there is no one to carry on the tradition. I shudder to think about the
eventual fate of all of our collections. Do we need a national repository
for all of this stuff?
How about a collector's organization which can act as a willed
beneficiary for collectors. A board of directors can act in the best
interest of the collection should a member (or non-member?) die and
bequeath(sp?) his/her computer collection to the organization. Some
items can be kept for a museum piece while others can bid for a chance
to purchase the remaining items. This could fund the organization. The
organization can also conduct interviews with bidders to determine if
they are serving the best interest of the computer collection if they
get the desired item. A clause can be put in to require the item to be
retired to the organization upon their death.
Some of the funding can also be used to provide insurance coverage to
members by people who know the value of what's being insured.
Just my thought, and is well open to discussion.
Jeff Salzman