I would recommend going to the museum's Registrar or Collections Manager first. They maintain all collections records and are usually more in the frame of mind to help with questions. If a museum doesn't list a Registrar or CM, or only shows a few (under 6) staff members, direct your query to the Curator and then the Director (some museums only have one or two staffers so the Director fills all shoes). If your first query doesn't get an answer, try again after a week or two, possibly to another staff member as some folks will ignore information requests. Karen Barlow Registrar Allentown Art Museum 31 North Fifth Street Allentown, PA 18101 (610) 432-4333 ext. 30 [log in to unmask] Come to the Allentown Art Museum and get lost in the magic of movies in our special exhibition Fashion in Film: Period Costumes for the Screen May 17 through August 9, 2009. For more information, please go to www.allentownartmuseum.org P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Allison Eaton Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 6:35 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Question regarding seeking research assistance from museums I am doing research for a paper, and I am hoping to get additional information about pieces from the museums they are in. Some museums list contact information for staff members in specific departments on their websites, but other museums seem to have only the most generic contact information listed. When listed, should I email the curator of the relevant department to ask for information about the objects? How should I go about finding the right people for museums that don't list specific staff contact information? Am I right to assume that when emailing museums in non-English speaking countries, I should compose my request in the language of that country? Is there anything else I should know about proper protocol for seeking reference help from museum staff? Thanks for your advice! ========================================================= 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).