When Neither Coaxing nor Coercion Works: A Historic Examination of Asset Valuation Debates in the GLAM Sector in New Zealand

Abstract

The introduction of New Public Management (NPM) in New Zealand in the early 1990s introduced expectations of efficiencies and effectiveness by public benefit entries and this including the valuation of collections held in Libraries and Museums. The specific research question in this study is: what were the origins of the collection valuation procedures for Museums and Libraries in New Zealand and reasons for a continuing divergence in balance sheet values, a marked contrast between otherwise homogenous public benefit entities. It is also observed that there remains a marked divergence in behaviours by these two categories of public benefit entities in New Zealand. It is theorised that it was the underlying differences between the mission and functioning of museum operations, compared with libraries, which was fuelling such (successful) resistance. This can be best understood by analysis of the resources or capitals under their control, using Bourdieu's’ Theory of Practice. The use of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, capital and field will be briefly described, as this provides an invaluable theoretical lenses through which to identify the processes of challenge and acceptance in such dynamics.