To the editor:

Megan Helm reveals a lack of understanding and a disregard for financial realities in her letter to the editor in the Journal-World of June 29, (“Exhibits lacking”).

The Watkins Community Museum of History, being run by the Douglas County Historical Society, does not have the same financial resources for curating exhibits and creating programs as the Kansas Museum of History, run by the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka.

In spite of financial limitations, the board of directors for the Douglas County Historical Society and Rebecca Phipps, director of the museum, have worked hard over the last two years to position the museum as an active participant in the community by bringing in outside exhibits (“Celebrating the Year of Rooster,” from Taiwan), creating exhibits from the museum’s collections (“Vietnam: A Self-inflicted Wound,” “150 Years of Lingerie”), offering educational workshops for all ages and improving the museum’s organizational structure to maintain a well-run museum based on accessioned, cataloged collections that reflect the history of the citizens of Douglas County.

The museum also offers a Web site (www.watkinsmuseum.org) that details the exhibits, programs and short- and long-term plans for the museum.

Why doesn’t Ms. Helm, as a member of the “community,” volunteer her money, her time and her energy to helping the Watkins “Community” Museum of History create the exhibits she feels are lacking?

Jennifer Dropkin,

Lawrence