----What will it take to open these treasures up to research? Is this the next big project for Arachne? Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA, USA
Another issue no-one's mentioned yet is credentials. You may know how to study lace without harming it, and you may be passionately dedicated to finding answers to the history of lace, but the curator doesn't know that you know. To a curator, an acceptable researcher is someone with credentials; a museum professional, working in the correct field (anthropology, textile arts, etc.), publishing in reputable academic/professional journals (museum/textile/anthro journals, not "hobby" journals such as "IOLI Bulletin", "Lace", etc.). If you don't have the credentials, you have a long, hard battle to prove to the curator that you are a "serious" researcher. Curators are charged with preserving (not conserving) their specimens for as close to "forever" as is humanly possible. They take this responsibility very seriously and will not risk their charges for just anyone "off the street". Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA robinl...@socal.rr.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
