Dear Heather:
Ooph.
I'd be curious to know exactly what data they have to support this position, since, as far as I know, there has never been a case of a collection object being stolen because it appears online. One could also make a strong argument that placing your collections online makes it *less* likely that the objects could be stolen and sold, since your catalog is published to a wider audience and therefore, the provenance is a matter of public record.
As you mentioned, in this day and age, not putting your collections online impacts your ability to get grants and forward your mission. You might mention to the Board that museums have been placing their collections online since the late 1970's with no ill effects and great benefits. Do they also discourage the publication of paper catalogs, which would disseminate the same information? Obviously you're not going to publish the value, the location, and other sensitive information!
As far as literature goes, you might try taking a look at some of the early papers from Museums and the Web. All of the papers are available at http://www.archimuse.com/conferences/mw.html Many of the papers are technology-based, with the understanding that readers are already invested into the topic, but they might help outline some of the concerns. I'd stick to the early papers and books (ca. 1967-1999) if you're inclined to research books and papers, since, by and large, many of those concerns were addressed very early in the development of online catalogs.
Good luck, and feel free to contact me offline if you're so inclined, and I can dig through some of my research bibliographies.
~Perian Sully
Collection Information and New Media Coordinator
Judah L. Magnes Museum
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list on behalf of Heather Pozun Watson
Sent: Tue 2/5/2008 5:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] On-line collections and security issues
Hello All! We are working to digitize our collections. In the interest of
public research and our mission, (not to mention our ability to help fund
this through grants) I had planned to eventually put these collections
online. However, my board is determined that we are to never do this as it
will increase museum theft and "people taking our artifacts to sell on
ebay". Now, we have fairly strong security system in place, but fear is
fear I guess.
If anyone has any data, experience, anecdotes, or research to support or
oppose this, I would greatly appreciate it. Responses from small museums
that have had positive responses to online collections would also be
helpful.
Thanks!
Heather
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heather Pozun Watson
Director, Fremont Co. Pioneer Museum
307.332.3339
[log in to unmask]
www.fcpm.org
If you are interested in receiving e-newsletters and updates from the
museum, please email <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
with the subject line "Subscribe"
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
