List Members & Colleagues,

I would be very interested in learning of your reactions to the media
release below which I received recently?  Interestingly enough ( as an ICOM
member of long standing ), I received this information on October 4th and
collectively we have only until the 27th to register any support or
opposition!

On a personal level, I have always adopted the Net as an OPEN platform for
information sharing and credibility of a site is built up over a period of
time, regardless of the source of physical location of the site owner.

The language that ICOM favours has always worried / annoyed me !

Words such as <restricted >,< limited > suggest to me a desire to CONTROL
rather than promote and this is at variance with the whole ethos of the Web.
In my opinion the whole initiative also smacks of a reactive rather than
proactive approach to the opportunities on the web.

If you are NOT a member of ICOM does your museum wish to be vetted by its
Museum Domain Management Association shell?

Personally, I think that if you are a museum (actual or virtual), then you
should have the opportunity to use the DOT MUSEUM top level domain?  What do
you think?

Roger Smith
[log in to unmask]
Former Chair of ICOM New Zealand &
Former Chair of ICOM MPR ( Marketing & Public Relations Committee )

___________________________THE MEDIA RELEASE______________________________

ICOM SEEKS NEW INTERNET DOMAIN FOR MUSEUMS

Application for .museum submitted to ICANN for public comment through
October 27

PARIS - Responding to an open call for proposals, the International Council
of Museums (ICOM), as a founder member of the Museum Domain Management
Association (MDMA), has submitted an application to the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to create .museum, a restricted
top-level domain name (TLD) on the Internet. The initiative would benefit
the global museum community and its publics by clearly defining a place for
nonprofit museums and the resources they offer in cyberspace. This is the
first time that the museum community, through its professional organization
ICOM, has collectively stepped forward to assert a unique presence and
identity on the World Wide Web since the emergence of this important mass
medium.

ICANN, the Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that oversees the
Internet domain name system, issued its call for proposals with a closing
deadline of October 2. During a comprehensive review phase through October
27, ICANN will solicit public comment on the applications it has received.
ICANN is expected to announce successful applicants by the end of the year.
All applications will be published on ICANN's web site, www.icann.org. This
is the first time since the late 1980s that the possibility for new
international Internet top-level domain names is being made available. The
.museum domain will be restricted, with eligibility limited to museums and
their professional organizations based on ICOM's definition of museum, which
continues to be discussed and modified as the museum field evolves. ICOM is
a non-governmental organization established in 1946 with over 16,000
members. It defines a museum as "a non-profit making, permanent institution
in the service of society and of its development, and open to the public,
which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits, for
purposes of study, education, and enjoyment, material evidence of people and
their environment."
"The museum community shares a common purpose-providing access to the
histories of evidence of people and their environments," explains Jacques
Perot, President of ICOM. "As we expand our
reach into cyberspace, our missions and the reasons people depend upon us do
not change. It is perhaps even more important in cyberspace than it is in
physical space for museums to have an
authentic identity, ensuring that our vast collections and information
holdings are accessible and verifiable."

If approved by ICANN, .museum will be administered by a newly formed
non-profit trade association, the Museum Domain Management Association
(MDMA). MDMA's two founder members are ICOM and the J. Paul Getty Trust, and
serving on its board of directors are ICOM President Jacques Perot, ICOM
Vice President Bernice Murphy, Getty Museum Director and Trust Vice
President Deborah Gribbon, and Getty Museum Assistant Director Kenneth
Hamma.

The J. Paul Getty Trust-in addition to operating the Getty Museum, Research
Institute, Conservation Institute-plays a philanthropic role for museums
around the world and serves the professional field in many ways, including
through the Getty Leadership Institute. The Getty Trust worked closely with
ICOM to prepare the formal application for .museum and assisted ICOM in the
establishment of MDMA.

"As an extension of our mission of service to the museum field, the Getty is
proud to be playing a catalytic role in the creation of .museum," says the
Getty's Gribbon. "The Internet can be a critical point of access and a
valuable tool for the public. But it can also be a place where meaning and
authenticity get lost. The creation of .museum will give our public and
professional audiences greater confidence in the Internet as a point of
access to museum collections and information."

Many museums already have a presence on the Internet, while others, due
partly to financial and technical limitations, are moving into cyberspace
more slowly. Developing a clear cyberspace identity for the museum community
as a whole is expected to help bridge this digital divide. Proponents
believe that .museum, along with value-added services that can be provided
to its members, will give museums that have not yet participated actively in
the development of the Internet the support to do so.
Contacts:
Valerie Jullien, Communications Officer
International Council of Museums
+33 1 4568 2836 - [log in to unmask]

Sylvia Sukop, Sr. Communications Specialist
J. Paul Getty Trust
+1 310 440 6966 - [log in to unmask]
___________________________________________________________________________

Read Global Museum - 77 countries, FREE online subscription, the very latest
in International News,
Views, Vacancies,Virtual Mall, Travel Service, Resources and more!
http://www.globalmuseum.org
___________________________________________________________________________

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).