Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, Cornwall
AIM BULLETIN APRIL 2008
IN THIS ISSUE –
· This is the last chance to book your place at AIM Conference 2008! What makes a successful independent museum? Delegates to AIM’s Annual Conference on 1-3 May 2008 hosted by the Historic Dockyard Chatham, Kent, will find out, as this is the theme of the event. Highlights will include a keynote speech by museum consultant Tristram Besterman; new research by Adrian Babbidge of Egeria Heritage Consultancy on Defining Success for Independent Museums; case studies from successful independents; workshops on subjects from conservation to trading; the annual dinner in the Royal Engineers Museum mess and a trip along the River Medway on the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle. Most importantly the conference enables those running independent museums to come together and swap ideas and experiences. Development Partners is Conference sponsor. A full programme and form is included with the April AIM Bulletin, and is available on the AIM website. Pages 1 & 3
· The nine English regional Museums Libraries and Archive Councils are to go in a streamlining of MLA’s operation aimed at cutting costs and channelling more funding to the front line. By April 2009 smaller regional teams will be in place working with other cultural services. The announcement follows the decision to cut back the central MLA Council and move key operations out of London to Birmingham, partly as a result of the 25% cut in MLA’s core budget. MLA heralded the change as a “new era”. AIM chairman Bill Ferris said a stronger, leaner MLA was to be welcomed and he hoped the opportunity would be taken to champion museums, libraries and archives as well as act as a channel of Government policy. It was important to retain strategies which were helpful to smaller museums and represented an opportunity to ensure a wider spread of Renaissance funding. Pages 1 & 2
· Alongside radical changes to MLA’s structure, a full review of the Renaissance programme is taking place, with a view to implementation in April 2009, following a year of transition. Under the chairmanship of Professor Sara Selwood, the plan is to develop a critical overview of the programme, scrutinising where it has succeeded and where it has failed. Consultation will take place widely in the museums sector, including with AIM. Designated museums without core funding have expressed anxiety at the possibility of the scheme’s demise, but an MLA spokesman said £2 million funding had been allocated for non-hub museums with designated collections, pending a re-launch of the Designation Challenge Fund next year. Page 2
· The first indication that the Government is moving away from its “simplistic” targets relating to access and social inclusion to focus on the value of culture itself came in January with the publication of Supporting Excellence in the Arts, by Sir Brian McMaster. The then Culture secretary, James Purnell called it “a real shift in how we view and talk about culture in this country.” Sir Brian McMaster said it was time to recognise the “profound value of art and culture in itself”. AIM chairman Bill Ferris pointed out that risk-taking and innovation – key words in the report – had always been at the heart of independent museums, and it was good to hear this recognised at last. “Achieving quality and a broad audience have always been vital to cultural businesses like independent museums,” he said. Page 5
· Rural museums are trialling a carbon account calculator specifically developed for them as part of a programme of activities designed to make them more relevant to modern audiences. Ultimately it is expected to be adaptable for use by all museums and other cultural and leisure organisations. Rural museums, taking part in their annual conference, Turning Green, signed up for a wider trial. They are also interested in developing a template for museum managers to present a business case for sustainability to their governing bodies. Delegates felt museums were at a transition point in their management and presentation, likening the new interest in sustainability (environmental, economic and social) to the delivery by museums in recent years of social history, access, social inclusion and learning. Page 6
· The Museums Association (MA) has urged museums to consider disposal of unused parts of their collections in its newly launched Disposal Toolkit. “Wonderful collections can become a burden unless they are cleared of unused objects,” says MA director Mark Taylor. The presumption of offering artefacts to other museums continues, but sale is approved in exceptional circumstances. AIM chairman Bill Ferris said space constraints, financial needs and the prospect of interesting artefacts languishing unseen in museum stores had been the drivers of the MA’s new policy. But it was important to ensure the views of donors, past and future, were taken into account, and that disposal was achieved responsibly. Page 9
· TopLots – the exciting new project auctioning heritage experiences and behind-the-scenes activities via eBay – has announced its programme for 2008. Organisations interested in participating should register on www.toplots.co.uk by 10 April. The programme includes museums and galleries in May, houses and gardens and transport and steam in June, performing arts in September and heritage in general in October. The pilot auction last October brought in £30,000 for museums and heritage projects. The new venture is run by Development Partners in association with AIM and eBay for Charity, working closely with VisitBritain. Further information: www.toplots.co.uk. Page 16
Also in this issue –
· Lanarkshire industry helps Summerlee heritage
· AIM organises the third MDO National Conference
· Latest news on AIM’s Sustainability and Conservation schemes, plus case studies
· Museums & Heritage Show plans free advice surgeries
· Dambusters documentary made at Yorkshire Air Museum
· AIM reviews its support for members
· Forward planning covered in latest updated AIM FOCUS paper
· Bottom Line: Health & safety and corporate manslaughter
· Future assured for Mary Rose
· Linking heritage and learning in new Government project
· Opportunity to join AIM Council
Plus –
Information on AIM’s latest events, the Bob Harding Training Grants, FOCUS information papers, and the two-page AIM Directory – 30+ providers of products and services for the museum sector.
