I am a student in the MLS program at Texas Woman's University.  I have been
asked to draft an electronic access policy for the art museum library where I
am fulfilling my practicum.  The library is primarily a focused research
collection designed to meet curatorial needs. The museum's webpage is under
construction and has plans to provide a link for e-mail questions about the
collection.  It is my hope that those of you who use this type of reference
format will share your experience.  Please answer all or any of the questions
specifically addressed, or just offer more general information if you prefer.
If you will answer me directly (off-list), I will summarize the answers I
receive and post the summary to the list for general information.


1.  Does your website have a link for someone to send a question about your
collection?  Is a librarian or curator named in this connection, or is the
patron sending a message blindly?  If there is no direct link by which to send
inquiries, is an e-mail address provided so that questions may be addressed to
the library?  Do you have a separate and specific mailbox into which such
questions are delivered?

2.  We are thinking of including a number of finding aids on our website (e.g.,
exhibition histories, manuscript collection, artist files, staff directories,
museum histories, etc.).  Can you offer any advice or suggestions about what
would be successful and what would not?  Do you offer a link allowing access
to the museum's collection management system?  Do you limit how it is availble?

3.  Did the quantity of reference questions increase dramatically once your
library offered electronic access?  Did the website seem to encourage other
formats of reference questions (i.e., phone, mail, etc.) as well?  Are e-mail
requests handled differently than other reference requests? Have you adopted a
specific time frame in which you expect to answer e-mail reference questions?
Is there a limit to the amount of time you expend on e-mail reference questions?  Do you make copies and mail or
fax them to e-mail patrons?  Do you charge a fee for this service?

4.  How do you prioritize requests?  Would someone using the e-mail link be
asked to identify himself in some way?  Do you have a form that the link
goes to, or just an e-mail link in which they can start typing?  Do you have
any types of consortial agreements or other types of user categories which
receive priority?

5.  At what point do you refer an e-mail qustion to the curatorial staff?  At
what point do you refer an e-mail patron to his or her local library?

6.  Is there a difference in the nature of e-mail reference questions from
those that are asked in person or via telephone or letters?  For example, are
there more requests from students requesting homework assistance, or from
collectors outside your region?

7.  Do you have a written electronic access policy?  How may be obtain a copy
of it?



I appreciate your time and energy in answering these questions or offering
input about any related issues that I may have overlooked.  I apologize for the
length of this query, but wanted to cover my bases.

Polly Trump
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