I generally agree with Ross Weeks's analysis of this issue, although in practice I have deviated from it occasionally. When I've been asked to speak on a weekend, I've kept the honorarium, regardless of the subject matter, rather than turning the money over to the museum and requesting compensatory time. (If travel is involved, I'm usually paying for it out of my own pocket, although occasionally my expenses may be paid by the outside organization.) Since I nearly always have to put in more than a 40-hour week to get my work done, compensatory time off is more burden than blessing. If I speak during the work week, however, I usually do it on company time and therefore clearly have no choice but to give the honorarium to the museum. When I had a contract to write a chapter for a book, I did some of the work (but definitely not all) on company time, so the honorarium naturally went to the museum. Although some might argue that my weekend lectures, depending on the subject matter, should more properly have been arranged through the museum, with the honorarium going to the museum, the amounts were always modest, and I feel I've been very scrupulous about the way I've handled these things. If a more substantial fee were offered, I would definitely make more conventional arrangements, rather than appear to be trading on my museum affiliation in order to get rich. Last weekend I received a small honorarium for a lecture, but since I paid my own travel expenses, which far exceeded the fee, I naturally kept it. And I'll certainly declare it as extra income on my tax return, while deducting the expenses from my taxes. I consider myself lucky if I break even on these gigs. Having said all that, I nevertheless am always on the lookout for lucrative speaking engagements which I can perform on company time that will result in a "profit" for the museum, since the money can go into our departmental fund to help pay for official project expenses. David Haberstich ========================================================= 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).