I'm curious where other museums send their newsletters, beyond the list of members. Do you use your newsletter as a PR tool? Do you write or edit the newsletter as a way to generate interest beyond the normal membership? Do you send it to politicians, the media, past donors, or others who could help support your museum?
If so, are there any particulars you'd care to share?
Thanks,
Jim Herron - Florida Gulf Coast RR Museum

Fla Gulf Coast RR Museum
hrvideo@mindspring.com

> I'm curious where other museums send their
> newsletters, beyond the list of members. Do
> you use your newsletter as a PR tool? Do you
> write or edit the newsletter as a way to
> generate interest beyond the normal
> membership? Do you send it to politicians,
> the media, past donors, or others who could
> help support your museum?
> If so, are there any particulars you'd care
> to share?
> Thanks,
> Jim Herron - Florida Gulf Coast RR Museum

I'd be glad to respond as the former editor of the Illinois Railway Museum's newsletter, Rail & Wire. IRM encourages visitors to become members for the year in lieu of paying the one day admission fee. Partly as a result, IRM has a relatively large paid-up membership of about 1500. I aimed the editorial content to appeal particularly to those casual members who rarely visited and seldom, if ever, volunteered. The intent was to report progress at Union in laymen's terms to keep the casual members interested in renewing their membership and to consider donations of money or time. The content was not particularly aimed at the regular week-in-week-out working members, and for that reason I almost never ran material about personal events in the lives of the regulars (marriages, births, social get-to-gethers,etc.) While there may have been less of interest to the regular workers, I did try to mention in each article the names, and include photos, of the individuals doing the work to at least provide some level of recognition.

Newsletters were mailed almost exclusively to the membership. A few copies were sent to other museums as exchange copies. They were also displayed and distributed in the gift shop to encourage more visitors to sign up as members.

Pete Schmidt

pjslks@ix.netcom.com

Peter,

I work in the Library and archives of the Western Railway Museum. I would very much like to get on the exchange list for the Rail & Wire.

Also is it possible to get a run of back issues started? Back channel me if you can help.

And the answer to the question for the WRM's Review is much the same as yours. It is sent to members, museums and some pr mailings. Published since 1947 with only two editors!

Ted Miles

ted_miles@nps.gov