Concerning the use of lockers, personally I hate it.  If I am carrying the
bag, I must be doing so for a reason and having to put it in a locker
defeats that reason entirely.  Frankly, in Europe, I have never been asked
to leave my bag.  Have staff check it going in and out, yes, but leave it
somewhere, no.  I know many people who feel the same way and some that feel
the opposite: they see lockers as a convenience.  You'll get some of both,
no doubt.

However, I understand that there just some environments where it is a safety
issue for the collections to have people with large bags wondering around
(due to space constraints).  I think this needs to be explained UP FRONT.  I
especially like the parking lot idea.  It really pisses me off to have to
walk back to the car because they won't let my all-in-one purse/diaper bag
backpack in the museum. (Actually I left, because no mother in her right
mind would go anywhere with an 8 month old and no diaper bag,)

My biggest peeve however, is that many museums seem to discriminate based on
age of carrier or type of bag.  I have been asked to leave my backpack when
older women with purses the same size are not asked to leave theirs.  And
when I did carry a large purse-type diaper bag combo, I wasn't asked to
leave it and others with school backpacks on were asked to leave theirs.
Inconsistency looks very discriminatory.

I would think that being up front and consistent would be key.  Also, why
are you asking for people to put their bags in lockers?  If it is due to
space constraints, I think most people will understand and accepting.  If it
is because you think someone might bring something in or out of the museum,
I think bag checking is a much better solution personally.


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Panza, Robin
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 10:26 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Security concerns and storage lockers


>>>>From: Richard Fields [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
With that said, could anyone give information on storage lockers for
museums-historic sites?  Do the public balk at using them or is it just
accepted.  <<<<

When I went to Fallingwater (a Frank Lloyd Wright historic house in SW
Pennsylvania), there was a person at the entrance to the property, before we
even reached the parking lot, handing out slips of paper.  The slip stated
that bulky purses, camera bags, etc. would absolutely not be allowed in and
to be sure to leave them in the car.

You don't need to buy lockers if you do it that way.

Robin K Panza
Section of Birds, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh  PA  15213  USA
phone:  412-622-3255
fax:  412-622-8837
[log in to unmask]

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