>The best approach over all is to keep our sense of humor about all this.
 
I have managed to refrain from dropping in my "curator" anecdote
until now, but a straight line like this is just too good to resist.
 
When I was at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco,
we gave an "open house" in the Invertebrate Zoology department.  One of
our curators (Tom Moritz and Bob Drewes will know of whom I speak)
gave an extensive tour of her lab and office, explaining her work on
the taxonomy of sea anemones.  After listening patiently, a visitor
finally asked, "So, do you do *work* here, or just research?"
 
It was one of our catch phrases for years......
 
       +------------------------------+------------------------+
       |  Barbara Weitbrecht          |  (202) 357-4162        |
       |  Smithsonian Institution     |  [log in to unmask]  |
       |  National Air & Space Museum |  [log in to unmask]  |
       +------------------------------+------------------------+