It seems apparent that everyone who has registered an opinion thus far
supports the idea of having collection information on the web.

Allow me, then, to suggest another consideration.  Over the last couple
of years, small museums throughout the plains states (from Texas north
all the way to North Dakota) have suffered a rash of thefts.  In most
instances, these thefts have occured during open hours (at least in the
northern plains), usually over lunch hour, when volunteers were in
charge.  Locked cases were opened and usually one or a couple of
artifacts were stolen--not everything that was in a case.

I have always believed that the thieves were stealing to a list prepared
by someone.  None of these museums have their collections on the web,
they just have what they have on exhibit.  However, I do wonder how much
easier the list-maker's task would be if he/she had access to museum
collections on the web?

I am a curator, and actually in favor of having as much information as
possible about the collection out for researchers to access, including
photographs.  (After all, why are we collecting the stuff if we are
going to hide it?)  However, after reading John Scafidi's post, I did
have a second thought.

Nothing, of course, can replace good security procedures . . .

Claudia Nicholson
Curator
Museum Collections Department
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
  e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
  Phone:  651-297-7442
  FAX:  651-297-2967