EmmS News 33 - October 2008
EmmS News 33
02/10/2008 08:10:02
East Midlands Museums Service Centre for Museum & Heritage Management Nottingham Trent University Clifton Lane Nottingham NG11 8NS Tel: 0115 848 3562 Fax: 0115 848 6385 Email: emms@emms.org.uk Website http://www.emms.org.uk/ EmmS Meeting Dates for your Diary Elected Members’ Panel Meeting Tuesday 30 September 2008, 11am, followed by lunch & guided tour Crich Tramway Museum Topic - Sustainability Front of House Network Monday 13 October 2008, 10am – 4pm, including lunch The Collection, Lincoln Topic – Working with Exhibitions EmmS AGM & Company Meeting Thursday, 6 November 2008, 10.30am, followed by lunch Derby City Council Chamber EmmS Practitioners’ Panel Wednesday 26 November, 10.30am-12.30pm, followed by lunch & guided tour Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery Collections Care Training Courses Funded by Renaissance East Midlands and delivered by EmmS in association with the county fora. Please make all enquiries and bookings direct to EmmS. Care of Large & Moving Objects Thursday 2 October. Masson Mills, Belper, Derbys Trainers: Tim Bryan & Stephen Laing Good Housekeeping & Preventative Conservation Wednesday 5 November – The Haven, Boston, Lincs Trainer: Annette Cook Identification & Care of Leather Objects Thursday 20 November – University of Northampton Trainers: from the Leather Conservation Centre Identification & Care of Wood Monday 1 December. Calke Abbey (NT), Ticknall, Derbys Trainer: Robin Hill Identification & Care of Textiles Wednesday 21 January 2009 – Grantham Museum Trainer: Jacqui Hyman Handling, Packing, Labelling & Marking Objects Wednesday 4 March 2009– Kelmarsh Hall Trainer: Jane Henderson Identification & Care of Artworks Tuesday 24 March 2009 – Newark Town Hall Museum & Art Gallery Trainer: Gillian Walker Emergency Planning Project 2 - update A second East Midlands Emergency Planning Project, delivered by EmmS with REDS Team support and funded by Renaissance East Midlands, will commence in November. Seven non-Renaissance partner museums/museum services will participate in the main programme, which offers four training days, site visits, and a review of their Emergency Prevention & Disaster Control Plans. There is place on the programme for one more museum or museum service. A second strand will offer two linked training days for volunteer-run museums & heritage organisations, covering the basics of emergency preparedness and reaction/recovery. We hope to offer these in association with the county fora, in early 2009. If your organisation is interested in participating in any aspect of the programme, please contact Susan Lansdale at EmmS. REDS Service – update The REDS Team recently met for a training day in Eastwood. This training session commenced with a callout ‘alert’ to all REDS Team members the previous evening, requesting them to attend an ‘incident’ at D H Lawrence Birthplace Museum early the following morning. On arrival, Team members worked with museum staff to manage a medium-scale incident. The exercise tested the REDS Team callout procedures, access to stockpiles, and incident management skills, and proved beneficial to both the REDS Team and Museum. The first Team members arrived at the Museum by 8.30a.m. and, by 9.30a.m., ten members were in attendance with three county stockpiles; a further two Team members with additional stockpiles were ‘on call’. This was an excellent response since Team members come from all over the region and had to collect stockpiles from city centre locations at the height of the morning rush hour! During the afternoon, Ann Chumbley, Registrar at Museums Sheffield, joined Team members to talk about the major flood incident at the Kelham Island museums last summer, how it was managed, and the lessons learnt. We welcome Nicola Wood, a new Team member for Nottinghamshire. We now have a full complement of 15 Team members (with three people representing each of the five large counties in the region). REDS Team members are available for site visits to REDS Service participating museums. If you would like a Team member to visit your museum or heritage site, please contact Susan Lansdale at EmmS. In order to encourage more eligible museums and heritage organisations to benefit from the REDS Service, the EmmS Board recently agreed to reduce the level of Public Liability insurance required as criteria for participation in the scheme. Organisations participating in the REDS Service are required to have Public Liability insurance of £2 million in place (previously, it was £5 million). Members’ News Melton Carnegie Museum wins major Heritage Lottery Fund Award The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has recently awarded £969,000 to Leicestershire County Council’s Environment and Heritage Services to develop the Melton Carnegie Museum. The development, entitled Town and Country in the 21st Century, will comprise a ground floor and first floor extension to the rear of the existing museum that will double the size of the museum. The new space will include: · A Community Archive to support work being undertaken by local history groups and partner organisations, including the Museum of Hunting Trust. · Additional permanent displays to complement the existing displays, focusing on rural life in the area. The displays will include contentious and topical contemporary rural issues and will reflect home and family life as well as working life in the countryside in the borough. · A Community hub on the first floor will create a dedicated space for activities