ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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The Museum Computer Network is pleased to announce the formation of the MCN
Small Museum SIG (Special Interest Group), which will hold its inaugural
meeting at MCN's November 2004 conference in Minneapolis. Building on a
long tradition of MCN support for small museums by such means as reduced
conference fees, the SIG's precise aims and activities will emerge from
open-ended and participatory discussion at the fall meeting.

The MCN Small Museum SIG is a forum for discussing technology issues faced
by people working in small- and medium-sized museums, galleries, and
archives. Such institutions often have fewer resources, and less in-house
expertise, than do many larger ones.

Along with encouraging members to share information with one another, the
Small Museum SIG will organize and propose at least one topical panel for
each annual MCN conference. Any MCN member is welcome to join the SIG; if
you feel that your institution is a small one in terms of its staff,
budget, or technology resources, or even if you don't work in such a
setting but want to help by sharing information about technology issues in
these contexts (solutions to common
problems, news of emerging tools or practices, etc.), this is a SIG for
you.

We hope that all MCN members interested in these issues will attend the
SIG's first meeting this November, when we all can help to shape the SIG
from its inception. Potential topics of discussion include technology
funding resources for small museums, models for collaboration, and other
concerns the SIG's members may raise. For general information about MCN's
2004 conference, please see
http://www.mcn.edu/Mcn2004/delegate/mcn2004-d1a.htm.

Participating in MCN SIGs is a benefit of MCN membership. If you're an MCN
member and you'd like to add your name to the list of Small Museum SIG
participants, please contact the SIG's Chair, David Farrell of the Peel
Heritage Complex in Ontario, Canada, at <[log in to unmask]>. If
you'd like to join the SIG and haven't yet joined MCN, or if your
membership may not be current, please join or renew now at
http://www.mcn.edu/membership/index.htm.

best regards,

Sam Quigley    (MCN President)
Rob Lancefield (MCN Board, SIG Liaison)
David Farrell  (MCN Small Museum SIG Chair)

The Museum Computer Network is a nonprofit organization of
professionals dedicated to fostering the cultural aims of museums through
the use of computer technologies. We serve individuals and institutions
wishing to improve their means of developing, managing, and conveying
museum information through the use of automation. We support cooperative
efforts that enable museums to be more effective at creating and
disseminating cultural and scientific knowledge as
represented by their collections and related documentation.

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More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
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