This sounds like the type of system that was installed in The Journey museum
in Rapid City, South Dakota.  They went so far as to eliminate a lot of text
because they assumed that all visitors would use the audio system.  Beyond
worrying about security and how it will actually work with visitors, the
first question you should be asking is will it work?  And, what do you do if
it doesn't?

Although I don't have a current address for The Journey, you should be able
to track them down.  Talk to staff there about their audio system, and how
it worked (or didn't).  It has gotten them into a whole lot of trouble.

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

> ----------
> From:         Monk, Jeannette[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Tuesday, March 23, 1999 4:29 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      FW: self-guided audio tours w/headphones
>
> Dear Museum-Lers,
>
> I am posting this for a colleague...
>
>
>
> Hello, all.
>
> I have just been asked to respond to a proposal for our new facility: that
> there be a headphone audio tour of the permanent exhibit, where visitors
> would hear text and effects as they wandered around the exhibit.
> Apparently
> it works on infra-red signals; people walk in and out of audio zones and
> hear a brief sound track pertaining to what they see.
>
> As the education coordinator and supervisor of the exhibit staff, I have
> some questions for all of you.
>
> 1. In a setting like this, what kind of a dynamic do you observe among
> your
> visitors? What is the impact on people sharing their reactions to what
> they
> see with one another? How does this affect parents' abilities to interact
> with their children?
>
> 2. I've been assured that the distribution of these headphones works on an
> honour system, where people pick up their headphones and replace them
> neatly
> all by themselves at the end.  HOW LIKELY ARE THESE THINGS TO WALK OUT THE
> DOOR? How likely are they to end up in a big mess on the floor? What is my
> overall investment in human resources for these things? I have no security
> personnel in the main exhibit; just video surveillance and interpretive
> staff who are also responsible for staffing the front desk.
>
> 3. I have started researching the above questions in the recent
> literature.
> Have you read anything recently that might help me?
>
> I appreciate your help.
>
> Don Enright
> Coordinator, Thematic and Cultural Programs
> National Capital Commission
> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
>