Hi, I use E-Bay to purchase - with my own funds - objects and photogrpahs for the museum. A lot of good and relevant stuff shows up. Some of it is worth the price. Some of it is part of a highly charged collectors market. In any case it's not a bad resource. Greg Koos McLean County Museum of History Bloomington IL Amanda Kraus wrote: > Dear Colleagues: > > I am interested to know whether museum staff are using eBay or similar > online auction sites to acquire objects for their collections. I'd like to > hear museum professionals' thoughts about these sites. I have listed a few > specific questions below, but I welcome all comments relevant to the topic > of how the Internet is affecting object acquisition in museums. > > Questions > > 1) Are museums/historical societies purchasing through eBay and other > auction sites? Why or why not? > > 2) If so, are museum staff finding material they might otherwise never see? > > 3) Are online auctions curbing donations from individuals to museums? Do > curators fear that objects will leave the public domain because private > collectors are buying them online? > > I appreciate your input. > > --Amanda Kraus > Publications Department, > American Association of Museums > > ========================================================= > 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).