Hi All

First time poster, long time listener. At Glasgow Museums, we take pride in
the fact that we do not charge admission for any of our venues, as we
consider the publics right to access the collection to be one at the core of
the service we provide. That is not to say, however, that there is not
continual discussion round this provision (I believe that we hold the
collections in trust and indeed on behalf of society).

In terms of tracking, we use a clicker to monitor numbers, but we also use
various methods to gauge our audience. The comments box is one, but there
are also various Visitor Studies Projects ongoing as part of this process. 

We have used one to one interviews, and an emailing system that responds
with a post visit questionnaire. I don't think the use of a plastic idea
would be conducive to the visitor experience as people as a whole do not
like to be labelled.

What I would recommend (I am an amateur at this it has to be warned) is the
following:

1.) Pre visit questionnaires that use a combination of qualitative and
quantitative research.

2.) Focus Groups on a select audience.

3.) Shadowing visitors - or even shared visitations.

4.) Post visit questionnaires.

All of these techniques can help identify your audience and learn from them.
Indeed the possibility of electronic tracking is very interesting,
especially with the use of PDAs which can also give substance to collections
interpretation.

Robin Patel
Glasgow Museums 




-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Ruth Terry
Sent: 12 July 2006 18:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Admission ticket alternatives

I am in the process of investigating the various forms of 
ticketing/admissions tracking of those museums that do charge admission.  
We currently are using a plastic tag that works like a paperclip, but the 
cost is a bit high and visitors have commented that they don't like them 
because they do not stay on during their visit.

We are a hands-on science center in the midst of big changes, so the 
possibility of technological tracking is very interesting to us. 

I am interested in learning how various museums track paid attendance - 
reciepts, stickers, tags, etc - including price, effectiveness and how the 
staff and visitors feel about the various methods.

Thanks so much in advance for you help.

Ruth Terry
Visitor Services Supervisor
McWane Science Center
Birmingham, AL

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