Computer Museums

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Tue Jul 15 20:20:47 1997

> 1) space limitation

Unless one collects just the dies of microchips, the rooms will fill
fast. Collectors of just about everything have proved this.

> 2) Mainframes, minis, micros

I suppose it would be hard to collect everything - for example, one could
make a huge collection just with VT100 clones!

I think it is very important that even if a museum specializes (probably
the most realistic option), an objective view of history must not be lost.

> 3) What would most attract visitors

Not static displays! TC"M" started that way - great for us geeks, but not
for the average person. Current museum thinking is for teaching the
public, not saving the past. A bit of a shame, really.

> 4) What would most attract funding :)

Going tax-free and everything like most large museums is quite difficult.
Generally a number of people are needed to form a board of directors, in
order to run the corporation. Unless you REALLY plan on doing a serious
job, it would be best to call it a private collection. This means
that any monetary donations really are personal income with no tax
advantages for either side of the transaction (generally a bad
thing, as so many people view donations with an eye to write off
some taxes). Currently RCS/RI is looking to incorporate _eventually_ - we
would like a few more members. Now, we are simply a collective - rent gets
split evenly. How is CHAC handling this?
 
William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Tue Jul 15 1997 - 20:20:47 BST

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