Dear Museum-L subscribers:

I am inquiring about trends and fluctuations in your museum's attendance.
Have you recently (in the last five years) opened a new building or wing? Do
you have certain times of the year that your attendance sky rockets? If yes,
you can probably help me.

I work for the National Steinbeck Center, a new museum in Salinas,
California, which opened June 27, 1998. We are currently embarking on a
strategic planning process with our board and staff, with one, three, and
five year goals. Some of our primary questions relate to our projected
attendance for the next couple years. In order to plan for our future, we
need some estimation of our attendance. We are hoping that the subscribers
to this listserv might be able to guide us with anecdotal evidence of their
experiences.

If you recently opened a new building or wing, how did your attendance
change over the years? Did it increase or decrease?

Does your museum have a particular busy season, when attendance is higher
than usual? By what percentage does your attendance increase?

We realize that the responses will vary greatly depending on your museum and
your community. We assume that our attendance is going to increase as word
of mouth spreads and that the summer months (tourist season in Monterey
County) will produce more visitors. We appreciate any information you can
provide. Feel free to respond on or off the list.

Thank you very much for your time.

Celeste DeWald

Celeste DeWald, Curator of Education
National Steinbeck Center
One Main Street, Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 775-4730 / fax (831) 796-3828
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