Our staff is on our web site and museum contact numbers (phone and e-mail) are readily available. I get a few "Tell me everything about the Chihuahuan Desert" type questions and a few more specific ones about subjects on our sites, but not a heavy burden by any means. We also get semi-professional and professional inquiries from individuals who have picked up the contact through our web sites. All in all, having availability is a plus and not all that onerous. Art Harris Jeremy T. Chrabascz wrote: > There has been debate here internally on this matter as we look to expand > our web site. There is some concern over the harvesting of e-mail > addresses and spamming. There is also some concern over tremendously > increasing the volume of public inquiries and the staff's inability to > accomodate them. > > It has been suggested the we should utilize a central e-mail address for > all inquiries instead of individual, personal staff addresses. Some have > also suggested that we *not* include staff names, titles or phone numbers. > > Personally, I see no threat or inconvenience in posting my name or title on > our web site. As a public institution, I believe we should help the public > get the answers it needs from the people it needs to get them as > efficiently and painlessly as possible. > > However, there is also a concern that any 6th grader with a computer or a > telephone can flood the system with inquiries the night before a test or > paper is due, etc. And, being that we are not a research institution, we > are not setup to deal with such things...at least not on a regular basis. > > We are somewhat divided here on this issue. Perhaps I am too idealistic > but a wise colleague once advised me, "Remember that your credentials as a > curator don't mean very much to lots and lots of people. Don't ever lord > them over anyone. Answer all queries from the public, no matter who they > may be with sincerity and good will. Return all phone calls, emails...and > letters. You can build up tremendous good will...this way." > > Yet I suppose the real question at hand is how easy we make it for that > public to reach us. > > Please weigh in. Certainly thoughts on this matter vary from institution > to institution and it is a serious issue that directly impacts staff > resources. > > Thank you for your time. - Jeremy T. Chrabascz > > ========================================================= > 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). > -- Laboratory for Environmental Biology, Centennial Museum University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968-0915 [log in to unmask] http://utep.naturalhistory.museum http://nasa.utep.edu/chih/chihdes.htm ========================================================= 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).