Colleagues:
 
A question of particular relevance to university art museums:
 
We are faced with an increasing number of university students who come to
the museum with backpacks.  Although we have coin operated lockers (with
coin return) in an alcove area just inside the entrance, we often find that
the lockers are all in use and there are still students with no place to put
their backpacks.  We have run out of space to place additional lockers,
without an extensive reworking of the front entrance lobby.
 
A staff member has proposed that we "solve" the problem by simply changing
our policy and allowing students to carry the backpacks with them into the
museum.  My knee-jerk response to the idea was that this was a very bad
idea, for security reasons.  However, I would like to hear from colleagues
in other art museums, where the bag policy has been liberalized in recent
years.  Do you allow backpacks, oversized purses, and so on?  What are the
limits?  Under what circumstances did you liberalize your policies on things
carried into the museum?  Did you have to change other facilities, staffing,
or procedures to accommodate more packs and bags?   Has this been a success
or a failure?  Have you returned to more restrictive policies?  Thanks for
sharing your experiences.
 
Stephen C. McGough, Director
University of Oregon Museum of Art
Eugene, Oregon 97403-1223
(503) 346-0972
FAX: (505) 346-2220
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