In a message dated 01-03-01 11:52:20 EST, Christopher Dill writes:

<< David's rant suggests to me that there's no point in suggesting to the =
 visitor that the museum will make an attempt to provide the answer, that =
 the visitor should be told to go look it up themselves.  I know that's an =
 over-simplification of what David really said (ducks anticipated flames).
>>

First I'd like to object ever so slightly to my post being characterized as a
"rant" (unless of course you meant it in the Northumbrian sense--a
Northumbrian rant is kind of like a hootenanny).  I hate to think that merely
expressing one's HO (albeit in an over-long fashion) constitutes a rant.
Well, this is another long one (sorry), and I don't think it's a rant either.

I didn't mean to suggest that "there's no point in suggesting to the =
 visitor that the museum will make an attempt to provide the answer, that =
 the visitor should be told to go look it up themselves."  I think a docent
should try to get the answer for a visitor if it's feasible.  But a same-day
answer may NOT always be feasible.  I also question how many visitors would
really be willing to hang around even 10 or 15 minutes for an answer, as it
seems to me that even in the best circumstances it could take that long.  In
an earlier post I suggested that our visitors in the Smithsonian can avail
themselves of an opportunity for an authoritative answer if they write.  Our
volunteer-operated public inquiry service can route questions to appropriate,
willing staff for responses.  This seems to work, because I get emails from
people who have visited the museum and reached me later in this manner.  I've
never received such an inquiry from a visitor who seemed miffed not to have
received an on-the-spot reply during the original visit.  I suppose it's
possible that, for each one of these inquiries, somewhere there's another
person who was disappointed or irritated not to get a same-day answer and
chose not to write.  I hope there aren't too many such unhappy souls, and
while I certify that that's a concern, I also hope I won't sound too crass to
say that I just can't worry about it too much.

A visitor once harangued me about his inability to reach a military history
staff member by phone to ask a question.  Initially I sympathized with him,
thinking he meant his calls weren't being returned.  But finally he admitted
that he had hung up on the voice-mail without leaving a message, and I lost
my sympathy for him--he was just annoyed that he couldn't reach a live person
on his first try (THAT was a rant).  I explained that that office was
understaffed, having been depleted by deaths and retirements, and it might be
difficult for them to keep someone at the phone at all times, but he was not
impressed.  I thought he was being unreasonable, although I didn't say so.
My point, in the context of this discussion, is that a docent on the exhibit
floor might get the same result in trying to get a question answered.

At lunch today I questioned some docents about how they handle questions they
can't answer.  They agreed that they would attempt to get an answer for a
visitor the same day if it were feasible.  Upon pressing them a bit, however,
I was told that usually this would in fact NOT be feasible.  They don't carry
phones with them.  They would be able to try calling a staff member only
between tours or at the end of their shift.  So most of the time they're
really not in a position to provide a same-day answer, even if the relevant
staff member could be reached on the first try and knew the answer off the
top of his or her head or had it at his or her fingertips.  They agreed that
a more practical solution is for the visitor to write the question on a card
and leave it at the information desk for later follow-up.  The visitor can
also try calling a staff member from the information desk (many do, and the
information desk volunteers will help them locate the right office), but
there are no guarantees that they'll succeed in getting through.  I've often
gone to the information desk to meet a visitor with a question I thought I
could answer, but others have missed me when I was at lunch or otherwise out
or tied up.  I'm not saying we expect a visitor to "look it up" themselves,
just that t think waiting for an answer is not an unreasonable expectation.

I question the assumption, which has been mentioned several times, that it
should be easier to get a specialized question answered in a large museum
than in a small one.  The complexities of a large museum like ours can make
it more difficult to figure out whom to contact, and once you do, the fact
that an individual office may be understaffed may mean you still can't get
your quick answer.

I think the comparison between getting a quick answer to a consumer problem
when you're shopping and getting an answer to a question piqued by a museum
display is flawed.  Unless you're a student who waited until the last minute
to write a term paper about a museum display, the degrees of urgency aren't
normally the same.  I suspect that most of the questions which museum
visitors might have could wait a few days or even a few weeks for a reply.

Just a few more thoughts to add to the discussion...  I want to note that
John Martinson seems to be of two minds on this issue.  In one message he
says it's "sad" if a visitor can't get a question answered before he or she
leaves the museum and calls such a situation "unprofessional", yet in others
he indicates that he doesn't expect a docent to drop everything to get an
answer.  These seem to me to be contradictory positions.  I would suggest
that the same visitors whose interest in getting answers couldn't be
sustained long enough to leave notes at the information desk with their names
and addresses are the same people who would not return an hour later to
contact the docent, assuming the docent could get the answer.  The more I
think about it, the more I think the most practical solution in most cases
would be for the docent to carry a pack of note cards and invite the visitor
to write the unanswered question then and there and give it to the docent for
later follow-through.  That would show the visitor that the docent is
prepared for such eventualities and that the museum is willing to go the
extra mile.  The docent can explain that the staff is willing to respond to
questions but that sometimes logistics necessitate a delay.  Also, a certain
amount of peer pressure within the tour group might lower a visitor's
resistance to the written question.  And it would be less disruptive to the
docent's routine.  I'm influenced by the realities of my museum's particular
circumstances--the large size, high visitor volume, complex staffing
arrangement, etc., which I know make logistics cumbersome in trying to locate
the right people for the right answers at the right time.  I also think our
high visibility and reputation sometimes create unreasonable demands--many
people think we "have everything" and therefore "know everything" and that
everyone with a staff ID should have all the answers.  A docent equipped with
a pack of cards for questions might send the message that we DON'T all have
all the answers at any given moment but are willing to try to provide them.
The docent could emphasize that questions can represent "learning
opportunities" for the museum as well as its visitors.  I see this as a
responsive and professional attitude.  I can't think of a worse message to
send visitors than to suggest that museums have all the answers (unless it's
that we can't be bothered to reply).  Note, however, that even the delayed
answer might still be "I don't know.  I gave it the college try but couldn't
find the answer."  I've written that more than once.  Other museums with
other circumstances may develop other answers to the problem.

David Haberstich
National Museum of American History
(My opinions--and my solutions--are strictly my own)

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