> I know a number of us have contacted museums for private behind the > scenes visits in pursuit of our historic costume research. I also know > some of us work at museums, with costume collections. > > At the request of the Center for the Future of Museums, I wrote a blog > post about my experiences visiting the Smithsonian's costume > collection, with suggestions on how dedicated amateur scholars and > museums might work together. I'd love to get your comments, as would > the CFM, as helping the public use museums is what they do: > > http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2010/11/mining-myculture-serving-community-of.html > > Please feel free to forward around! > > Allison T.
I think the response you got from the Smithsonian was awesome. I'm surprised they alotted staff time for a non-professional. I have a couple of things I'd suggest for museums to help costumers. One would be to know what they have and accurately and fully describe it. I see a lot of errors describing knit vs. crochet vs. other techniques. Then I think one of the most useful things a museum could do would be lots of photos and get some darned closeups. The pictures I looked at on the from the link you posted for the Smithsonian didn't have anything that wasn't full length - no details at all. OTOH, some pictures I've seen from the V&A get so close I could chart the knit or beaded designs. I really appreciate that kind of information online since it's unlikely I'll ever get to go to the museum. Julie in Ramona _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