and events for use by schools, community groups and volunteers. The work is due to start in the summer of 2008 and will take two years to complete. Further details: Jenny Dancey, 01664 569946, jdancey@leics.gov.uk. Crich Tramway Museum wins major Heritage Lottery Fund Award Crich Tramway Museum recently received notification that it has been awarded a stage one pass from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to undertake the Stone Workshop project. The money has been ‘ear marked’ for the project, but final plans will have to be produced and agreed by the HLF as the second stage of the award. This will be done during the coming year and submitted to the HLF for a final confirmation. The total award is for £917,600: this will be split into a development grant of £48,100, to be used to produce the detailed designs, and £869,500 to complete the required works. The upper floor of the Stone Workshop will be accessed via a bridge link from the present Workshop Viewing Gallery. This will house an exhibition of the history of the site and the involvement of George Stephenson. It will also detail the influences that led to the development of tramways as urban transport. The lower floor will become a Learning Centre for school parties. The Museum’s success in attracting school visits has led to numbers out-growing the present facilities. The Exhibition and the Learning Centre at the heart of the Museum will act as a central focus for the visitor. The project will add greatly to the Museum’s ability to attract visitors and increase their stay, helping to compete more effectively with other regional attractions and helping to ensure the future sustainability of the Museum. It is intended to begin the work during the winter closed period 2009/10, with an opening in the summer of 2010. Further details: Glyn Wilton, 01773 854321, glynn.wilton@tramway.co.uk. Obituary: John Arthur (Jack) Smirfitt (1935-2008) It was with great sadness that colleagues from the Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum announced the death, on 17 May, of their Honorary Curator and Trustee, Jack Smirfitt Jack was associated with the textile industry all of his professional life. He graduated with a degree in Textile Industries from Leeds University 1958, and went on to complete an MSc, researching the geometry of knitted fabric. In 1961, Jack was appointed as the Librarian at Hatra (Hosiery and Allied Trades Research Association) in Nottingham, and remained in this position until Hatra’s demise in the early 1990s. After his retirement from Hatra, Jack became Honorary Curator of the Ruddington Framework Knitters' Museum. Jack did not limit himself to curatorial activities but was also actively involved in all aspects of the Museum’s work, including its day-to-day management, the planning and implementation of the Chapel Project, and mentoring students. As Curator, Jack firmly established the Museum’s collection, and perhaps more importantly he was responsible for the Museum’s library, which is arguably the most comprehensive on all aspects of knitting, in the world. As a testament to this the Museum’s library will now be known as the Smirfitt Library. Obituary: Michael P Cooper (1946-2008) Michael Cooper, Registrar for Nottingham City Museums & Galleries, died in his sleep on 2 June. This was a grievous loss to both Nottingham and to museums in general. After an eclectic variety of jobs in early life, Michael became a collections cataloguer at Nottingham Natural History Museum at Wollaton Hall. In 1982 he took a job at Brewhouse Yard Museum and, ten years later, he was appointed Registrar for the City Museum Service. During his tenure Michael made massive and far reaching improvements to Documentation and Collections Management at Nottingham, much of it anticipating the work being done in other institutions today. He was involved in the creation of the Museum Documentation Association’s Spectrum Standard and was an early convert to and pioneer of digital collections management. The completion of the Baseline project in 1998 gave NCMG a digital catalogue for all its collections - subsequent to which, Michael developed a Collections Management Database which is (at least) the equal of commercially produced systems. He had just finished working on the latest version of the database at the time of his death and it is a testament to his skill and thoroughness that it has functioned flawlessly since. An early achievement (in collaboration with his colleagues) was the creation of a collecting policy in 1995, which served as a model for others and continues to be the basis of collecting at Nottingham. He was later involved in attempts to create a regional Collections Development Strategy and hopefully his work will inform the impending consultation. Mick always had a single-minded determination to do the best and set very high standards in all his endeavours. His legacy to the museum service will hopefully live on for many decades, not only through his work but also through the many volunteers, casuals and staff members who have worked with him in documentation. Beyond the museum, Mick was an internationally recognised mineral expert. His extensive knowledge was generously shared through many societies and publications, and was called on by museums and collectors across the world. This enthusiasm has inspired yet another generation to be fascinated by some of the world’s most amazing natural structures. East Midlands Museums Partnership In these times of change, EmmS is a key partner ensuring stability within