Us vs. Museums

From: Wayne M. Smith <wmsmith_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Mon Mar 5 01:01:57 2001

> Perhaps there's a proper place for museums and a
place for learning.
> Museums should ideally have the at least a few of the
best preserved
> specimens of chosen categories, especially the rarer
categories, in
> both working and nonworking condition: working order
for preservation;
> nonworking for learning. Of course, any of us should
be allowed to
> have private collections for learning or whatever
else -- but not the
> liberty to deliberately destroy history that could be
beneficial to
> mankind.

The Museums clearly serve several useful purposes, such
that I think the "us vs. them" label is inappropriate.
Here are a few that come to mind:

1. They are higher profile that individual enthusiats
and therefore a magnet for systems that might otherwise
end up in the dumpster or with scrappers.

2. They tend to be open to the general public making
the machines accessible to anyone who wants to see
them.

3. They educate the public about the value of
preserving old computers, and introduce new people to
the hobby. (I know some may not think this is
necessarily a good thing.)

4. The curators tend to be schooled in preservation,
and while they may not operate their machines, they
usually keep them safe, dry, etc.

5. They can usually accommodate the very large
machines that many collectors don't have the room for.

6. Museums can sometimes undertake restoration
projects that require the coordination of people and
resources that individuals would unlikely be able to
accomplish on their own, such as those undertaken by
The Computer Museum History Center located at Moffett
Airfield.

7. Museums don't sell on eBay (or sell at all for that
matter); a number of "us" do.

-W
Received on Mon Mar 05 2001 - 01:01:57 GMT