This is in response to Mia Lorena's recent posting about what's working with
WWW sites for museums. Here are several cents' worth of my opinions:
After providing several years of access through a dial-up bulletin board, my
institution ( a local history museum with three houses and a very microstaff)
developed a web site this past summer. It has been wonderfully successful for
us as a publicity tool, as one of our museums focuses on the life and career of
Joshua L. Chamberlain (1828-1914). Chamberlain's cultish stature as a Civil
War hero, Maine Governor, and Bowdoin college president, has assured us of an
audience that extends beyond our immediate region. The web has helped us serve
the needs of this audience, most of whom find out about us through keyword
searches on "Chamberlain".
As far as I'm concerned, the key to success with the web site has been
*CONTENT*. We have developed our site with this first and foremost in our mind,
and a "meaty" Chamberlain biography we have posted has been extremely popular,
as has a massive inventory of Chamberlain correspondence, and a detailed
account of our restoration activities on the Chamberlain house. These three
files (particularly the last two) provide some real information that is not
easily obtained elsewhere. Content, above all else, is what people seem to
appreciate the most.
Having some good research material up also makes it possible for researchers
to make specific, educated requests for further information, such as "I want to
see a copy of the letter of 9/17/1886" rather than "what information do you
have on _____" This makes it far easier to respond to research requests by
e-mail, which have also increased as a result of the site.
As for sales, they too have increased, and many orders by e-mail or telephone
have resulted from our on-line catalogue. This is not yet (and probably never
will be) our chief source of revenue, but we find that many people tell us
that reading about the museum and Chamberlain on-line has resulted in their
wanting to learn more, which has, in turn, led to increased sales.
With all the attention to Chamberlain, we have not done as much with our local
history as I want to. We are presently working to develop this end of the
site, and we are hoping to have a sample of our archives index up in the next
couple of weeks, again, with the goal of providing content rather than fluff.
Finally, when you are considering your site, think about the technology. I
feel it's important to make sure that people using lynx or other, older
internet browsers will not run into trouble. WeUve tried to keep the site
low-tech enough to load quickly, to look good with the pictures turned off, and
to be easily accessible.
We feel we have a very attractive site - it looks professional (but not too
slick), itUs growing each month, and it has been completely developed at no
cost to the museum, aside from my time in coding and design. Most of the
technological heavy lifting was done by two volunteers, and we have handled the
computer space issue by teaming up with a local library eager to provide the
service as part of their public service mandate. We still have some glitches
to overcome, but the site is developing in an organic way, and people are
hitting it.
I feel this has been one of the most successful and exciting ventures that our
small museum has engaged in. And it was done in-house at a rock bottom cost.
I hope that museum-L ers will visit the site and send me their impressions
we're always seeking to improve it.
<http://www.curtislibrary.com/pejepscot.htm>
Erik Jorgensen
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Pejepscot Historical Society, 159 Park Row, Brunswick, Maine 04011 USA
Erik C. Jorgensen, Executive Director. Phone (207) 729-6606
Visit us at <http://www.curtislibrary.com/pejepscot.htm> or via Yahoo!
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