Dear Steven,

There are a number of excellent books and "how to's" on museum labels, all,
I believe, available from AAM, but my belief is, if the words are important
enough to be read by our visitors, then they are important enough to be hung
in such a way (and printed in such a point size and with appropriate
contrast to the background) that they can be READ by our visitors.  To hang
labels in a way that is inconspicuous, difficult to read or otherwise
obscure for whatever reason is sending the message to our visitors that "we
really don't care about these words and you shouldn't either."  So...do you
care about your visitors or not?  That's the germane question, independent
of the exhibition type.

Carol Bossert

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Steven Stewart
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 11:05 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Exhibit Label hanging


Recently we installed an exhibit of photographs that were loaned and guest
curated by a local interest group.  The exhibit was supplemented with a
brief history of photography, a mock darkroom setup and a display of
historic cameras from our permanent collection.  When hanging the exhibit,
there was a difference of opinions between a couple of staff members on how
and where the labels for the photographs should be hung.
  One proposed that the labels were extemporaneous to the photos and should
be hung in the same position in relation to the photo and as inconspicuous
as possible.
  The other staff member felt that the label was as important as the photo
and that each visitor would view the exhibit differently so it was ok it
hang the label more conspicuously and in varying relation to the photo
according to each small area of the exhibit.  Do you all have any ideas on
standards of label hanging?  Does it matter what type of exhibit it is (i.e.
history vs. art, etc.)?

--
Steven B.G. Stewart, Curator of Collections

    Clarksville Montgomery County Museum
    DBA Customs House Museum & Cultural Center
    Clarksville,

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).