Hello All,

I am conducting a study of how museums handle research requests/questions from the public, on behalf of the Smithsonian's Freer Galley of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art.  We would like to come up with a more efficient system for ourselves and are interested to learn what kinds of mechanisms other museums have in place, if any, to deal with the increasing number of requests due to email and the Web.

Specifically, I am interested in knowing:

1) What staff resources are devoted to responding to public inquiry?

2) Do you have an email contact or special form on your Web site for submitting questions?  If so, who responds to them?

3) Do you allow people to set up appointments with museum staff (curators, conservators, etc) to identify or discuss items in their personal collection?

4) Do you keep track of who is asking questions and/or the types of questions they ask?  If so, how do you use this information?

5) Have you established any policies or perameters to limit the number or type of requests?

6) How long does it typically take to respond to questions or research requests?  (What is your turn-around time?)

7) Do you think your system is effective, or could it be improved?

8) Any comments or suggestions?

If you have a few moments, please respond to me off-list at <[log in to unmask]>.  (I'll be happy to post or forward a summary if others are interested.)  

Thank you!

Naina Mistry
Research Specialist
Freer & Sackler Galleries
Smithsonian Institution
[log in to unmask]

========================================================Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).