Claudia Nicholson wrote: <is the Valentine a case where totally inadequate market research (or, none at all) led the museum down a path doomed to failure?> Well, there were marketing studies done, as there have been for the various cultural institutions in the Richmond area. Maybe there's something fundamentally wrong with the questions asked in focus groups? But, how can a museum staff, even understanding that admission represents a not-too-substantial-proportion of the museum's revenue, develop a realistic strategy for getting people in the doors? What are the successful strategies? The buzz in this area is Colonial Williamsburg's wanting to enclose its historic area and charge admission to the area to increase attendance, and thus revenue, and thus enable CW to put more programs on the streets. There was a lively discussion about that strategy on the VA-HIST discussion list. On the one hand, I sympathize with CW's need for increased revenue (operating, not restricted funds) but the logic of enclosing its area seems a little wobbly. Are there success stories of museums aggressively increasing theier attendance and programs and staying alive? We keep hearing about collaborations and cross-marketing. Are there museums and historic sites that are engaged in these successfully? And, btw, Julia Moore's description of the budget conundrum struck close to home. -- Barbara C. Batson Exhibits Coordinator Library of Virginia 804/692-3518 [log in to unmask]