David said, in part, "... many people are interested in KNOWING that an institution cares enough to credit even obscure donors. "  How do you know that piece of information?  Or is it just an opinion?

I usually tell donors in a history museum context that (who used the object and how) is more important to the visitor than (who gave it).  The pro-donor label folks may be right, though, that the investment in label space and "clutter" is worth it in terms of encouraging and recognizing donors.  Personally, I find my self glossing right over the donors names in museum labels because I honestly don't care about that - I want to know about the object and how it relates to the topic of the exhibit.

Chris Dill

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