It has become a familiar story on the news pages of this publication - small museums going to the wall, often as a result of cash-strapped
councils making cuts, or other funding problems.
The list of museums in trouble is seemingly endless. In the East Midland's there is Erewash and Daventry; the West Midland's Bewdley Museum has a history of threatened closures; Dacorum Heritage Trust, a museum store in the South East, is under review; the North West's Wigan Pier faces part closure; in the South West, Gloucester's Folk Museum is caught in a political wrangle after major restructuring and the Dean Heritage Museum faces an uncertain future after overspending on a refurbishment. And there are many more cases across every region in England.
Kathy Gee, the chief executive of the museums, libraries and archives council (Mlac) in the West Midlands, told Museums Journal that it is the right of any local authority to undertake a review, but the outcomes can be varied.
For example, the local authority department that a museum falls under may make all the difference. A council officer with a leisure portfolio may see more benefit in a local gym or swimming pool than a museum.
Bromsgrove District Council in the West Midlands is currently reviewing the Bromsgrove Museum. Bromsgrove is a council in trouble. After two Audit Commission reports raising 'serious concerns' about its operations, the council called in the government to help it improve.
The museum's future has been uncertain for several years. In 2005/6, the pressure will be on to make cuts to the only local collection available to the public.
Here too, there is evidence that elected council members need convincing of the worth of museums to the community. It took some years for the council to succeed in getting in a curator - Karen Spry was employed a year ago, not by the local council, but by Worcestershire County Council, to document and curate the collection.
The cataloguing of the 25,000 objects has never been completed and was one of the factors that led to the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) deregistering it in February 2004.
But as in all cases of museums under threat, the question has to be asked: is this a good, well-used museum lacking investment? And is it worth fighting for? Gee said: 'My feeling is that where there are museums under pressure, it's not only about money, but also about the quality of service.'
Helen Maclagan, the head of the museum service at Warwickshire County Council, broadly agrees. One of her three charges, the Doll Museum, closed in August last year. The Best Value review had asked for a 'refocus' of the service to better meet the community's needs.
Maclagan said the reason the Doll Museum was selected for closure was because it was serving the community less than the others. 'I am happy with the outcome of Best Value,' said Maclagan.
'I can't argue with the premise that museums should serve the city. I had to ask: 'What are the benefits to the rate-payers?' After much-needed conservation work, the collection will eventually be redisplayed in one of the other museums.
A review of services doesn't always mean bad news. For the Worcestershire County Museums Service, it has led to the development of the Hartlebury Castle site with a new lift, cafe and fresh displays - which will open in the summer.
According to Robin Hill, the county museum officer, this was the first capital funding for 15 years. Its net revenue budget of £400,000 will be enhanced next year with an additional £120,000. Worcestershire now has the means to continue running a mobile museums service, an education loans service and administer a grants scheme with hub money.
Although the regional agencies in the phase one hub get guidance from the MLA about where its share of Renaissance in the Regions money goes, there is some discretion. If it deems a troubled museum worthy, surely it would fight its corner?
Sue Wilkinson, the director of learning and access at MLA, said it does step in when museums are under threat. She cited Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery in Chorley as an example where the North West Mlac is helping it through the changes - reduced opening hours, redundancies - made last year. An assessor has been appointed to help the museum retain its registration.
The South West is also a phase one hub and has its fair share of rural deprivation. It also has many museums that depend on direct revenue funding from local authorities.
The Tewkesbury Museum's situation in the South West region is complicated. It is run by a trust but all the board members are councillors. And it is the very same local council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, that is threatening to take away the museum's base grant of £8,000 - because of a £1m shortfall in the council's budget.
The museum depends wholly on the grant and will close if it goes. The decision will be made by the council's elected members next month.
Chris Kirby, the museum development manager at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, was the previous curator of the Tewkesbury Museum and is now an honorary trustee of the museum.
He says its geographical position - as close to Birmingham (the lead partner in the West Midlands hub) as it is to Bristol (the lead in the South West) - doesn't help. Kirby said: 'Although the museum gets supportive literature from Renaissance in the Regions, the likelihood of getting someone to pop up and visit is not high.'
The isolation that staff in small museums face is a big issue. A thick-skinned curator is vital to face the problems head-on. Sam Hunt, the chief executive of the South West Mlac, said: 'There is no point in museums saying, "We are having funding cuts - isn't that sad?"'
Hunt says museums have to show they can deliver on government agendas such as wellbeing, health and citizenship. 'With low government grants you have to be innovative,' he said. 'There is usually a way around problems but they might not always be comfortable.'
The regional agencies provide tools to help museums to deliver and can be a last port of call when the smaller ones are in need. The impending restructuring of the MLA, which may turn regional agencies into little more than branches of the national organisation, may mean that the last line of defence for small museums is removed.
councils making cuts, or other funding problems.
