By Philip Yenawine 

    Like most aspects of museums, instructional programs are still an evolving phenomenon. To date, few practices are universally accepted, in part because there is neither consensus on the nature of audiences and their needs nor how to address them. For the last decade, however, much work has been done to arrive at more accurate, shared understandings of the people who visit museums, and what we can do to help them gain maximum enjoyment and benefit from their visits. This paper reflects such activity.
    
    What follows is a summary of findings derived largely from research at The Museum of Modern Art, NY, during the 1980s (when I was Director of Education). Implications and conclusions are drawn from that data, and information from cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen has been added to create more complete understandings. Originally, we set out to determine what MoMA visitors knew about modern art and what patterns they employed when thinking about it, intending to let such understanding lead to a general guide for writing texts to assist our visitors. Further reflection led me to conclude that what applies to MoMA has applications to the situations of many museums. This paper contains background and guidelines for writing, as well as appendices with aesthetic stage information, and two sample label texts.