Nothing wrong with the gift shop being front of the lobby. Why would you
feel guilty about the "consumerism" aspect of a gift shop? These days,
people like to visit a cultural site and walk away with something. Heck,
they've been doing it for years. People used to visit the Parthenon
(Queen Victoria's time) and walk away with so many marble bits that now
they've had to post guards around the ruins! If they had a gift shop
with knick-knacks and other "myth" items then people wouldn't be stealing
the marbles. Even for those visiting Pele (volcano in Hawaii), they
can't resist taking a bit of lava rock home, only to discover to their
horror that bad luck chases them around until they return the rocks! No,
no, the gift shop is an integral part of the museum trade, and to make it
accessible and well stocked is a consumer's delight. Some museums
recognize this, and appropriately keep the gift shop visible, normally at
the head of the building; some people just like to shop and not
necessarily want to go through the museum (some times they've gone to the
museum just the once, but they remember the gift shop as a great place
for souvenirs, and they'll frequent the place repeatedly, as there are
birthdays and holiday gifts to be taken care of).
Build it where it makes sense, it is visible, and approachable. People
will appreciate it.
O
Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator
Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
(714) 993-5075 ext. 224; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail: [log in to unmask]
On Mon, 31 Aug 1998 09:23:35 -0400 Mark Erik Nielsen <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>I would appreciate comments on this timely and important museum issue.
>We
>are considering moving our Gift Shop to the front of the lobby area.
>The
>shop is currently in a very unusual and awkward area, in a sort of
>hallway
>that visitors must use to get to our media room. The advantages would
>be
>better and more space for the shop, more appropriate use for the old
>shop
>location (computer access terminals, etc). The problems with the move
>would be expense and employee time. But the real issue seems to be
>that
>having the shop in the very front of the building would present too
>much
>of a bald-face consumerism approach to the public. Others feel that,
>even
>though it's terrible gallery space, it would be bad to compromise
>exhibition areas for gift shop use. I feel that the shop plays an
>integral
>role in the transition from the museum environment to the world, not
>only
>in an educational sense, but in that it allows people to leave with
>something tangible from their museum experience. Thanks for your time
>and
>looking forward to reading your comments.
>
>**************************************************************************
>Mark Nielsen
>Exhibit Designer/Preparator
>University of Michigan Museum of Art
>[log in to unmask] 313/647-2068
>
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