The site needs to manage a great deal of information. It seems that originally, it was simply a resource for visitors to the Hall of Fame. Much of its information is supplementary, in that it suggests how and when one might visit the physical museum, and what they might expect to find. This information is easily gained from the site.

The site has another purpose, which might be a second phase of its online presence. It seems to move towards also being a primary, online museum, in and of itself. The site includes a few online exhibits. It provides information on members of the Hall, and others who have achieved certain milestones (e.g. 3,000 hits). However, it feels as though this is a role the site is just beginning to embrace. Thus, this is the area of logical expansion -- to translate more of the museum's physical collections into a virtual format.

All the while, the site is committed to binding baseball and American history, investing is subject with an aura that transcends simple sport (and certainly all other popular American sports). It is very self-referential, with many internal links to other portions of the site. There is an exhibit outlining the artifact acquisition and preservation process. The Hall provides lesson plans for teachers (which can be purchased), which would seemingly further bind the sport's history to the country's.

Finally, there is the museum shop, where one might purchase a piece of the Hall without ever going. Once one gets into the shop and clicks a couple of links, it is actually a little difficult to get back to the site's main menu (other than simply backing out). In this sense, I suppose, it is like the real Hall, which places its souvenir shop at the end of the exhibits, suggesting it to be the end of the road for a museum goer. However, it is mildly frustrating for the online consumer.

Aesthetically, the site is simple and uncluttered. At one point, it was necessary to scroll horizontally and vertically (the "Recent Visitors" section). Many of the images are purposely crooked -- an annoying effect. To some degree, however, the aesthetic simplicity of the site does not always translate to the navigation. A site search engine is badly needed, particularly if the site is to develop its online exhibits. Some of the organization topics might be collapsed into larger categories -- all primary online resources should probably be in the same section (some are now in "Exhibits and Collections," some in "Education Program," some in "Hall of Famers Honorees"), as all information about resources located only at the Hall should be in the same spot and not scattered about (in "Exhibits and Collections," "Research Library," What's New").

My overall approach to the site would be to continue the seeming trend towards online exhibits. The Hall seems to guard much of its information and many of its resources. I think that in general, our society is moving away from this conservative approach. Any visitor to Cooperstown is likely to be a committed baseball fan, due to its location. I believe that online exhibitions would go a long ways towards whetting the appetites of those who may otherwise dismiss the trip as too strenuous. Physical artifacts deserve images to advertise them, not simply words. Baseball is so successful because of its historical-cultural roots, and the more these roots can be accessed and ingested, the stronger the game's hold on the public imagination will be. The promise of exhibit growth can bring people back to the site; people won't return simply to see if the hours of operation have changed.

Pro Football Hall of Fame
http://www.profootballhof.com

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is a more stylized design making use of more online technologies. It includes a virtual tour of the museum. For its technical superiority, the site is perhaps a bit cluttered and crowded. However, navigation is fairly simple and straightforward. The site is divided into 5 basic subcategories, and the pages require much less scrolling than their baseball counterparts. Furthermore, the merchandise store opens in a separate window, facilitating a return to the main site from any online shopping. The site also includes a site search engine. One criticism is the accessibility of the facility's hours -- it takes a bit of investigative work to locate this vital information.

The institutional history of the museum is given in brief doses -- perhaps more palatable than Coopertown's extended narrative history. As an historical resource, the site includes histories of the decades and inductees. However, beyond the virtual tour of the site, which does little more than help one gain a visual layout of the museum, there are no online exhibits. Here, the baseball museum eclipses its sibling. Few images enrich the historical reporting at the football hall.

Considered altogether, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is not as effective a vehicle for its game's history. It is certainly flashier, but seems more bound to the present. The Baseball Hall of Fame expresses its institutional independence explicitly in a speech from its president; the Canton museum, on the other hand, is a part of the "NFL Internet Network," including links to current teams, and focused on the professional game in its present incarnation. While the Baseball Hall of Fame site has more room for structural improvements, its substance is ultimately more effective and thoughtful.