I think the IRS has something to say about the location of gift shops as
well.  If it appears a primary purpose of a facility is to sell gifts, the
IRS could question its 501(3)c status.  For this reason alone, some
outstanding museum gift shops have been located off to the side -- making
certain that they are seen as separate from the main business of the
museum, and ensuring that no one needs to buy a ticket to do their
shopping.  One of America's most distinguished institutions (Colonial
Williamsburg) got all sorts of expensive legal advice on this point before
building its DeWitt Wallace Gallery building a decade or so ago.



>PLease read my message carefully.  I didn't advocate locating shops in
>"out of the way" places, I merely advocated that they be "off to the
>side" instead of forcing all exhibit visitors to walk through a gift shop.
>There is a big difference there. Also, the issue I raised was not fear
>of "embarrassing someone", but rather one of trying to make the museum a
>more inclusive, welcoming place for people of all incomes...including
>those who cannot afford the merchandise in the gift shops.  While I am not
>denying the business necessities of museums in an era of shrinking
>funding, to me, we also need to be sensitive and attentive to the broader,
>more economically diverse audiences museums are currently trying to
>embrace.

George Bauer ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
: This is one of the most ridiculous reasons I have ever heard for deciding
: where to locate a gift shop!  Do businesses put themselves in
: out-of-the=-way places because somebody might be embarrassed if it were
out
: in front???

: george