Hello MCN listserve
I thought you all might enjoy this. I have to admit this is the first phone call like this that I have received. Last week I had a voicemail: "I saw the article in the newspaper about your museum. Ummm . . . could you put the entire content of the museum on the website? Umm . . . you know, not everyone can make it out there." This afternoon I answered the phone and had the following conversation. (The umms, ahhhs, uh, huhs, and repetitive questions have been edited.) Caller: When are you going to put everything in the museum online? Me: Well, we have about 75,000 images so they aren't going to be online very soon due to lack of funding and staff reductions. Caller: Because you know it's not that convenient to visit. Me: Yes, I understand but its worth the trip we have beautiful park. We do have five online exhibits with databases on our website. Caller: But that looks like it barely scratches the surface. Me: Yes, you are right. We have a lot more in the collection. Caller: But other museums have 10,000 images available online. It would be more convenient if there was more online. Me: Oh yes, I'm very familiar with online museum databases. At this time, we don't have the funding. It takes a lot of staff time to put the collection on the web. Caller: So, I guess I shouldn't hold my breath. Me: I wouldn't. Melissa Johnson (banging her head on her desk) Curator of Interactive Media history|san jos? See what's happening at HSJ: blog.historysanjose.org <http://blog.historysanjose.org/>
