Museum charges
Sir: In your issue of December 31, 'you printed a letter from me appealing for help from your readers to finance a survey and analysis of visitors to museums. In it I said that the administration should have done some research on the composition of the audience, in order to determine what proportion of the total museum admissions were foreigners, what proportion were children, and so on, before estimating the likely yield from museum entrance charges. Three things have happened in the two months that have elapsed since my writing to you early in November, First, I learnt from the Department of Education that they did do some research on the lines suggested, although it is not yet published. The museums chosen by them were the British Museum, the Science Museum, and the Maritime Museum at Greenwicuhr,t and the researcho ch took place ch took place fn Voir, November. Second, I asked You -t° withdraw my letter: but the instruc: tions seems to have slipped througn_ your net. Third, we have completed ale_ first part of our own survey, at three different museums, the Tate GallerY: tphnertSraciietnGcaeliMeryuseum, arid the National Ideally, of course, these surveYs to be supplemented by a continu1cv .0,&.: wh! _ programme, month by month. tells us something of the changl" Pattern of visitors between home and overseas, at one museum at least. Without that information, it will be hard to draw conclusions about who is being excluded, when the entrance Charges double during the summer months. We are continuing to appeal, therefore, for sufficient funds to extend the research in this way.
John Letts Chairman, National Heritage, 202 Great Suffolk Street, London SEI
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