Adult education
What an interesting but extraordinary manifesto for a Lesbian and Gay History Museum (Museums Journal July 2004, p16). Alan Wardle rightly points out the long and diverse history of gay men and women. He then says that 'straight people' should be 'educated on what it is to be gay'.
But as far as I am aware there is no homogenous gay culture. People who might not want to visit this proposed museum are then described as 'standoffish'! The irony of this is that the article is illustrated with a badge that reads 'consenting adults...' rather proving the point that we are all grown up enough to make up our own minds.
James Youle, museum library assistant, London
CHNTO's work behind the scenes
Your note on the new Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Creative and Cultural Industries quotes CHNTO's recent 'invisibility'.
After the government scrapped national training organisations two years ago there was no recognised organisation committed to improving the skills of the workforce in museums. The board of CHNTO resolved to continue by working towards a new SSC and, at the same time, maintaining occupational standards.
With a much reduced staff, the director David Wears was able to put together a consortium of cultural and creative employer interests. The entire process of developing an acceptable 'expression of interest' fell to CHNTO. I reckon this to be a considerable achievement of lasting benefit to our sector.
Max Hebditch, chairman, Cultural Heritage National Training Organisation
Welsh designation scheme on the agenda
An article in the Museums Journal, states that the designation scheme, now under consideration in Scotland, is 'running in England and Wales'. In fact it operates in England only, although here at CyMAL we may consider the scheme as a cross-domain programme for Wales in the future.
Jean Everitt, standards adviser, Welsh Assembly Government, CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries
Some months ago I suggested to Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums that we should consider putting Gift Aid envelopes alongside our collecting boxes as a way of increasing our income (this is not the same as treating an entrance fee as day membership and so recovering tax under Gift Aid).
Our treasurer demurred on the grounds that the extra work involved did not justify the likely return. I am endeavouring to find out if those museums that run this scheme think it worthwhile and would welcome any feedback.
Peter Hirschmann, chairman of the Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums
Much as I would have liked to attend the Museums Association Investors in People conference (16 July 2004) there was no way I could afford the entry fee, let alone the transport to London and the overnight accommodation. I earn less than £14,000 and I can't afford to attend any of the other excellent conferences organised by the MA - the fact that this one was about low pay in museums was galling to say the least.
Jon Watt, assistant curator, natural sciences, the Highland Council
This event targeted not the worst off but those such as directors who can influence salaries. To run events we incur significant costs. We can't operate at a loss, but we do take into account ability to pay. The concessionary rate for the event was £40, a lot less than it cost per head to run it. We are also trying to make events more affordable by introducing lower-priced training events at venues outside London. And, of course, the MA runs free events in CPD, ethics and policy.
Ratan Vaswani, head of events, the Museums Association
Plane speaking from Museum of Flight
I am writing to correct the misleading impression given in your news item about the Museum of Flight (Museums Journal July 2004, p7).
The museum does not possess a Lancaster aircraft and none of the hangars at the Museum of Flight is air-conditioned. The historic airfield site at East Fortune is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and it is not realistically possible to tightly control the environment without interfering with the historic fabric in our four Second World War hangars.
Furthermore, while there was some temporary disruption during a major aircraft redisplay programme last winter, it is not true to say that 'most of the aircraft are covered in dirt and dust'.
Visitor numbers have increased by almost 70 per cent at this site over the past four months. Although Concorde is the catalyst, the broader changes we are making will open up the collection to a larger audience. This work is the first step in a planned £8m redevelopment programme.
The securing of a Concorde for the Museum of Flight and for the Scottish people was a huge achievement by NMS. Its transportation was front page news and the journey of the aircraft was broadcast on television in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Concorde opens to the public in March 2005. The changes in progress at the Museum of Flight are a positive success story!
Gordon Rintoul, director, National Museums of Scotland
Every credit to mobile phone tour
I read with interest your article on the mobile phone audio tour I created for East Lothian Council Museums Service (Museums Journal July 2004, p8). It is to the credit of the Scottish Museums Council that a vision for the use of ICT has been set out.
