Xerox Alto on ebay (not mine!)

[Jules Richardson]

William Donzelli wrote:
>> I think most museums (not just computer-related) could do a lot better in
>> acting as intermediaries between people who need to "dispose" of items and
>> those who might want what they have - the museum attitude a lot of the time
>> is "we don't want that, so we don't care what you do with it," when it's not
>> really much more effort to say "we don't want it, but we recognise that
>> these things won't be around forever, and so therefore you could ask here
>> and here and here..."
>>
>> It's not about doing the work of actually finding a home for it, but more
>> about suggesting places / individuals who might be interested, based upon
>> experience of the item being offered.
> 
> Keep in mind there are some ethical issues that start to creep in here
> that can really complicate things.
> 
> And where there are ethical issues, there are jerks that have bent
> these issues and seemingly ruin it for everyone.

Yes, I don't think museums should be getting deeply involved - but I think any 
museum should strive to have good relationships with other museums and with 
the various enthusiast communities, which means it's not too hard for them to 
reel off a list of alternative places that a person might try when their offer 
of an item is turned down.

Whether the person makes use of that advice is out of their hands, but if 
there's an aim to preserve history for future generations then it seems better 
than assuming that the person will do the research themselves, rather than 
giving up and simply tossing the item.

cheers

Jules