On Wed, 4 Jan 1995 11:50:34 -0500,
Holly Trimper  <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
>I'm curious: has there ever been a survey or inventory as to the type of
>museums and folks on this list?  What I mean is, what percent of us
>museum-l-ers are natural history museum people, how many history, how many
>art, etc etc.?  I realize that an exact count is impossible because people
>subscribe and unsubscribe regularly.  I was surprised last semester when we
>learned that 2/3 of all museums in the US are history museums or historic
>sites.  Only 9% natural history!  Eek!  I was wondering if those numbers
>translate onto museum-l...probably not, due to the basic fact that museum-l
>subscribers need certain hardware/software and computer knowledge.  But I'd
>still like to have a sense of who's out there, museum-type-wise.
>
Also, the numbers of museums say nothing about their relative sizes and,
therefore, staffing levels.  Many natural history museums are huge -- ours
is midsized, I guess -- and some art museums are as well; a very large
number of history museums and especially historic sites, on the other hand,
have few or no paid staff.  You can get a sense of this by simply looking
at entries in the Official Museum Directory.
 
Ken Yellis
Assistant Director for Public Programs
Peabody Museum of Natural History
170 Whitney Avenue
Box 208118
New Haven, CT 06520-8118
[log in to unmask]
(203) 432-9891/9816(fax)