At Prestongrange we decided to use existing technology that we knew would function successfully, but as access to third generation and smartphone technologies grows, we can expect to see a vast array of interpretive possibilities through visitors' personal hardware. One of the major benefits of this is that the equipment costs are removed, thus increasing access to new technologies for smaller museums.
Andy Wood
www.audioexhibitions.com
Northern Ireland beats the odds
Paul Gosling stated that there is an 'inadequate demand afflicting museums and heritage centres in Northern Ireland' (Museums Journal August 2004, p8). If visitor numbers and capital development are but two indications of demand then one must contest this assertion in respect of museums.
Over the past decade attendances have risen consistently: local museums attracted 8 per cent more visitors in 2003 compared with the previous year, and the sector has seen an 18 per cent rise in attendances over the past five years. And figures will rise further given the development of new facilities at Ballymena, Londonderry, Larne, Carrickferrgus, Newry and Ballymoney, among others.
While this may paint a somewhat rosy picture it belies the chronic underfunding of non national museums by central government in Northern Ireland which is currently 17p per head of population, at least three times less than the rate in England or Scotland. A figure put into further perspective when one considers that the subvention of the arts in Northern Ireland runs to £5.01 per head (2002).
Chris Bailey, director of Northern Ireland Museums Council
Time to improve our relative knowledge
In your well-balanced article, Close to the Bone, attention is drawn to the 'poor documentation of remains in many museums'. Surely the scientific examination of these bones could help to rectify this situation in part?
Some years ago, a black South African came from South Africa to Scotland to lay claim to what was thought to be the remains of one of his ancestors. When he returned to South Africa with the remains, a DNA test was undertaken. His ancestor turned out to be a white man, and the remains were then returned to Scotland.
At the Museums Association conference in Brighton in 1994 I asked Des Griffin (formerly the director of the Australian Museum, Sydney) why there was a delay in getting four Australian Aboriginal skulls from the Manchester Museum sent back to Australia. He replied that the special keeping place at the National Museum in Canberra was full of unprovenanced Aboriginal human remains from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He added that nobody wanted someone else's ancestors.
George Bankes, former keeper of ethnology at the Manchester Museum
Correction
Kilmartin House is in Argyll and Bute and not Ayrshire
What an interesting but extraordinary manifesto for a Lesbian and Gay History Museum (Museums Journal July 2004, p16). Alan Wardle rightly points out the long and diverse history of gay men and women. He then says that 'straight people' should be 'educated on what it is to be gay'.
But as far as I am aware there is no homogenous gay culture. People who might not want to visit this proposed museum are then described as 'standoffish'! The irony of this is that the article is illustrated with a badge that reads 'consenting adults...' rather proving the point that we are all grown up enough to make up our own minds.
James Youle, museum library assistant, London
CHNTO's work behind the scenes
Your note on the new Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Creative and Cultural Industries quotes CHNTO's recent 'invisibility'.
After the government scrapped national training organisations two years ago there was no recognised organisation committed to improving the skills of the workforce in museums. The board of CHNTO resolved to continue by working towards a new SSC and, at the same time, maintaining occupational standards.
With a much reduced staff, the director David Wears was able to put together a consortium of cultural and creative employer interests. The entire process of developing an acceptable 'expression of interest' fell to CHNTO. I reckon this to be a considerable achievement of lasting benefit to our sector.
Max Hebditch, chairman, Cultural Heritage National Training Organisation
Welsh designation scheme on the agenda
An article in the Museums Journal, states that the designation scheme, now under consideration in Scotland, is 'running in England and Wales'. In fact it operates in England only, although here at CyMAL we may consider the scheme as a cross-domain programme for Wales in the future.
Jean Everitt, standards adviser, Welsh Assembly Government, CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries
Some months ago I suggested to Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums that we should consider putting Gift Aid envelopes alongside our collecting boxes as a way of increasing our income (this is not the same as treating an entrance fee as day membership and so recovering tax under Gift Aid).
Our treasurer demurred on the grounds that the extra work involved did not justify the likely return. I am endeavouring to find out if those museums that run this scheme think it worthwhile and would welcome any feedback.
Peter Hirschmann, chairman of the Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums
Much as I would have liked to attend the Museums Association Investors in People conference (16 July 2004) there was no way I could afford the entry fee, let alone the transport to London and the overnight accommodation. I earn less than £14,000 and I can't afford to attend any of the other excellent conferences organised by the MA - the fact that this one was about low pay in museums was galling to say the least.
