FOREWORD<br >P<br > People have been shipping objects around the world for a very<br > long time. Couriering， taking responsibility for the movement of<br > a shipment from the point of origin to a destination， is one of the<br > older professions. The word "courier" has roots in Middle French<br > ("courrier )， Old Italian ("corriere，" from "correre，" to run)， and<br > Latin ("currere ). Yet when Cordelia Rose called me at the<br > UNESCO-ICOM Museum Information Center in Paris and<br > requested references on couriering， I was surprised at how little<br > had been written on the subject. Although a code of practice，<br > developed for museum couriers by the Registrars Committee of<br > the American Association of Museums， mentions expectations<br > about the conduct of couriers， there was no how-to guide or<br > manual for couriers and there was no list of professional terms or<br > vocabulary. So I strongly encouraged her to persevere in her<br > efforts to publish such a guide.<br > Having lived in three different countries， I know how difficult it<br > is to transcend national borders， cultures， and languages. Even<br > when people speak the same language， different meanings can lie<br > behind a term: "Put it in the b "<br > oot， for example， means one thing<br > to a North American and something totally different to someone<br > from the United Kingdom. In this book， Cordelia Rose has<br > worked with a professional network of colleagues around the<br > world to insure that each phrase means the same thing in<br > different languages. The book provides a straightforward way of<br > asking and answering a courier s im ~_L<br > find the idea and point， port，，ut questions: simply<br > This text will suit both the theoretical aspects of museum work<br > taught in university-level museum studies courses and the<br > practical aspects learned through apprenticeships， internships，<br > and experience. I think that Courierspeak will make a helpful<br > textbook both for professional couriers and for those members of<br > staff who might suddenly be asked to serve as a courier.<br > Jane Sledge i<br >