The National Museum of American Art has been providing e-mail reference
for approximately 6 years. We have a Web-based form
[http://www.nmaa.si.edu/referencedesk/] and a link from America Online
to our Web site. We average approximately 350-450 questions/month and
accept questions from the general public. We provide factual information
with referrals to printed and electronic resources, as well as people
resources, for additional information. I have written a few articles on
our service and these have appeared in past issues of Art Documentation.
The email reference service at the museum is part of the Virtual
Reference Desk Project of the Department of Education. For detailed
information about our service, you can also visit the VRD
[http://http://www.vrd.org/] web site.
The VRD has recently published a handbook titled "AskA Starter Kit:
How to Build and Maintain Digital Reference Services" that you might
find useful.
Joan Stahl, Coordinator Image Collections,National Museum of American
Art
Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art: Room 331,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
(e-mail)[log in to unmask] (voice) 202-357-1348
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