Jon Watt, assistant curator, natural sciences, the Highland Council
This event targeted not the worst off but those such as directors who can influence salaries. To run events we incur significant costs. We can't operate at a loss, but we do take into account ability to pay. The concessionary rate for the event was £40, a lot less than it cost per head to run it. We are also trying to make events more affordable by introducing lower-priced training events at venues outside London. And, of course, the MA runs free events in CPD, ethics and policy.
Ratan Vaswani, head of events, the Museums Association
Plane speaking from Museum of Flight
I am writing to correct the misleading impression given in your news item about the Museum of Flight (Museums Journal July 2004, p7).
The museum does not possess a Lancaster aircraft and none of the hangars at the Museum of Flight is air-conditioned. The historic airfield site at East Fortune is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and it is not realistically possible to tightly control the environment without interfering with the historic fabric in our four Second World War hangars.
Furthermore, while there was some temporary disruption during a major aircraft redisplay programme last winter, it is not true to say that 'most of the aircraft are covered in dirt and dust'.
Visitor numbers have increased by almost 70 per cent at this site over the past four months. Although Concorde is the catalyst, the broader changes we are making will open up the collection to a larger audience. This work is the first step in a planned £8m redevelopment programme.
The securing of a Concorde for the Museum of Flight and for the Scottish people was a huge achievement by NMS. Its transportation was front page news and the journey of the aircraft was broadcast on television in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Concorde opens to the public in March 2005. The changes in progress at the Museum of Flight are a positive success story!
Gordon Rintoul, director, National Museums of Scotland
Every credit to mobile phone tour
I read with interest your article on the mobile phone audio tour I created for East Lothian Council Museums Service (Museums Journal July 2004, p8). It is to the credit of the Scottish Museums Council that a vision for the use of ICT has been set out.
At Prestongrange we decided to use existing technology that we knew would function successfully, but as access to third generation and smartphone technologies grows, we can expect to see a vast array of interpretive possibilities through visitors' personal hardware. One of the major benefits of this is that the equipment costs are removed, thus increasing access to new technologies for smaller museums.
Andy Wood
www.audioexhibitions.com
Northern Ireland beats the odds
Paul Gosling stated that there is an 'inadequate demand afflicting museums and heritage centres in Northern Ireland' (Museums Journal August 2004, p8). If visitor numbers and capital development are but two indications of demand then one must contest this assertion in respect of museums.
Over the past decade attendances have risen consistently: local museums attracted 8 per cent more visitors in 2003 compared with the previous year, and the sector has seen an 18 per cent rise in attendances over the past five years. And figures will rise further given the development of new facilities at Ballymena, Londonderry, Larne, Carrickferrgus, Newry and Ballymoney, among others.
While this may paint a somewhat rosy picture it belies the chronic underfunding of non national museums by central government in Northern Ireland which is currently 17p per head of population, at least three times less than the rate in England or Scotland. A figure put into further perspective when one considers that the subvention of the arts in Northern Ireland runs to £5.01 per head (2002).
Chris Bailey, director of Northern Ireland Museums Council
Time to improve our relative knowledge
In your well-balanced article, Close to the Bone, attention is drawn to the 'poor documentation of remains in many museums'. Surely the scientific examination of these bones could help to rectify this situation in part?
Some years ago, a black South African came from South Africa to Scotland to lay claim to what was thought to be the remains of one of his ancestors. When he returned to South Africa with the remains, a DNA test was undertaken. His ancestor turned out to be a white man, and the remains were then returned to Scotland.
At the Museums Association conference in Brighton in 1994 I asked Des Griffin (formerly the director of the Australian Museum, Sydney) why there was a delay in getting four Australian Aboriginal skulls from the Manchester Museum sent back to Australia. He replied that the special keeping place at the National Museum in Canberra was full of unprovenanced Aboriginal human remains from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He added that nobody wanted someone else's ancestors.
George Bankes, former keeper of ethnology at the Manchester Museum
Correction
Kilmartin House is in Argyll and Bute and not Ayrshire
