John Bing's response to this question was very provocative, I thought.  By
what policy or authority would you deny access to your collection to any
citizen, if there is no restriction on the use of the material to which they
want access?  I cannot believe that any court would allow a repository to be
sued simply for providing access to its collections.

It is my understanding that unless there are compelling reasons, like the
fragility of the originals, lack of staff to oversee the researchers, or
legal restrictions, that basically as public institutions (yes, you private
non-profits), we could not deny access.

Anybody?

Claudia Nicholson
Curator
Museum Collections Department
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
  e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
  Phone:  651-297-7442
  FAX:  651-297-2967

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