Regarding your question about collection storage visits. If someone
wants to see a particular item in the collection or even a set of items,
I would bring the objects out of storage for the person to view. I ask
for or give a 2-week notice. I do not TAKE the person to storage, but
bring the item(s) to them in a more public space in our main
administration building (e.g. library or department). I do not think it
wise to take someone to our storage facility. They don't need to see all
the "stuff" and there is also my own security to be concerned about.
(Our storage is in a remote location.) In any case, nobody is denied
access to the collection. They just have to work within our parameters.
Hope this helps!

Mary Ames Sheret
Southern Oregon Historical Society


Catalina Island Museum Patricia Anne Moore or Stacey Otte wrote:
>
> Hi! I'm wondering what kinds of policies (formal or otherwise) other
> museums have for permitting public access to collections.  And when I
> say *public* I mean the general, lay public and/or collectors who have a
> strictly personal interest in viewing portions of a collection.  In
> facilitating a visit by some pottery collectors several issues (such as
> "why don't you have more on display?" and "why don't you allow more
> public access to this collection") came up, which I addressed. He's
> written back to complain about our parsimony in the display of the
> pieces and allowing public access.  In my reply, I'd like to give him a
> sense of other museums' policies.
>
> Anybody care to share?  Thanks in advance.
>
> Stacey Otte
> Deputy Director
> Catalina Island Museum
> [log in to unmask]
> 310-510-2414