Hey all.
Though I have little aptitude for engaging cultural institutions in
productive discussion myself, it has occurred to me that it would be useful
to keep a register of "previous contact" with collections, museums, etc. I
can only guess at the amount of personal correspondance contributors
entertain, and it must be a good thing to keep track of these things,
surely?
As I see it, the only drawback is time (maybe five minutes every now and
again?). In return, the rewards are many: a collaborative feeling; time
saved in knowing whom to contact within each organisation, and which are not
worth talking to; the ability to cite the examples of other similar
businesses when engaging with one more easily; the ability to extrapolate
from a small donation (testing the water, as it were), the ability to note
the problems experienced so they can be worked on in the future... the list
goes on.
However, I admit that this is not an area of my own personal expertise, so
am more than willing to see what everyone thinks and (if necessary)
reconsider the whole idea. In the meantime I have created a placeholder page
at
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Outreach .
See what you think,
Jarry1250