While you might be wondering what the studies say about time spent
reading labels, you could wander your own galleries and watch how much
time folks spend reading.  This is the tool we use to (hopefully) meet
the needs of our visitors.

I have been amazed at times how much people will stop to read, and how
little!  I can say from my own museum-visiting experiences that there
are times I read every word--even twice if I am really intrigued.  And
there are times when I glance for basic information.

We find that if people consistently pass over labels, we have written
them poorly, or said too much. We also try to listen to the things
people ask after they have toured the museum.  Questions posed to our
interpretive staff clue us in at times to a lacking in label
information.

Watch your audience!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Sharon Duane Koomler
Director of Education
Shaker Museum at South Union, KY
(502) 542-7734
e-mail [log in to unmask]

"The attainments of tomorrow are dependent on the efforts of today,
and are related to them as the blossom is to the bud,
and the fruit to the blossom."

                                  Eldress Catherine Allen, Mt. Lebanon