For those of you who are not collections managers or registrars, you
have to consider certain realities:

Prep crews are very busy moving works to and from exhibits- the
increased traffic of humans creates danger to both visitors and the
works and crew involved;

You don't know where these visitors have been and they could be
unknowingly harboring in their clothing insects and other sorts of
microscopic pollens and molds that would contaminate, infect ,and
otherwise endanger the collections.

While behind-the-scenes tours are great for possible major donors who
have been VERY CAREFULLY SCREENED BEFOREHAND, you don't want to allow
just anybody in what SHOULD BE a high security area.  Until collections
management is treated with a great deal more respect and has better
funding, i.e., all objects in the collection are properly cataloged,
photographed, and placed in well-designed and secure storage facility,
you might be opening up your collections to theft- in other words, the
visitors who you would like to think collect objects and give them to
your museum could be the other kind of "collectors".

I do agree that the idea of using directors and curators, however, could
be useful, but do they really understand what proper storage is? Or are
they just working with what they have and have little understanding as
to what collections manangement encompasses?  This could be especially
useful for museums undergoing major projects that include new additions
to the building, such as presenting apoorly designed storage area that
is seriously outdated and the museum needs more space, to the extent of
promoting a whole new building because what was designed some thirty
years ago is now basically a design disaster.

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