Monday 22nd January is officially the most depressing day of the year. Last month I got a cheery email from the Samaritans to warn me about the upcoming peak of despair. (Apparently it's down to a combination of failed new year resolutions, bad weather, debt and the simple fact that it's a Monday.)
I'm sure most of us got through the day with no more than the usual dose of start-of-the-week blues, but for some museums, and the people who work in them, the outlook remains gloomy.
In the last few of issues of Museums Journal we have reported on several local authority museums that face cuts and even outright closure.
Southampton City Council is considering closing its Museum of Archaeology; Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council needs to find £400,000 of cuts and is consulting on the future of the borough museum; and Wandsworth Museum faces closure and 15 members of staff may be made redundant (see p5).
Unfortunately these are not isolated incidents and even where the cuts don't directly affect jobs or service provision, the year-on-year scrimping and saving is enough to make even the most dedicated members of staff weary at the thought of the next budget round.
It's always the same at this time of year; local authorities have drawn up their budgets; central government funding settlements don't necessarily meet expenditure; statutory services must be maintained and so chief executives turn their 'savings' hungry eyes to culture.
Of course the picture is not even across all authorities and not all of the proposed cuts end up being made (usually because loyal staff and users kick up a big fuss). But Provocation, a new report from the thinktank Demos, warns that the constant chipping away of finances is having a detrimental effect.
Author John Holden says that there are signs that local authority cultural services are facing a serious crisis in some parts of the country. He points to figures that indicate that local authority spending on cultural services has fallen behind inflation, and he warns of a gradual withering of services. He argues that elected members and local and national government should be made aware of the fact that they could do immense damage to culture by default.
So here are a few new year resolutions for those running local authority museums that could make 2007 a lot less depressing for all of us: don't cut museums and cultural services just because they look like a soft option; try to understand the value of culture in your local community - it's not just a means to another end - it can be an end in itself; and take a bit of pride in your museums - those who work in them and those who visit them are all people who can vote - or not as the case may be.
Sharon Heal, editor
sharon@museumsassociation.org
www.demos.co.uk/publications/localculturalclimate
I'm sure most of us got through the day with no more than the usual dose of start-of-the-week blues, but for some museums, and the people who work in them, the outlook remains gloomy.
In the last few of issues of Museums Journal we have reported on several local authority museums that face cuts and even outright closure.
Southampton City Council is considering closing its Museum of Archaeology; Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council needs to find £400,000 of cuts and is consulting on the future of the borough museum; and Wandsworth Museum faces closure and 15 members of staff may be made redundant (see p5).
Unfortunately these are not isolated incidents and even where the cuts don't directly affect jobs or service provision, the year-on-year scrimping and saving is enough to make even the most dedicated members of staff weary at the thought of the next budget round.
It's always the same at this time of year; local authorities have drawn up their budgets; central government funding settlements don't necessarily meet expenditure; statutory services must be maintained and so chief executives turn their 'savings' hungry eyes to culture.
Of course the picture is not even across all authorities and not all of the proposed cuts end up being made (usually because loyal staff and users kick up a big fuss). But Provocation, a new report from the thinktank Demos, warns that the constant chipping away of finances is having a detrimental effect.
Author John Holden says that there are signs that local authority cultural services are facing a serious crisis in some parts of the country. He points to figures that indicate that local authority spending on cultural services has fallen behind inflation, and he warns of a gradual withering of services. He argues that elected members and local and national government should be made aware of the fact that they could do immense damage to culture by default.
So here are a few new year resolutions for those running local authority museums that could make 2007 a lot less depressing for all of us: don't cut museums and cultural services just because they look like a soft option; try to understand the value of culture in your local community - it's not just a means to another end - it can be an end in itself; and take a bit of pride in your museums - those who work in them and those who visit them are all people who can vote - or not as the case may be.
Sharon Heal, editor
sharon@museumsassociation.org
www.demos.co.uk/publications/localculturalclimate
