We grappled with this question in 2008 at the Art Gallery of Ontario as part of an information architecture review. From the museum’s perspective it’s an important business — does that mean it warrants a “tab” in the top level navigation? Some museums have it there. But on the other hand, it’s irrelevant to the vast majority of the site’s users, who are looking for current exhibits and the hours of operation. Also, how is it referred to? “Special Events” seems common in the event industry, but it conflicts with other museum initiatives such as fund raising galas. “Private” indicates exclusivity.

Here’s what I found in a survey of 50 museum websites:

“Facility Rental” came out as the clear winner, with 36%. While 22% made it a top-level priority, the majority put it within another section. Which section? “About” with 34%, or “Info” with 21%.

At the AGO we used these findings to inform the decision to call our section “Venue Rental” (which sounds nicer while still avoiding conflict) and link it under “About.”

The sites surveyed were: Skirball, Vancouver, Sfmoma, San Jose, LA MOCA, Phoenix, Colorado, New Orleans, Norton, High, Chrysler, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Wexner, Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee, Albright-Knox, Guggenheim, Brooklyn, MoMA, Tate, Louvre, Canada, ROM, Philadelphia, Detroit, Met, Chicago, Bata, Kansas City, New Museum, Walker, Calgary, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Two Rivers, Victoria, Fredericton, Hamilton, McMichael, Nova Scotia, Mendel, MacKenzie, Anchorage, Birmingham, Boise, LA County, de Young, New Brit.

60% of sites split their persistent navigation into two groups (usually with different font sizes or visual treatment). In this case, the average number of buttons is 13, with 8 in one group and 5 in another.

For the 40% of sites presenting all their top-level items in one group the average number of buttons is 9.

The average number of buttons overall is 11.5.

The most common terms are as follows:

This research was conducted in March 2008 at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The 35 sites surveyed were: Glenbow, Skirball, Vancouver, Sfmoma, San Jose, LA MOCA, Phoenix, Colorado, Carter, Houston, New Orleans, Norton, High, Chrysler, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Wexner, Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee, Albright-Knox, Montreal, Guggenheim, Brooklyn, Quebec, MoMA, Tate, Louvre, National Canada, ROM, Philidelphia, Detroit, Met, Chicago, National USA.

The architecture was drawn-up by developer Marty Spellerberg with contributions from the entire online team and feedback from stakeholders across the organization.