Objects Specialty Group list

The Objects Specialty Group (OSG) Internet committee would like to
announce a change in the availability of the OSG-L Discussion List
Archives. Participation in the OSG-L Discussion List is limited to
members of the AIC Objects Specialty Group and the Wooden Artifacts
Specialty Group; to subscribe send the message "subscribe OSG-L" in
the text of a message to: majordomo [at] lists__stanford__edu.

This summer it became apparent to many participants in the OSG-L
Discussion List that the OSG-L Archives could be accessed by anyone
with access to the World Wide Web via Conservation OnLine and the
AIC web site.  A long discussion of the pros and cons of this issue
of public access ensued.  A majority of those responding to a call
for a vote on the issue preferred to close the OSG Archives, which
are now password-protected. All current OSG and WAG subscribers have
been notified of the new status of the Archives.

The OSG Internet committee recognizes that there are conservators
and preservation professionals from other specialties who utilize
might like to use the OSG-L Archives.  To meet this need the OSG
Internet committee has formulated a new policy for access to the
OSG-L Archives for non-members. Access to the OSG Archives is
available by sending an e-mail to the OSG webmaster David Harvey
<dharvey [at] cwf__org>, stating the nature of your query.

The webmaster will determine whether the query is suitable for the
use of the OSG Archives or whether another site might be more
suitable.  We are using the nature of the query, not participation
in a professional organization, as the determining factor in
granting access.

We hope to add a feature onto the OSG web page that will include a
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) link that will explain this policy.
We also hope to be able to have an index of the subjects from the
OSG List archives available on the web site so that prospective
users can determine if the list contains information of interest.

Since I can sometimes be busy or may be away for some of the
upcoming holidays, please be patient if the response to your request
takes a few days.

David Harvey
OSG Webmaster

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:42
                 Distributed: Monday, November 9, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-42-008
                                  ***