I thought Gerry Bay's post yesterday on virtual visiting was good.
It's true that if we don't share our collections with the public, it's
like depriving the world of our great heritage of mechanical music.
Virtual visiting is one way of awareness.

I feel that many young people would love automatic music if they had
the chance to be exposed to it.  I grew up visiting Knott's Berry Farm
just to see and hear the coin pianos there.  With the instruments dis-
appearing into private collections, the general public and especially
young people won't have the chance to experience them on an everyday
basis.  It's true that if you discover this is your cup of tea, then
you can get involved and visit the collections around the country.
But many young people won't know unless they see them in a public
place, and stand there and take it all in for themselves.

For virtual visiting, I agree with some kind of security measure for
private collections.  The e-mail method sounds like it would work.
I appreciate people like Gerry who feel it's important to share their
collection with others.

Brian Smith