Speaking as a consumer and to some extent as a college instructor of art history and writer: web sites can be convenient as all get-out. I routinely use them for: - general info (hours, charges, parking) - exhibition tickets (for instance, van Gogh at Philadelphia) - changing exhibition information - store purchases, especially books - driving and parking directions I look for websites when traveling to places I know little about. For instance, I went to Buffalo NY not long ago. I searched for museums and historical sites, particularly places connected to Frank Lloyd Wright and Elbert Hubbard/Roycroft. As an instructor, I often directed students to museum websites to research particular works of art. I remember one student spending a lot of time on the Cleveland Museum of Art sight while working on David's "Cupid and Psyche." By way of comparison, I generally discouraged my students from using websites as reference material unless they could ascertain that the website was an authoritative (academic, museological, etc.) voice. As a writer I use websites for information. Did a piece on a glass artist a year or so ago and used the Corning Museum site extensively and asked a curator a question (and got a completely and extremely helpful answer). I just contributed to the "Art as Experience" CD-ROM which is posted on the SFMoMA website. According to them (not a dispassionate source) the site is being used extensively by librarians and educators. So my answer would be: the more pure information is available, the more tasks can be accomplished and the more research-friendly the site is, the more useful it is. Ellen B. Cutler Aberdeen, MD ----- Original Message ----- From: nima numa <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 2:46 AM Subject: the importance of web-sites for museums > Hello Everyone. > > i have a numebr of very simple questions - > why do museums need web-sites? > What purpose do they serve for both the museum and visitor? > How important are web-sites in this current age of computer technology? > And what uses are not currently available on the net -are necessary or would > be beneficial in the future? > > Thanking you in advance for your help! > > kind regards > > paul willis > > ps feel free to email me directly on [log in to unmask] > > cheers > > > ____________________________________________________________________________ _________ > Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com > > ========================================================= > 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).