Hi Jennifer,

This is actually an area that I have been working on in the past year to
formulate guidelines for both paranormal groups and museums and historic
sites on these on-site investigations. I did an informal online survey on
Museum-L back in the spring and received quite a number of responses from a
variety of institutions.

I have given two recent lectures on this - first at a paranormal conference
in June and then at the annual meeting of the Western Association for Art
Conservation this past August in Juneau, Alaska. There are benefits and
concerns on both sides and I am working to bridge this so that there is
increased awareness and sensitivity among all involved. I am actually in the
middle of writing up my lectures into a pamphlet form. Once I have this new
pamphlet finished I will be happy to send out PDF's to any who are
interested. (I have one pamphlet that was written last year on doing
Paranormal Research).

I would be happy to talk to you about the specifics off the list -
especially if you have some immediate concerns.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
Los Angeles, CA

On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 9:33 AM, Jennifer Hurst <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>  Does anyone have a paranormal investigation policy that you can share? We
> have been inundated with requests for paranormal researchers to “study” our
> historic properties. Before we proceed further we would like to be as
> informed as possible so if anyone has any experience with this and any
> policies or guidelines in place that you could share would be much
> appreciated. Also, how do you deal with insurance for researchers?  What do
> you charge?  Do you make them sign a waiver? How much control do you have of
> the distribution of information gathered during the investigation? What kind
> of controls do you put in place? How do you screen these groups? Is it worth
> it? Does it affect site visitation? Has income and visibility increased?
>
>
>
> Thanks so much for the help!
>
>
>
> Jen
>
>
>
>
>
> * <http://preservationvirginia.org/> <http://preservationvirginia.org/><http://preservationvirginia.org/><http://preservationvirginia.org/>Jennifer
> Hurst*
>
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>
> PRESERVATION VIRGINIA
>
>
>
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