The list of museums in trouble is seemingly endless. In the East Midland's there is Erewash and Daventry; the West Midland's Bewdley Museum has a history of threatened closures; Dacorum Heritage Trust, a museum store in the South East, is under review; the North West's Wigan Pier faces part closure; in the South West, Gloucester's Folk Museum is caught in a political wrangle after major restructuring and the Dean Heritage Museum faces an uncertain future after overspending on a refurbishment. And there are many more cases across every region in England.
Kathy Gee, the chief executive of the museums, libraries and archives council (Mlac) in the West Midlands, told Museums Journal that it is the right of any local authority to undertake a review, but the outcomes can be varied.
For example, the local authority department that a museum falls under may make all the difference. A council officer with a leisure portfolio may see more benefit in a local gym or swimming pool than a museum.
Bromsgrove District Council in the West Midlands is currently reviewing the Bromsgrove Museum. Bromsgrove is a council in trouble. After two Audit Commission reports raising 'serious concerns' about its operations, the council called in the government to help it improve.
The museum's future has been uncertain for several years. In 2005/6, the pressure will be on to make cuts to the only local collection available to the public.
Here too, there is evidence that elected council members need convincing of the worth of museums to the community. It took some years for the council to succeed in getting in a curator - Karen Spry was employed a year ago, not by the local council, but by Worcestershire County Council, to document and curate the collection.
The cataloguing of the 25,000 objects has never been completed and was one of the factors that led to the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) deregistering it in February 2004.
But as in all cases of museums under threat, the question has to be asked: is this a good, well-used museum lacking investment? And is it worth fighting for? Gee said: 'My feeling is that where there are museums under pressure, it's not only about money, but also about the quality of service.'
Helen Maclagan, the head of the museum service at Warwickshire County Council, broadly agrees. One of her three charges, the Doll Museum, closed in August last year. The Best Value review had asked for a 'refocus' of the service to better meet the community's needs.
Maclagan said the reason the Doll Museum was selected for closure was because it was serving the community less than the others. 'I am happy with the outcome of Best Value,' said Maclagan.
'I can't argue with the premise that museums should serve the city. I had to ask: 'What are the benefits to the rate-payers?' After much-needed conservation work, the collection will eventually be redisplayed in one of the other museums.
A review of services doesn't always mean bad news. For the Worcestershire County Museums Service, it has led to the development of the Hartlebury Castle site with a new lift, cafe and fresh displays - which will open in the summer.
According to Robin Hill, the county museum officer, this was the first capital funding for 15 years. Its net revenue budget of £400,000 will be enhanced next year with an additional £120,000. Worcestershire now has the means to continue running a mobile museums service, an education loans service and administer a grants scheme with hub money.
Although the regional agencies in the phase one hub get guidance from the MLA about where its share of Renaissance in the Regions money goes, there is some discretion. If it deems a troubled museum worthy, surely it would fight its corner?
Sue Wilkinson, the director of learning and access at MLA, said it does step in when museums are under threat. She cited Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery in Chorley as an example where the North West Mlac is helping it through the changes - reduced opening hours, redundancies - made last year. An assessor has been appointed to help the museum retain its registration.
The South West is also a phase one hub and has its fair share of rural deprivation. It also has many museums that depend on direct revenue funding from local authorities.
The Tewkesbury Museum's situation in the South West region is complicated. It is run by a trust but all the board members are councillors. And it is the very same local council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, that is threatening to take away the museum's base grant of £8,000 - because of a £1m shortfall in the council's budget.
The museum depends wholly on the grant and will close if it goes. The decision will be made by the council's elected members next month.
Chris Kirby, the museum development manager at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, was the previous curator of the Tewkesbury Museum and is now an honorary trustee of the museum.
He says its geographical position - as close to Birmingham (the lead partner in the West Midlands hub) as it is to Bristol (the lead in the South West) - doesn't help. Kirby said: 'Although the museum gets supportive literature from Renaissance in the Regions, the likelihood of getting someone to pop up and visit is not high.'
The isolation that staff in small museums face is a big issue. A thick-skinned curator is vital to face the problems head-on. Sam Hunt, the chief executive of the South West Mlac, said: 'There is no point in museums saying, "We are having funding cuts - isn't that sad?"'
Hunt says museums have to show they can deliver on government agendas such as wellbeing, health and citizenship. 'With low government grants you have to be innovative,' he said. 'There is usually a way around problems but they might not always be comfortable.'
The regional agencies provide tools to help museums to deliver and can be a last port of call when the smaller ones are in need. The impending restructuring of the MLA, which may turn regional agencies into little more than branches of the national organisation, may mean that the last line of defence for small museums is removed.
