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ne, provincijske i gradske vlasti značajno smanjile dotacije,ne samo muzejima, već i drugim kulturnim i obrazovniminstitucijama. Rezultat je bio poražavajući, pamnogi muzeji, pogotovo oni manji i lokalni, moraju daulažu velike napore da opstanu, tražeći način kako dasami finansiraju svoj rad, bez većeg oslanjanja na dotacije,bilo federacije, provincije ili grada. Osim smanjivanjasredstava za istraživanje, smanjili su broj zaposlenihi promenili način poslovanja, a neki su morali da prestanus radom i da zatvore vrata. Ohrabrujući su nagoveštajida će federalna vlada povećati doprinos muzejima,ali zvanično to još nije potvrđeno. Pa ipak, i porednedostatka sredstava, situacija u kanadskim muzejimajoš uvek je bolja nego u mnogim drugim zemljama, kojenastoje da prate kanadska dostignuća u toj oblasti.Tradicionalna uloga muzeja se menjaUpravljanju kanadskim muzejima oduvek je posvećivanavelika pažnja.I pored toga što su im sredstava ograničena, muzejisu obogaćivali svoje kolekcije, vodili računa o njihovojzaštiti i prezentirali ih na izložbama. Istovremeno su setrudili da, održavajući visoki kvalitet u istraživanju svojihkolekcija, obrazuju javnost. Ali se u tom pogledu njihovatradicionalna uloga u mnogo čemu promenila. Danasse mnogo više pažnje posvećuje ostvarivanju dohotka,dok se istovremeno ograničavaju mnogi fondovi zapojedine delatnosti u okviru samih muzeja. Rezultatovakvog trenda je da muzeji sve više dejstvuju kao poslovnapreduzeća, pa su zbog toga morali da promene isvoju kulturnu i poslovnu politiku. Ograničavanje vladinihfondova nateralo je muzeje da više ulažu u povećanjebroja posetilaca, što se odrazilo na kvalitet muzejskihusluga, pošto manje sredstava ostaje za istraživačkirad i akviziciju. Mnogi se sa tim ne slažu, jer uovakvoj situaciji vide negativan trend, pošto se muzejiizjednačavaju sa bilo kojim drugim lukrativnim institucijamaza zabavu. Drugi, opet, u takvim strategijama zaprivlačenje posetilaca vide i pozitivnu stranu, na primer,sve više se razvija veza između muzeja i škola.Sve veća uloga marketingaU naporima da se održe na tržištu, kanadski muzejimoraju da nude programe i aktivnosti koje su zanimljivijeod mnogih jevtinijih vrsta zabave, koje nude modernimediji, sportski događaji, da i ne pominjemo filmskui TV ponudu. U takvim uslovima, da bi svojim redovnimi potencijalnim posetiocima ostali konkurentni i zanimljivi,muzeji prate i analiziraju demografska kretanja nebi li ustanovili šta je to što njihova publika očekuje da unjima vidi. Zato ne čudi činjenica da su marketinškaodeljenja u mnogim muzejima danas mnogo jača i boljeopremljena od odeljenja za istraživački rad! Nije lakoustanoviti šta je to što privlači tako raznorodno kanadskodruštvo, u kome se odvija intenzivna šarolika kulturnarazmena. Iako Kanada ima dva zvanična jezika,engleski i francuski, njeni mnogobrojni doseljenici izskoro svake zemlje na svetu i dalje vrlo živo koriste maternjijezik, kako u privatnom tako i u poslovnom životu.Samo se u Torontu govori više od 130 jezika sveta. Unekim kvartovima grada, može se čuti, naprimer, isključivokineksi, korejski, ili arapski jezik. Natpisi u radnjamačesto su dvojezični ili trojezični. U podzemnoj železniciToronta, žili kucavici te milionske metropole, čestose čuje jezik koji ne pripada nijednoj od velikih jezičkihskupina. Zato i ne čudi što se u svim dokumentima, kojiinspirišu i prate razvoj kanadskih muzeja, neizostavnopominje i promoviše poštovanje kulturnih razlika(cultural diversity). Muzeji, po imperativu našeg vremebutto other cultural and educational institutions aswell. The impact of limited resources took a toll. Museums,especially small community ones, have struggled tosurvive, trying to find ways to finance their operationwithout relying on government. They cut back on programsand research, downsized staff, and changed theway they used to operate - some even closed their doors.The encouraging news, not yet confirmed, is that thefederal government has decided to increase its fundingto museums.Yet, regardless of the ongoing underinvestment,Canadian museums are doing better than manymuseums worldwide, which follow the achievementsthat the Canadians have demonstrated so far.Traditional Role of Museums Has ChangedCanadian museums have always been managed withgreat care. Within the context of limited resources, theyhave developed their collections, preserved them, andpresented them at exhibitions. They have also strived toachieve high quality research related to the collections,and have educated the public. This traditional role hasrather altered lately. These days we see much focus andeffort put on revenue generation and cost cutting. As aresult, museums have become rather entrepreneurialand have changed their cultural and business policiesby undertaking to develop marketing approaches thatexist in other types of businesses. Reduction in governmentfunding has made museums invest in increasingthe number of visitors. In the process, the quality of museums’service has suffered, as little was left for acquisitionand research. Many see this as a negative trend becausemuseums are being leveled with other lucrative entertainmentinstitutions. Others think of this as positivee.g. the link between schools and museums has becomestronger.Focus on MarketingToday, in order to stay competitive, Canadian museumsmust offer programs and activities that are moreinteresting than much cheaper entertainment such asnewspapers, magazines, sporting events, films, TV andsimilar. To attract and keep current visitors, they followand examine demographic, political, economic,technological and organizational trends to find outwhat Canadians want to see. No wonder that marketingdepartments in many museums are stronger andbetter equipped than their research teams! It is noteasy to figure out how to inspire such a diverse audience– Canadian society has gone through an intensiveinter-cultural exchange. Two official languages, Englishand French, are in use, and immigrants from almostevery country in the world still use their mothertongue in their everyday life, even in business. In Torontoalone, more than 130 languages are spoken. Insome quarters of the city, you can hear only Chinese, orArabic or Korean language. Signs and labels in storesare sometimes in two or three languages. On the Torontosubway, one of the city’s main arteries, you oftenhear a language that does not belong to any of the majorlanguage groups. No wonder that term ‘cultural diversity’is mentioned and promoted in museum policiesand other relevant documents, directing museums onhow museums should be operated. Cultural diversity isabsolutely the key element that demonstrates that museumscannot afford to focus on strategies and modelsof behavior that attract an audience who speak onelanguage only or come from a cultural heritage that isclosely tied to exclusively one segment of population.To stay competitive, museums are increasing admis-65