I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia, studying
the history of museums. I have been 'monitoring' the museum-l list for a few
months now but this is the first time I have chosen to add to the
discussion. I just wanted to comment on the discussion of user fees for
libraries and archives, a concept that I and a number of my colleagues
have trying to defeat.
 
I realize the American situation is somewhat different, but in Canada and
in Britain, most (not all) museums, libraries and archives are public
institutions, paid for out of our tax dollars. It is unethical and
reprehensible to require people to pay for them yet again when they
actually wish to use these institutions.
 
Eileen Mak
University of British Columbia
[log in to unmask]