Nice thought about museums being considered public good service
institutions in the ways that libraries are.  Just a caveat, though:
this is the second community where I've witnessed the city consider
user fees for library cards.  No "public good" institution is safe
from predation in these times. ...
 
 
On Sat, 4 Jun 1994, Robbin Murphy wrote:
 
> Just as a guidepost, movies in NYC are now $8.00.
>
> As a member of AAM I don't pay anything to go to museums
> and I go weekly. Prior to that I would go when there was
> something I wanted to see, maybe once every three months
> or so. But prior to that I had a corporate membership and
> I'd go weekly.
>
> When in Europe I'm too dumb to figure out the currency
> exchange so I don't care what I'm paying until I get my
> American Express bill.
>
> Seems to me that museum fees are based on the fact that
> museums are still considered tourist attractions and
> entertainment venues instead of integral parts of the
> community. When museums become resources, like libraries or
> utitlities, the community will pay for them the way they pay
> for libraries and utitlities.
>
> Robbin Murphy
> NYU/Museum Studies
> ArtNet (trying to make museums meaningful in cyberspace)
> [log in to unmask]
>