Madeleine, a thought - were these labels written by a curator, or by the artists themselves? If they were written by the artists, the curators may have had no editorial control over them. If they were written by the curator, well, they should have gotten their Plain Language Act together. 
         Anne
                         Anne T Lane
               COLLECTIONS MANAGER
      MOUNTAIN HERITAGE CENTER
  WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
                   CULLOWHEE NC 28723

                                   828-227-7129

On Jul 15, 2016, at 9:23 AM, Madeleine Pope <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> While explaining my frustration with nearly incomprehensible labels for a conceptual art exhibition at a Smithsonian museum, a coworker at my government office said, "What about the Plain Language Act?" I thought this was an interesting point. The Act requires government agencies to use "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use." This is somewhat subjective, but there's no denying that some labels are so opaque that even museum professionals may not understand them. The only thing I could find online is this report from the Department of Health and Human Services. I know that plain language is included in the Smithsonian Guidelines, but these are not consistently followed. How are our national museums being held accountable for using accessible language for the majority of visitors? 
> 
> Thanks for your thoughts!
> 
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