Museums Journal understands the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's (MLA) area directors and regional managers will be replaced with two relationship officers covering museums and libraries in each region when Arts Council England (ACE) takes over later this year.
Under proposals unveiled to MLA's 104 employees yesterday, ACE will create 53 new posts to enable it to take over the museum and library functions of the MLA. Museums will effectively be treated as another art form with a structure similar to dance or literature, for example.
It is proposed that the most senior museum position would be a London-based director of museums and Renaissance, but there would also be a Birmingham-based director of standards with responsibility for accreditation, designation and the MLA’s Acquistions, Exports and Licensing Unit.
If the proposals go through, the changeover will happen on 1 October 2011.
ACE and the MLA declined to confirm or deny the detail of the proposed new structure.
An ACE spokeswoman added: “ACE and the MLA have shared with staff the Arts Council’s proposed staffing structure for the integration of museum and libraries roles into the organisation.”
An MLA spokesman said: "MLA and ACE have agreed a process that can enable the transfer of some MLA staff to ACE. MLA is now conducting an intensive consultation with its staff about this process, and the implications for affected individuals, and a more detailed announcement will be made in due course."
Mark Taylor, director of the Museums Association, said: “The most noticeable change appears to be the reduction in emphasis on the MLA’s regional strategic role. It seems ACE is less willing than the MLA to engage with bigger local authority agendas and key decision makers at local authority level.
”However, it’s good to see there will be a substantial amount of posts devoted to museums in the new system, and that museum specialist expertise will be maintained.
”The trick will be the blending in of museum functions with the rest of ACE, while retaining people with museum-specific knowledge who are known and accountable to the museum sector.”
Update
16.03.2011
15.15 MLA added to its original statement this afternoon.
15.45 We said 53 museum posts: this was changed to 53 posts covering museums, libraries and AELU.
16.24 We said one relationship manager in each region: this was changed to two relationship managers covering museums and libraries in each region.
Under proposals unveiled to MLA's 104 employees yesterday, ACE will create 53 new posts to enable it to take over the museum and library functions of the MLA. Museums will effectively be treated as another art form with a structure similar to dance or literature, for example.
It is proposed that the most senior museum position would be a London-based director of museums and Renaissance, but there would also be a Birmingham-based director of standards with responsibility for accreditation, designation and the MLA’s Acquistions, Exports and Licensing Unit.
If the proposals go through, the changeover will happen on 1 October 2011.
ACE and the MLA declined to confirm or deny the detail of the proposed new structure.
An ACE spokeswoman added: “ACE and the MLA have shared with staff the Arts Council’s proposed staffing structure for the integration of museum and libraries roles into the organisation.”
An MLA spokesman said: "MLA and ACE have agreed a process that can enable the transfer of some MLA staff to ACE. MLA is now conducting an intensive consultation with its staff about this process, and the implications for affected individuals, and a more detailed announcement will be made in due course."
Mark Taylor, director of the Museums Association, said: “The most noticeable change appears to be the reduction in emphasis on the MLA’s regional strategic role. It seems ACE is less willing than the MLA to engage with bigger local authority agendas and key decision makers at local authority level.
”However, it’s good to see there will be a substantial amount of posts devoted to museums in the new system, and that museum specialist expertise will be maintained.
”The trick will be the blending in of museum functions with the rest of ACE, while retaining people with museum-specific knowledge who are known and accountable to the museum sector.”
Update
16.03.2011
15.15 MLA added to its original statement this afternoon.
15.45 We said 53 museum posts: this was changed to 53 posts covering museums, libraries and AELU.
16.24 We said one relationship manager in each region: this was changed to two relationship managers covering museums and libraries in each region.
