-room barbs at the school where I teach and I have become the laughingstock of the family dinner table. "Still haven't heard from the museum? Better send another letter Dad," the children mock. My youngest daughter has shown some empathy however. Snuggling in the recliner early one Saturday morning, a comfortable spot from where the deep mysteries of life are sometimes broached, she asked me, "Why doesn't the museum fix the globe?" It was then that I was struck with an idea for a new strategy. "Do you want to go ask them next time we are in Ottawa?" I asked and she enthusiastically agreed. The Canadian War Museum may not be interested in the concerns of a crusty middle-aged cynic, but perhaps they will listen to an eight-year-old. Bill Schroeder is a high school teacher in Barry's Bay, Ont. In the 1980s he spent six years living in Zimbabwe, previously known as Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia but never as Northern Rhodesia. © The Ottawa Citizen 2007