We do *not* have a written policy, but the examples you gave sound like
people asking too much.  It seems not so much a question of the time and
effort, as that your director is being asked to surrender rights to her own
work, done on her own time.  Just because she willingly shares that with
"her" museum, doesn't mean that it's available to any and everyone, to use
in their published work.  Doing research in museum records for a fee,
payable to the museum, is an entirely different issue.

Carolyn Breedlove
Kent Plantation House
Alexandria, LA
-----Original Message-----
From: Topsy Smalley <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, June 08, 2000 4:00 PM
Subject: Policies about doing research for visitors?


>Hi.  I am new to the list, so please excuse me if this question
>has been hashed (and rehashed) before.  I tried checking the
>archives, but didn't find a previous discussion.
>
>I am on the Board of Directors of a small historical museum
>(http://www.capitolamuseum.org) in California.  Our
>Director works 75% (and does 150%) of a fulltime job.
>
>Our Director is our local area historian.  She researches (on
>her own time), and writes and is published. We have a filing
>cabinet of photocopied materials about the history of the
>area, and lots and lots of photographs available for the
>public.  Other materials in the Museum (print and electronic)
>are working documents, papers, and the results of the
>Director's research; they are mainly kept in the Director's
>office.
>
>People in the area frequently contact her for information
>and details about events, and she shares her knowledge
>and gives interviews, does public speaking at all kinds of
>local events, etc. etc.  She writes a regular column for the
>local paper.
>
>Recently, she has been contacted by people who are
>writing their own books about this area.  They seem to want
>her to do more for them than we have been used to --
>research to find particular photos, for example.  Or, they
>seem to want to dig into the Director's own research files.
>
>If your museum has a written policy that outlines boundaries
>about doing research, or touches on these issues, I would
>be most grateful for a copy.
>
>Thank you!!
>
>Topsy N. Smalley
>[log in to unmask]
>Secretary, Capitola Historical Museum Board of Directors
>http://www.capitolamuseum.org/
>

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