THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996                 TAG: 9603050003
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE CHRYSLER?

I have been a supporter of the Chrysler Museum for many years as well as a volunteer. As a member of the Irene Leache Memorial, I chaired several of its art biennials. I worked on the first Glass Forum and was a fund-raiser for the museum's renovation and expansion. More recently, I have volunteered in the Chrysler Art Library.

The recent abrupt dismissal of seven staffers, including the art librarian, distresses me greatly.

In a discussion of these job cuts, reportedly due to budget problems, a museum board member was quoted (MetroNews, Feb. 25) as saying the search committee for a new director is looking for ``someone who will elevate the prominence of this museum regionally and nationally.'' Will somebody please explain to me how any museum with such aspirations can terminate the employment of its art librarian - a professional with master's degrees in both art history and library science and an excellent working relationship with staff, docents, volunteers, students and the visiting public? How can a part-time employee (not a librarian); a part-time, nonresident cataloger; a college student on an hourly basis; and a handful of volunteers run what the museum has always described as one of the finest, if not the finest, art libraries in the Southeast?

If I were being considered for the post of director of the Chrysler, I would want to know all there is to know about its recent past and its true financial position. I would not even consider taking over in face of substantial financial problems. You could not get me to come aboard and begin by making substantial and unpopular staff cuts with resulting plummeting staff morale. I would say, in effect, ``I'm interested, but get back to me when your house is in order.''

As a taxpayer and longtime museum supporter, I would like to know the conclusions and recommendations of the out-of-town consulting team's current ongoing study of the museum. And I think all of us who love and support the museum would like to know a great deal more than The Virginian-Pilot's art writer, who has been covering the story, is in a position to tell us.

JULIA BRISTOW

Norfolk, Feb. 28, 1996 by CNB