The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has launched a public consultation on its long-awaited first national strategy for museums in Wales.
The strategy, developed with Museums Archives and Libraries Wales (CyMAL), identifies three principles, including Museums for Everyone, which involves the launch of the online People's Collection in 2010. It will allow users to create their own digital collections and access digital resources from museums and archives.
The Collection for the Nation section includes a review of the Sharing Treasures partnership plan, which has given regional museums access to the collections of the seven museums of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales - NMW) such as St Fagans National History Museum and the Big Pit. Objectives of the third criterion, Working Effectively, include "implementation of a new legislative framework".
Michael Houlihan, director general of NMW, said the scheme "emphasises access, equitability, engagement", adding that NMW saw free admission as "fundamental to achieving these". He said it "understandably does not address specific projects for Amgueddfa Cymru", such as the development of a national gallery at NMW Cardiff.
Chris Delaney, president of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, welcomed the strategy, saying: "This is a significant first step. It's a foundation document, but not a master blueprint."
But in the light of budget cuts at Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Denbighshire museum services in the past year, John Marjoram, development officer of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, struck a note of caution: "Aligning WAG aims with those of individual museums, many of which are struggling financially, can only be done if the... funding is in place."
The strategy, developed with Museums Archives and Libraries Wales (CyMAL), identifies three principles, including Museums for Everyone, which involves the launch of the online People's Collection in 2010. It will allow users to create their own digital collections and access digital resources from museums and archives.
The Collection for the Nation section includes a review of the Sharing Treasures partnership plan, which has given regional museums access to the collections of the seven museums of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales - NMW) such as St Fagans National History Museum and the Big Pit. Objectives of the third criterion, Working Effectively, include "implementation of a new legislative framework".
Michael Houlihan, director general of NMW, said the scheme "emphasises access, equitability, engagement", adding that NMW saw free admission as "fundamental to achieving these". He said it "understandably does not address specific projects for Amgueddfa Cymru", such as the development of a national gallery at NMW Cardiff.
Chris Delaney, president of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, welcomed the strategy, saying: "This is a significant first step. It's a foundation document, but not a master blueprint."
But in the light of budget cuts at Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Denbighshire museum services in the past year, John Marjoram, development officer of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, struck a note of caution: "Aligning WAG aims with those of individual museums, many of which are struggling financially, can only be done if the... funding is in place."