I can imagine the shudder! Heh. You're probably right with the "one
more thing" response. I almost feel I need some business courses to
prepare me for my career in public history. A lot of the
administrative duties will have to be "bankers' hours" because of the
vendors and officials that we would be dealing with. However, for the
public, those M-F 8-5 hours are just not convenient.

I would guess that for the really small sites where you may only have
one full-time person, there's not a lot of wiggle room with hours, and
the lighting would be a challenge. Those environmental factors I had
not even considered so thanks for giving me another thought to mull
over there! It's a good thing to have.

I think marketing is a biggie, and I believe you're right. I know that
when I travel now, even being a public history grad student, I
automatically discount historic sites after a certain time because I'm
used to them closing relatively early. I would be shocked to have a
facility open late.

Thanks for your time!
Garet

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 11:23 AM, Cindy Boyer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I raised this very question at a week-long museum institute this past autumn - and saw a shudder go through the group!
>
> I wondered why we keep, for the most part, "bankers hours."  The shudder was the result of a number of overwhelmed, over-committed professionals, whose initial reaction was - one more thing!
>
> My two small historic house museums have lighting issues, so evening hours are currently not practical most of the year without a serious investment in upgrades.
>
> I am curious to hear if others are doing more evening hours.  I think it would take some targeted marketing - we expect the movies or the mall or the amusement park to be open late. Will the public think of us when they are considering evening options?
>
> Cindy Boyer
> Director of Museums and Education
> The Landmark Society of Western New York
> 133 S. Fitzhugh St.
> Rochester NY  14608
> (585) 546-7029 ext. 12
> [log in to unmask]

-- 
M. Garet Bleddynn

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It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to any pursuit.

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