Museums, etc

[Tony Duell]

> 
> > I've changed the Subject: line because this has little to do with
> > the original subject, which in any case is best forgotten.
> Yep.
> 
> > a museum that won't let somebody who is giving their
> > time free of charge to help with the operation of that museum
> > look at their collection of documentation is certainly doing
> > the above.
> 
> This is a little like the issue of showing proper respect to Don Maslin's
> wife.  Build a friendship first, then pursue your interests second.

I fail to see the connection. 

In the case of the museum, I'd volunteered to help out there. I'd spent 
several days working there. I just asked if I could look at their 
collection of documentation, in fact my initial request for for a 
printset for one of _their_ machines that I was working on (I had -- and 
had taken with me -- printsets for most of the system, but I didn't have 
them (IIRC) for the tape drive). I was basically told 'no way'.

Contacting a relative of a deceased collector is rather different. In 
that case you are often not know to said relative (I was known to the 
people at Bletchley). There is also the time problem -- you need to leave 
it long enough that said relative is ready to deal with the effects of 
the collector, but no so long that he/she comes to the conclusion that 
nobody is interested in them.  But anyway...

> Might I suggest 1./ Identify a person most like yourself.  2./ Find your
> best book on the period in your collection. 3./ Loan it to this person.
> 4./ Wait 1 to 2 months.  5./ Converse on the subject.
> There's 5 steps, there could be more...  then make your request.

I do not like lending out my manuals. Mainly because I am likely to need 
them myself. That said, if anyone at Bletchley had asked if I had a 
manual for some machine, and I had it, I would have been happy to bring 
it up on my next visit and let them look at it while I was there. Which 
is all I wanted to do with the museum's manuals. I didn't want to take 
them off-site.

-tony