I agree that commercial services should not be overlooked as a method of
public access / outreach.  I started a Dallas Museum of Art section on
CompuServe's Fine Art Forum in late 1993 -- it doesn't attract the
traditional 'art-museum' audience, but it is the most heavily accessed
section on the forum.  I have been able to field research and reference
questions from schoolkids, and converse with computer professionals who
wouldn't normally be interested in the arts, except for the fact that we
provide digital images that users can download.  It has been an extremely
valuable experience for the DMA.
 
CompuServe should also be considered by any museum involved in multimedia
development, digital imaging, or other information technologies as it
includes many forums in support of commercial software packages.  I have
found it easier to post a technical support question to CompuServe than to
call the tech support phone number and wait on hold for an hour to get a
representative.  CompuServe is also an excellent repository of shareware /
freeware on anything from educational games to digital imaging utilities.
Compuserve is also the home of the 'Stone Soup Group' of computer
professionals who invented the GIF image format.
 
While we are all aware of the benefits of the Internet, at present it is
highly beneficial to have / provide access to both commercial and public
online services.
 
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Kevin J. Comerford                      |   internet: [log in to unmask]
Visual Resource Librarian /             |
Manager of Information Technology       |
Dallas Museum of Art                    | compuserve: 71233,2412
1717 North Harwood                      |      voice: 214-922-1281
Dallas, TX 75201                        |        fax: 214-954-0174
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Disclaimer: Any opinions I express may not be representative of my actual
beliefs or convictions.  --The Management.
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On Tue, 20 Sep 1994, Tom Lowderbaugh, OESE wrote:
 
> For us, the Internet delivers our materials to one kind of audience, the
> "boutique" (i.e., commercial) services to another kind of audience. In
> fact, however, I think that we have found that audiences are not so
> easily defined. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art, for
> example, attracts a diverse audience to the services it offers over
> America Online. (I prefer to let my colleagues at that museum describe
> their own experience; they are quite articulate.)Serving as broad an
> audience as possible in as many ways as possible appeals to us greatly.
>
> An additional benefit of disseminating materials over a commercial
> service is that it can provide a level of technical expertise and
> support that my office, for example, could never furnish for itself. Our
> anonymous ftp server contains our complete "Resource Guide for
> Teachers." On America Online, we offer the same guide, but there as a
> searchable database.
>
> For us, using commercial services *and* the Internet makes the most
> sense.
>
> Tom Lowderbaugh Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
>
> Arts and Industries Building, Room 1163
> Mail Stop 402
> Smithsonian Institution
> Washington, DC 20560