Hi.  I am new to the list, so please excuse me if this question
has been hashed (and rehashed) before.  I tried checking the
archives, but didn't find a previous discussion.

I am on the Board of Directors of a small historical museum
(http://www.capitolamuseum.org) in California.  Our
Director works 75% (and does 150%) of a fulltime job.

Our Director is our local area historian.  She researches (on
her own time), and writes and is published. We have a filing
cabinet of photocopied materials about the history of the
area, and lots and lots of photographs available for the
public.  Other materials in the Museum (print and electronic)
are working documents, papers, and the results of the
Director's research; they are mainly kept in the Director's
office.

People in the area frequently contact her for information
and details about events, and she shares her knowledge
and gives interviews, does public speaking at all kinds of
local events, etc. etc.  She writes a regular column for the
local paper.

Recently, she has been contacted by people who are
writing their own books about this area.  They seem to want
her to do more for them than we have been used to --
research to find particular photos, for example.  Or, they
seem to want to dig into the Director's own research files.

If your museum has a written policy that outlines boundaries
about doing research, or touches on these issues, I would
be most grateful for a copy.

Thank you!!

Topsy N. Smalley
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Secretary, Capitola Historical Museum Board of Directors
http://www.capitolamuseum.org/