At 01:06 PM 11/11/96 -0600, "Eugene W. Dillenburg" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Thus (at long last) my question: should museums attempt to explain their
>inner workings to an apparently disinterested public?  Does our audience
>have the "right" to know what goes on behind the scenes?  A "need" to know?
>A desire to know?  Have other museums tackled these issues before?  Has any
>museum attempted this sort of self-explanation in exhibits or programs; and
>if so, what were the results?

Doesn't the Page Museum in LA incorporate a "window" into the back room,
where visitors can watch some of the processes of cataloging and sorting as
they happen.  The research area is turned into an exhibit like everything else.


==================================
Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93, Larchmont, NY  10538
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