Please Excuse cross-postings...
Join the Museum Computer Network.
Rates to rise after May 16
Are you a member of MCN? If not, how about becoming one? Our membership year
is just about to begin and if you join now at <http://www.mcn.edu/>
www.mcn.edu, you'll save some money. We haven't raised our membership dues
in five years, but despite every effort our costs have risen. Membership
fees for the 2003-2004 year will go up, but if you register online at
<http://www.mcn.edu/> www.mcn.edu by May 15, you can get the same low fee
we've charged for half a decade. Even better, sign up for two years by June
15, and get those same rates.
If you're not familiar with the Museum Computer Network, read on.
The name says it all...
From its beginnings in 1967, the Museum Computer Network was conceived as a
way to connect people, not machines. It has always been about building a
community among those responsible for implementing technology in their
institutions. By working together, MCN members are able to solve the
problems we all encounter in our workplaces. To this day, this is what the
MCN is about and what it does best.
How we do it:
The Annual Meeting
Each year the MCN showcases the accomplishments of its members in an annual
meeting. It's here that many of the best ideas in museum technology were
first aired; collections management systems, standardized vocabularies,
museum web sites, data interchange standards for museums - all of these idea
showed up first at the MCN annual meeting. The themes have changed, but the
relevance and importance of the information you get has been there since the
beginning.
And it's not just the sessions. Each year since 1987, the MCN annual meeting
has featured an exhibit hall focused on the technology our members need and
has provided a setting where vendors can show their wares to an audience
that matters.
MCN workshops address the learning needs of members across a wide spectrum
of information technology issues, from choosing a collections management
system to learning about the latest industry standards and how to implement
them.
Spectra and ESpectra
For two decades, the MCN's journal, Spectra, has provided members with
important articles, surveys and other information about developments in the
field of museum technology.
Launched in 1999, ESpectra provides free and timely news on developments
impacting museum technology, as well as announcements and job listings.
MCN-L
As an announcement service and as a source for finding solutions to the most
perplexing of problems, the free MCN-l listserv is an invaluable service to
the museum community as a whole. We do this for the entire profession; help
us maintain it by becoming a member today.
What we're planning
MCN 2003
The 2002 meeting was great, but 2003 will be even better. This one is part
of a double-header with the Northeast Document Conservation Center, which
will be staging its "Off the Wall and Online" workshop a day in advance of
the MCN meeting. MCN is offering a special discount for its meeting to
dual-attendees, making it a value that is truly greater than the sum of its
parts.
The Research Libraries Group (RLG) is sponsoring a hands-on, XML workshop.
Priced on a cost-recovery basis, it's a terrific bargain. Check the web
site for details.
<http://www.mcn.edu/> www.mcn.edu
The annual meeting is essential, but we recognize that resources need to be
closer at hand. We are working hard toward making more of that happen.
ESpectra and now Spectra are resources that MCN offers its members online.
Spectra is the first of our members-only, online services. In the coming
months we will introduce an online membership directory that can be searched
by name, institution and specialization (so don't forget to fill out that
part of your membership form!)
The MCN Marketplace was launched as an experimental directory of museum
technology vendors. Look for it to grow into the incredible tool it can be
during the coming year.
Workshops
We are also in the process of partnering with other organizations to bring
you workshops that are held multiple times per year in different venues so
that we can offer educational opportunities to the widest audience.
So there's the pitch. Join today and I'll see you in Las Vegas!
___________________________________
Chuck Patch
President, Museum Computer Network
www.mcn.edu
director of systems
The Historic New Orleans Collection
(504)523-4662
(504)598-7108 (fax)
www.hnoc.org
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