Jennifer (I love your use of IMP),
I sympathize with the logistical difficulties of making museum collections
accessible for public requests but I think museums have an oblagation to do
so.  We do, after all, hold collections in public trust, and the reason for
collecting them in the first place is because they have some value to
society.  We just have to find ways to share them or, it seems, the public
has the right to say don't collect.  Of course we share them in exhibition
but that addresses, in our case at least, about 3% of the collection.

I know it's rather more than an afternoon's work, but getting storage areas
organized to facilitate access is an important part of collections for both
staff and the public.  And of course there are computers to provide "virtual"
access.  And then, while we are dreaming big, there is the idea of open
storage.  These strategies can all address, at some level, society's right to
have access to its assets.

So you might want to accomodate public requests if you possibly can and
temper your response when you must decline, at least acknowledging that the
request is reasonable but that resources are lacking.

My two cents,
Deborah Cooper
Museum Collections Coordinator
Oakland Museum of California