>
>
> Is it safe to assume that the larger museums are more likely to have a
> full time, part time, or contract employee specifically for designing and
> maintaining web pages? Is this common? Does this person usually have a
> museum background, or a computer background?

We think of ourselves as a small medium-sized museum. We have about 25
permanent employees. And yes, we have a part-time person (who has a computer
background, not museum) who is in charge of building and maintaining our
website.

> What are the goals of museum web sites? How does your web site fit your
> museum's mission? From the discussion so far, it appears that most museum
> web sites are marketing tools to provide visitors with basic information
> (upcoming events and exhibits, hours, address, etc) for a "real" visit. Is
> this correct?

Our site gives that kind of information but has another really important
function. As a children's museum, we want to reach out to the community. Our
site displays examples of work children have accomplished here (we've had some
teen multimedia classes recently, for example). We also provide some links to
child-related/parenting sites. We want to be an online resource. We also
include things that are in our quarterly newsletter, such as learning
activities parents can do at home with their children, etc.

> In what ways are museums using their web pages to reach audiences that
> are not planning to visit the real museum, so that the web site "stands on
> its own"? I have not seen many web sites with educational materials,
> stand-alone exhibits, or other information about the collections,
> probably because of bandwidth, security issues, and the expense. Are
> museums preparing to do more with the technology as it gets cheaper and
> faster? More importantly, SHOULD museums be concerning themselves with
> virtual versions of their traditional work?
>
> Lots of questions--Any comments?
>
> Carrie Beauchamp
> University of Denver