Patricia,

Up until very recently, where I went to college (Baylor University), our museum was in the basement of one of the science buildings and had maybe 4 visitor spots available, and that was for all types of guests.  During the 4 years that I was at the museum, the non-school group visitation on the weekdays was pretty much limited to people that were already on campus for some other reason and had parked somewhere else or people who parked illegally and most likely received a parking ticket from the campus police.  Either way, attendance at the museum was very limited. I cannot say for 100% certainty that the lack of parking was the reason for this, but it couldn't have helped.

Just extrapolating from personal experience, I would assume that it will become increasingly difficult for your institution to attract the "one time" visitor because of the lack of parking.  It also sounds as if you are going to become blocked in by other buildings not directly pertaining to the museum.  This will, in effect, isolate the museum from the outside world.  One thing that I discovered was that some people, especially older people, do not like to go to museums in the middle of college campuses because the do not want to have to deal with the large number of students and such.

It is going to be an interesting challenge for you guys to overcome.  Good Luck.

Rosie DiVernieri

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