Hello to all the Museum-L folks. My apologies for lurking for quite a long time and not introducing myself. Anyway, the time has come for me to introduce myself. My name is Melissa Smith and I am a grad of Wright State University's Museum and Archival Administration program. I am currently working as a program specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton, OH. I was hired about 5 years ago to start and run a museum which would highlight the historical heritage of our facility as well as local military and veteran history. The budget has always been VERY SMALL and I work as the Director, Curator, Registrar, Volunteer Coordinator, Educator, Writer, Researcher, Exhibit Designer, Archivist, Librarian, Furniture Mover, Housekeeper and general Jack-of-all-trades. You name it, I have to do it myself. Its an experience, but I love it! In light of the cutbacks and reorganization both within the Federal Government and specifically within the VA, the museum is now only PART of my job (!). I also function as a project manager for our workplace literacy program, instructor for the Customer Service classes and a Presentation Skills class, and as the manager/administrator of a Preventing Assaultive Behavior class. Whew! Most recently, I have been selected to be the editor of our Medical Center newsletter which has a circulation of over 2,000 employees and other interested individuals. I am very interested in making contact with other individuals who edit and design newsletters for their organizations. Are there listservs or other Internet resources which would be helpful for me? Any tips about innovative publishing will be appreciated. I am also interested in talking to other individuals in small or (as in my case) VERY SMALL historical organizations, especially those who must exist in a corporate or governmental environment. I find my challenges are sometimes unique, as the museum is not an independent entity and must compete with the other concerns of the Medical Center for buget, etc. I spend lots of my energy justifying expenses, working for a community identity, and doing lots of consciousness rasising about historical issues spanning the spectrum from historical preservation to care and use of artifacts to working with researchers and genealogists. I'm looking forward to hearing from you! Melissa R. Smith VA Medical Center 4100 W. Third Street (141) Dayton, OH 45428 [log in to unmask] (513) 262-2194