I came in part way through this thread, and saw a reference to National Museum
of American Art (NMAA Online) on America Online.
 
I am one of the co-hosts of NMAA Online, which is part of Smithsonian Online.
The museum has posted a good deal of information about its collections and
services including press releases, images, publications, bibliographies,
collections descriptions. We have an online reference service, a regular art
quiz, bulletin boards, suggestion boxes.
 
>From the beginning of this venture, we were interested in evaluating an online
environment in terms of the dissemination of art information. Through our
interactive features, including an online survey, and counts of visitors and
downloads, we have begun to piece together some seful information. I have
written an article on the users of our service, with particular attention
given to the online reference service, for the Fall, 1994 issue of Art
Documentation. I will also be speaking on the subject at a session at the
upcoming MCN Conference in Washington.
 
NMAA has been very pleased with user response to our offerings on AOL and we
have had no indications that AOL is anything but pleased with Smithsonian
Online. The Smithsonian Institution, and NMAA in particular, have not limited
themselves to AOL for distribution of information. Smithsonian information is
available on the Internet and Compuserve.
 
Joan Stahl, Coordinator Image Collections
 
Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art: Room 331,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
(e-mail)[log in to unmask]  (voice) 202-357-1348