[NHCOLL-L:3790] Museum Research Visits

[kwellspring]

Dear List Members,

I am curious to know how other museum professionals handle research visits
by outside researchers. We recently installed a ³research lab² in our
facility and are now interested in constructing a set of guidelines to help
us manage issues such as:

1.) how much supervision/access to allow professional
researchers/students/avocational researchers to objects/lab
space/collections storage

2.) what kinds of tools we can and should provide for outside researchers
(lighting equipment, tripod, magnification tools, extension cords, etc.)

3.) how much staff time to devote to their supervision and assistance
(bearing in mind that our full time staff = 1 person)

4.) how to imbue visitors with a sense of responsibility for the objects
they utilize (signing a form, listening to a lecture, etc.) and how to
emphasize the importance of receiving notice of publications resulting from
the research

I appreciate any feedback you see fit to send along.

Thank you.

Kate Wellspring


_____________________________________
Kate Wellspring
Collections Manager
Amherst College Museum of Natural History
Amherst, MA 01002
(413) 542-2165
www.amherst.edu/museumofnaturalhistory



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