Please put us on your list for the PDF
pamphlet. Our historic 1904 Courthouse has a few resident “haints”
(according to local legend) and has been approached by at least one group of Ghostbusters
who want to sniff for spirits. We have no objection in principle, but
want to be sure we do not expose the Museum to liability or damage.
Don Long
Curator
The Museum of Ashe County History, Inc.
336-846-1904
From:
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
1:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Paranormal
Investigation Policy
Hi Jennifer,
This is actually an area that I have been working on in the past year to
formulate guidelines for both paranormal groups and museums and historic sites
on these on-site investigations. I did an informal online survey on Museum-L
back in the spring and received quite a number of responses from a variety of
institutions.
I have given two recent lectures on this - first at a paranormal conference in
June and then at the annual meeting of the Western Association for Art
Conservation this past August in Juneau, Alaska. There are benefits and
concerns on both sides and I am working to bridge this so that there is
increased awareness and sensitivity among all involved. I am actually in the
middle of writing up my lectures into a pamphlet form. Once I have this new
pamphlet finished I will be happy to send out PDF's to any who are interested.
(I have one pamphlet that was written last year on doing Paranormal Research).
I would be happy to talk to you about the specifics off the list - especially
if you have some immediate concerns.
Cheers!
Dave
David Harvey
Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 9:33 AM, Jennifer Hurst <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
Does anyone
have a paranormal investigation policy that you can share? We have been
inundated with requests for paranormal researchers to “study” our
historic properties. Before we proceed further we would like to be as informed
as possible so if anyone has any experience with this and any policies or
guidelines in place that you could share would be much appreciated. Also, how
do you deal with insurance for researchers? What do you charge? Do
you make them sign a waiver? How much control do you have of the distribution
of information gathered during the investigation? What kind of controls do you
put in place? How do you screen these groups? Is it worth it? Does it affect
site visitation? Has income and visibility increased?
Thanks so
much for the help!
Jen
Statewide Education
Coordinator
PRESERVATION
Phone: 804-314-7530 | Fax:
804-775-0802
E-Mail: [log in to unmask] | Web: preservationvirginia.org
Connecting people and resources to
ensure the continued vitality of
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========================================================= 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).