the sector. Working with MLA East Midlands and Renaissance EM, the East Midlands Museums Partnership (EMMP) has drawn up a memorandum of understanding to ensure continuity in the strategic delivery of museum services until 2013. Underpinning this is an understanding of the roles and strengths each of the partners brings to strengthen museum delivery in the region. The formal agreement of this memorandum will take place at Mansfield Museum on Thursday 13 November 2008. The event will include presentations on key aspects of the EMMP member’s work for museums. Curatorial Advisors - further to discussions in the EMMP, a clearer picture has emerged from the MLA about provision for developing and supporting the curatorial advisor service. This is being led by the newly appointed Accreditation Manager, Sam Rowlands. MLA East Midlands (on behalf of the EMMP) is seeking further detail prior to progressing any regional work, particularly with reference to how the current regional situation is to be established; how curatorial advisors will be supported in their role and what sustainability plans are in place. MLA East Midlands (MLAEM) Update Learning Research Five pieces of recent research have given significant insight into the barriers and drivers in developing relationships between museums and Children’s Services departments or schools. To make this research as accessible as possible, MLAEM has produced a summary document that groups the findings into the following four areas: · Consultation with teachers, children and young people · Working together with Children’s Services for Every Child Matters · Unlocking the potential of e-learning in schools · Barriers and drivers to visiting museums, libraries and archives and links them to recommendations for actions and details of supporting programmes. The summary document is available on the MLA East Midlands website via the link below, and from each document you can click through to the full research report if desired. http://www.mlaeastmidlands.org.uk/ Leadership Training Research MLA East Midlands has commissioned research to build a picture of how people value and use leadership training, once back in the workplace. Right Angle Management is undertaking this research and has produced a short questionnaire for anyone who works in a museum in the East Midlands region (in either a paid or voluntary capacity) and is currently taking part in, or has taken part in the last three years, training which is wholly or partly related to the development of leadership skills. If you would like to complete a questionnaire, please contact Liz Hawkes at Right Angle Management: lhawkes@rightanglemgt.co.uk. Podcasting – forthcoming training opportunity Podcasting can be an effective way of reaching youth audiences and developing oral history resources. MLAEM is organising training, which will take place in Leicester in mid-October to introduce the processes and explore the benefits. No technical knowledge required. If you are interested in attending, please contact Davey Ivens: davey.ivens@mlaeastmidlands.org.uk Ancestral and Literary Tourism Ancestral and literary tourism has the potential to be of significant importance for the region’s museums and MLAEM is working with the Cultural Consulting Network to create an action plan, which will: · Capture current activity and appetite · Make recommendations on which areas are worth pursuing further · Work up detailed development and implementation plans for a minimum of two pilot projects for different visitor sectors. Volunteering in the Cultural Sector in the East Midlands In partnership with English Heritage and Arts Council England, East Midlands MLAEM is commissioning research to identify the current state of volunteering in arts organisations, museums, libraries, archives and heritage organisations across the East Midlands. The research will identify a number of outputs including: · Identifying training needs of the volunteer sector in arts, museums, libraries, archives and heritage organisations across the East Midlands · Exploring the influence volunteer led organisations have on local policy development in LSP’s, Sustainable Community strategies and LAA implementation · Exploring the social and economic impact of cultural volunteering · Exploring the motivation of volunteering in the sector · Examining the voluntary recognition schemes that could be used by the sector and make recommendations. Renaissance East Midlands (REM) Update Green Museums Thanks to all those who took part in the Green Museums survey - 40% of museums in the East Midlands replied. The survey found that many museums are already engaging at a basic level with environmental activity and awareness, with some already incorporating environmental sustainability (and the resultant cost savings) in new projects. The full results of the survey, and a copy of the report, are available at http://www.renaissanceeastmidlands.org.uk/ The next stage of the Green Museums programme is one-to-one support for six museums, and the development of a step-by-step guide available to all museums in the East Midlands and the UK. The guide will contain a range of actions and inspiring case studies gathered from East Midlands sites and will be available in March 2009. More information about this will be circulated later in the year. Museums and Galleries Month Nationally, the Campaign for Museums is putting together an evaluation of Museums and Galleries Month to date. Please add your thoughts to this through the survey, which can be found at: http://www.mhm-surveys.co.uk/mgm.htm. By