Open Forum

Hello Jim!

It would be in the best interest of the institution to have these "listening rooms" outlined within the collections management policy in some capacity. Of importance, would the audio devices (and perhaps media) being used be non-accessioned or accessioned? The limitations on use may vary greatly depending on that classification.

Any access to a collection (or non-public area, if applicable) should also be outlined in the policy. We have our policies listed under a "Research Section," which includes access to the Research Library and other collections areas. If these rooms are more along the lines of exhibition space (i.e. direct public access) then they would fall under the Exhibition portion of your collection management policies. In this case, a great resource may be reviewing some collections management samples from science museums, children's museums and historical homes that have interactive modalities as part of exhibitions.  

I hope some of this information is helpful. Best of luck - this idea sounds great! 

-Shaleigh Howells, Assistant Registrar, The Valentine
(Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.)

This doesn't answer your question directly, but I wanted to warn you about something we discovered. We were a small radio and electricity museum in a small town in Northwest Washington. We built a 1930s listening room at our museum. It featured a 1935 Console radio and a custom designed player that would play snippets of 1930s programs such as war of the worlds, the Lone Ranger, etc. Each program was at a different frequency on the dial, so visitors could have the experience of tuning the radio, something you don't see much these days.

After running the exhibit for a year or so, we received a visit from a representative of ASCAP. He informed us that we were due royalties not only For the future, but for the last year. We objected, citing fair use, etc. they said if we didn't pay what they demanded, They'd sue us. A little research online showed that they usually win these suits. Unfortunately the fee was too high for us to be able to afford it, so we shut down the exhibit. We still had to pay for the previous year.