Hi All,

After watching both threads, it seems to me that there are two schools of
thought and practice at work in both of these topics.

1. Small and informal museums where volunteers play a central role and are
indeed critical to the museum's success are more likely to know those
volunteers and their contributions intimately. In those cases, it's almost
like losing a member of your family, and a memorial article would be
virtually mandated. These same museums are also likely to be more relaxed
about rules, etc. Frankly, at most small museums, a small dog in a purse is
less likely to cause a problem than an unruly school child.

2. Large museums with large staffs may not rely on volunteers to the same
degree as smaller institutions. So, they may actually have to seek out
information about the deceased. Likewise, the larger institutions may have
several publications, and the larger, more scholarly one may not be the
place for a memorial article. Also, large museums attract a larger segment
of the public, and for some reason more "problematic" visitors. The easiest
(and best?) way to deal with large numbers of visitors is to set rules so
that folks have an understanding and expectation of museum decorum.

I think both segments of the museum world have valid arguments, and perhaps
have a lot to learn from each other. 

Oh yeah - I'm just home after some travel, and I noticed that there are more
and more of those little "purse dogs" being toted around. (Most of them are
being toted by young women too.) I'm afraid they're a growing trend. As far
as I'm concerned, unless the little pooch can be trained to root around in
my purse and find my car keys, I'll keep my 40 lb. English Springer Spaniel
who'd be more likely to sleep under my desk!

Becky Fitzgerald
Susquehanna Museum
Havre de Grace, MD

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