>I have a rather unusual question.  Currently, I am involved in writing
>a paper about museum use of Internet resources.  The bulk of my
>information has come from (guess?) the Internet.  How would I cite
>this information in the "Curator" citation format?  I haven't been
>able to find anyone here who has a clue.  Any idea?  I'd appreciate
>any information you could send.  Email me directly if you like.
 
        This is a fascinating issue and one that could benefit
from the collective wisdom of Museum-l!  I hope all responses
get posted to the list.  My take on this is probably rather
extreme, and I am not sure that the posting will amount to much more
than devil's advocacy.  I think that pulp writing and electronic musings
amount to basically the same thing and that no distinction should
be made between the two.  I think that a museum-l posting should
be treated like a published entity.  Certainly it exists in digital
form indefinetly.   I know that some would argue that museum-l
is not peer reviewed, that there is no editorial board, etc...
I would argue that makes what gets posted MORE interesting in
many ways.  The main issue here is that citations have traditionally
been a way to provide sources for reference.  Before the advent of
search engines and the such, references could lead people back to
primary literature relating to the subject at hand in an effective
manner.   So, if we are going to cite electronic publications, the
information about where said publication resides must also exist.  In a
dead media like print (no offense meant here at all... it is just not
dynamic, it does not change once published) citations always
point to the right place... the journal may not be accessible or even
still exist, but the citation certainly still only points at that
journal.  In electronic media, the place where information resides
can jump around readily.  Given that, I would cite in the
following unusual matter...
 
Guralnick, R. P.  Sept. 25 1994.  Re:  Citations.  Museum-L Listserver.
Maintained John Chadwick ([log in to unmask]).  Archived
ucmp1.berkeley.edu.  Accessible via gopher as of 1994.
 
I know that this citation will cause most editors to pull out their
red pens and furiously scribble stuff like "What in gods name are
you trying to pull here"... I know.  But we need to hash something out
about publishing on the Net and I dont think personal communication will
cut it for everything.
 
Cheers,
 
 
Z~r ~robg/sig