filling in the survey you could influence the future of MGM, which is under threat as no funding has been secured for 2009. museumaker Retail Courses Improving your Retail: as shopping becomes a leisure pursuit and new manufacturing technologies make very short-runs of specially designed objects inspired by your collections profitable, museum shops are superbly placed to attract savvy shoppers looking for niche objects. BUT ... how many museums are currently really making the most of their income generating opportunities? A five module Retail Development training course specially designed to help museums put their trading operations on a more business like footing starts this month. Full details of all thirteen of the Retail and Contemporary Craft development opportunities offered via museumaker, between now and January, are available at: http://www.renaissanceeastmidlands.org.uk/ All the museumaker events are hosted by central London museums with a great track record for successful retailing. The events are free, though booking is essential (contact Susie O'Reilly, o_reillysusan@hotmail.com). There are travel bursaries available to ensure that the cost of travel to London doesn't deter staff from participating. Digital Skills Development Programme REM is offering museums the chance to take part in its digital skills development pilot programme to help improve access to museum collections through the use of digital technology. The digital skills development programme consists of a formal training and informal learning activities, and will focus on building capacity within organisations. Training will be provided from an introductory level, so all that's needed is a basic grasp of IT. For more information, including how to apply to be part of the programme, visit: http://www.renaissanceeastmidlands.org.uk/ National News Future of Accreditation takes shape As part of the MLA’s restructure, a fresh emphasis is being given to ‘best practice’, excellence, improvement and innovation. Among the latest steps, a positive way forward for the flagship Accreditation scheme has been announced. The MLA will continue to manage the standard throughout the UK. This will be done as an integral part of the MLA’s new Quality and Standards team located in Birmingham. In England, Renaissance hubs will be increasingly involved with the Accreditation process, advising and supporting museums before their applications are submitted, and after they have been considered. The assessment of applications, prior to them being put before the Accreditation Panel for decision, will be undertaken by independent expert consultants in England, contracted by the MLA. The Accreditation Panel will continue to make the final decisions on behalf of the MLA Board. The MLA has appointed a new manager for Accreditation, Samuel Rowlands. Samuel has extensive experience of the scheme having previously worked as the Regional Officer – Museums and Standards for MLA East of England. Emmeline Leary, the current Accreditation Manager, leaves MLA in the Autumn. The newly formed Quality & Standards team, which covers Accreditation, Designation and Security Advice, is headed up by Isabel Wilson, Project Manager, Quality and Standards. The team’s immediate priority is to maintain consistency for the sector during the period of transition. The responsibilities of the regional MLAs are being integrated within the MLA by April 2009. Resources Reach 6.5 million listeners for FREE through Classic FM Arts and Kids Week 26 October - 2 November 2008 Advertise your events for families and children this autumn through The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and Classic FM for FREE. Classic FM Arts & Kids Week promotes arts events for children and young people right around the UK, encouraging children and families to visit their local cultural venue, be it a theatre, gallery or museum. Hand-picked events from across the UK are taking place between 26 October and 2 November will also be promoted on air by Classic FM during Arts & Kids Week and as part of Children & the Arts’ media campaign to get more families interested in culture. To register your event, by 13 October at the latest, · Click Events for Kids at http://www.childrenandarts.org.uk/ · Click on “submit an event” in the pink box on the right hand side of the screen · Click on either “Add a single event.....” or “Add a tour or series of events....” · Add your event details (this should only take 5 minutes) · Click submit Workshops, Events, Conferences Make Your Heritage Work for You. East Midlands Heritage Forum Monday 13 October 2008. The Guildhall, Northampton The heritage protection system managed by local authorities is changing. Regeneration is changing, too. You are invited by the East Midlands Heritage Forum to attend the Northamptonshire historic environment summit. The morning will highlight forthcoming changes to the system of heritage protection, and EMDA’s investment framework for heritage. Action planning sessions will help a wide cross-section of local partners understand and make the most of the new opportunities for their local heritage. The afternoon features training tailored to the needs of those working in heritage. A leaflet can be downloaded from the HELM Training page. Tourism makes an important contribution to the future of our heritage. Book today by e-mailing HELMbookings@english-heritage.org.uk Aim Sustainability Grant Scheme Workshops: Second Round Thursday 16 October 2008. Galleries of Justice, Nottingham Having obtained funding for a second