In response to the global economic crisis, James R. Houghton, chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, posted a letter on the institution’s Web site on Feb.20 announcing that the Met had decided to close 15 of its satellite shops around the country. A year ago the Met ran a total of 23 stores but over the last year it has quietly closed 8, including three in California and one at the South Street Seaport Museum in lower Manhattan. It now plans to close an additional seven, and will instead concentrate on its online shop and has recently redesigned its mail order catalog. Mr. Houghton also said that the museum had imposed a hiring freeze and is curtailing staff travel and entertainment as well as the use of temporary employees. It is also in the process of a museum-wide assessment of its expenses to see how it can further reduce costs. Emily Rafferty, the Met’s president, said Monday that “we cannot eliminate the possibility of a head-count reduction.” The museum’s endowment, which provides about 30 percent of its annual operating revenue, has decreased 25 percent since June 30, 2008 to $2.1 billion from $2.8 billion. Membership and attendance is down too, in large part because of falling tourism.