I remember a few years back sitting at a meeting of the local City Council
(not in the town I am in now I should add) as it was discussing funding for
arts and cultural facilities. A certain Councillor was arguing against the
level of funding for the local public library on the grounds that all the
books in the library could be put on so many CD Roms and could be stored in
a tiny room and the city wouldn't need books and wouldn't need librarians,
etc...etc...
Needless to say the library still has books, its usage has increased 50% in
the last five years and the City is building a much bigger, better library
to cope with the increase in patronage. (Oh, and the CD Rom collection is in
a small rack somewhere near the videos and record library).

I was reminded of the library debate by the current discussion about
museums, virtual-museums, and web sites. Many of us got into museum work
through some association with real objects and I believe it is the endless
fascination of "the real thing" and where it came from, who might have made
and used it, who owned it and how it got into the museum, that gives museums
a real distinctive and competitive edge over other forms of entertainment
and information dissemination. Without wishing to downplay the value of
museum Web sites in terms of increasing access to information, I have yet to
encounter one which has even come close to engendering the same sense of awe
and wonder that I have seen real objects and their stories engender in
visitors, particularly children.

It reminds me of when my twin daughters first saw a real elephant at
Auckland Zoo (at age two). They knew all about elephants from books and TV
but when they saw some "in the flesh" that were completely overwhelmed. They
had absolutely no concept of how big an elephant would be. Now whenever they
read their books about elephants or look at their animal posters they always
talk about the real big elephants they saw last holidays and when can they
go see them again...

As long as people have the capacity and imagination to wonder about the past
and about other people, other places, etc, I believe museums will provide an
important link - via the "real things".

Web sites can certainly have the potential to encourage people to want to go
and visit museums, but a visit to a Web site cannot and never can be the
same as seeing (possibly touching) the real thing in the same way as a CD
Rom is unlikely to replace the library book or pictures of elephants won't
(hopefully!) replace seeing the gigantic real thing.

In fact, I find this whole internet thing somewhat unreal - I can't quite
cope with the concept that you all are reading this note sent in real(?)
time from little old Gisborne, New Zealand!!

I guess its just not the same as being there (or here)...

Kia Ora Koutou and Merry Xmas to you all (especially my friends in Canada!)