phase of Sustainability grants, AIM will be running another round of workshops facilitated by Adrian Babbidge. Workshops will cover the general principles of Sustainability, together with case studies of successful schemes and details of the operation of this and other AIM grant schemes. (Full details of the schemes and application forms are available on the AIM website http://www.aim-museums.co.uk/). Attendance (including lunch) is free for AIM Members (non-members - £30 which includes a year’s membership of AIM). Further details: Roger Hornshaw, aimadmin@aim-museums.co.uk, 02392 587751. Using the Generic Social Outcomes An event for museum, archive and library staff Thursday 6 November 2008. Weston Park Museum, Sheffield A free event for educators, managers and anyone interested in the social impact of museums and galleries. The day aims to explain the Generic Social Outcomes framework and how it can be used to provide compelling evidence of the sector’s impact on national policy agendas. It hopes to provide delegates with a clear understanding of how to use the GSO framework alongside GLOs in planning and evaluation, through case studies and practical exercises. Further details: Emma King, emma-king@ntlworld.com, 07950 340048, or download a booking form from http://www.mlayorkshire.org.uk/ TextWorkshop Training Day Wednesday 12 November 2008. Oxford University Museum of Natural History TextWorkshop will help you bring your text to life. With new ways to make objects speak, weave stories and deliver powerful messages, these intensive training days will equip you to experiment, discover and learn. Join writer Dea Birkett and museum professional Rebecca Mileham for a TextWorkshop training course that will challenge and inspire you – as well as your audiences. Practical and interactive, the full-day programme covers top tips that can quickly make your text more accessible, appealing and effective at getting your message across. Cost £150. Further details: Rebecca Mileham, contact@textworkshop.co.uk, 01295 268328 or visit http://www.textworkshop.co.uk/ Arts Council England, East Midlands - Grants for the arts Evening assessment workshops (5.30-7.30pm) Tuesday 25 November 2008. Pavilion Gardens, Buxton Tuesday 20 January 2009. The Castle, Wellingborough Tuesday 24 March 2009. Leicester College Abbey Campus Grants for the arts assessment workshops are for artists and arts organisations in the region to gain advice about applying for funding. They have been designed to help applicants who have either got to the point of preparing their application in draft format or would like to find out more details about the applying for funding for a particular activity. In the workshops there will be a presentation where artists and organisations will learn about filling in an application form, getting to know their funder, filling in a budget, C.V advice and a slide show of successful applicants images. For more information on Grants for the Arts scheme visit: www.artscouncil.org.uk Further details about the programme and the workshops (including booking): Cheryl Gill, Cheryl.Gill@artscouncil.org.uk - or Mira Arya, mira.arya@artscouncil.org.uk - 0115 9897534 Funding & Awards BURA Awards for Community Inspired Regeneration 2008 · Is your project making a real difference in your local community? · Do you feel it raised community spirit in your area and helped improve the quality of life of local people? If you are proud of your achievements, make sure you enter the BURA Awards for Community Inspired Regeneration… Sponsored by Communities and Local Government for a third year running, these awards celebrate best practice in community inspired and led regeneration in urban and rural areas across the United Kingdom. Projects recognised in the past range from community-based arts or planning initiatives to physical regeneration schemes such as multi-use community centres as well as projects addressing poor quality of housing or acute social and health inequality. These awards do not provide direct funding. However, the awards are well recognised and winning an award could be just what your scheme or project needs to demonstrate the difference it is making and boost its reputation. The Awards are free to enter and anyone involved with a grass-roots regeneration scheme can submit an entry. Closing date for entries: 15 October 2008. Further details: Eva Novakova, eva@bura.org.uk, 020 7539 4030, or visit http://www.bura.org.uk/Awards Winston Churchill Memorial Trust – Travelling Fellowships The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is now inviting applications for its 2009 Fellowships. The Fellowships offer individuals a unique and life-changing opportunity to increase their knowledge and experience through overseas travel, in order to benefit others within their community. The grant to successful applicants covers all relevant expenses, including return travel, daily living and travel within the countries being visited and insurance. Grants usually cover a stay overseas of between 4 and 8 weeks, but can be longer; last year the grants averaged £5,300 per person. There are ten application categories – full details can be found at http://www.wcmt.org.uk/ or contact the Trust office: 020 7584 9315, office@wcmt.org.uk. The closing date for applications is 14 October 2008. Every effort is made to ensure that the information given in EmmS News is correct. EmmS apologises for occasional errors or omissions that may occur, but cannot accept any liability.
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