I have been enjoying the interesting and thoughtful responses to Robert's initial posting. Standards in museum automation has always been a rallying point for the Museum Computer Network. Issues of standards will be discussed at the annual conference of the MCN which will be held *jointly* with the Third Conference on Hypermedia and Interactivity in Museums. The conference will be held in San Diego, Oct. 9-13. There will be presentations on the work of the Consortium for the Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI). This is a very important group to follow for standards in the museum world. I encourage all of you to take a look at the conference program which is posted on the www: http://world.std.com/~mcn/ and take note of the offering in all areas. The CIMI presentations will be highlighted periodically in press releases and on the home page as we move closer to the conference. If you have questions regarding the conference, please let me know. Kathy ******************************************************************************* Katherine Jones-Garmil | Program Director Assistant Director | Museum Computer Network Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology | [log in to unmask] 11 Divinity Avenue |------------------------------- Cambridge, MA 02138 USA | (617) 495-1969 [log in to unmask] | (617) 495-7535 fax | *******************************************************************************