Ciara Canning is a senior curator at Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service, and a member of the Museums Association’s Code of Ethics committee
Tamsin Russell is a member of the Museums Association’s Code of Ethics committee
Dear Tamsin: Is there a trading standard for the term “museum”? I’m pretty sure anyone can set one up?
As people working in the sector, we know there are guidelines and codes of best practice, but do the public? I’ve worked in museums for 12 years and don’t ever remember
a member of the public asking if my institution is Accredited.
But with a model that dates back more than 300 years, there is a public expectation of principles that a museum should uphold to safeguard objects, including those donated by the public. Unethical disposal and mismanagement of collections by one museum can erode and undermine the public trust for the entire sector.
Best wishes, Ciara
Dear Ciara: I suppose Accreditation should be that trading standard but, as you say, with low recognition outside the sector it leads the door wide-open for any organisation or visitor attraction of any ilk to commandeer the word museum.
Using the word can give them the cachet and status to further their aims, however removed they are from those 300-year-old principles and ethical standards. What else could we all be doing to address this?
Best wishes, Tamsin
Dear Tamsin: I guess it’s about making sure there is support and training available. Museum mentors and Museum Development Officers do great work in this area, supporting all manner of museums – Accredited or not.
The aim of the new Code of Ethics is to make ethical principles and standards more accessible and put people at its heart. We must find more ways to communicate it clearly to the public.
We can’t keep hoping that the public will continue to trust in museums if they don’t quite understand how we function or what goes on behind-the-scenes.
Best wishes, Ciara
Dear Ciara: I absolutely agree. I also sometimes think there is a risk that when a standard exists, for example Accreditation or a code of practice, that it is viewed as constraining, an additional hoop to jump through or used as a stick to beat with.
This invariably means that we approach the mostly sensible and pragmatic guidance with both suspicion and caution, resulting in the potential benefits often not being realised. We need to integrate these standards into day-to-day activity rather than by exception.
We need to think of these standards as freeing us to do more creative work with our collections and our audiences. If we think of these standards more positively we might find them more readily communicated to the public. What do you think?
Best wishes, Tamsin
Dear Tamsin: Good point. It all comes back to communication. I think there’s a need for people across all levels of organisations to be more involved in strategic decision making.
That way there’s more understanding about why policies and guidelines are in place rather than a sense of rules and regulations being imposed for no reason. The same goes for the public.
If objects aren’t on public display there’s a sense that they are going to waste or locked away to gather dust. We need to get better at advocating.
Involving the public in understanding how stored collections are used helps them comprehend the rationale for the policies and standards in place, while opening up potentially new and exciting possibilities for fresh interpretation.
Best wishes Ciara
Dear Ciara: Absolutely. We need to be more open, literally and figuratively, about the work that we do, the challenges we face and the hard decisions we have to make. You know what they say: “A problem shared is a problem halved!”
Best wishes, Tamsin
Tamsin Russell is a member of the Museums Association’s Code of Ethics committee
Dear Tamsin: Is there a trading standard for the term “museum”? I’m pretty sure anyone can set one up?
As people working in the sector, we know there are guidelines and codes of best practice, but do the public? I’ve worked in museums for 12 years and don’t ever remember
a member of the public asking if my institution is Accredited.
But with a model that dates back more than 300 years, there is a public expectation of principles that a museum should uphold to safeguard objects, including those donated by the public. Unethical disposal and mismanagement of collections by one museum can erode and undermine the public trust for the entire sector.
Best wishes, Ciara
Dear Ciara: I suppose Accreditation should be that trading standard but, as you say, with low recognition outside the sector it leads the door wide-open for any organisation or visitor attraction of any ilk to commandeer the word museum.
Using the word can give them the cachet and status to further their aims, however removed they are from those 300-year-old principles and ethical standards. What else could we all be doing to address this?
Best wishes, Tamsin
Dear Tamsin: I guess it’s about making sure there is support and training available. Museum mentors and Museum Development Officers do great work in this area, supporting all manner of museums – Accredited or not.
The aim of the new Code of Ethics is to make ethical principles and standards more accessible and put people at its heart. We must find more ways to communicate it clearly to the public.
We can’t keep hoping that the public will continue to trust in museums if they don’t quite understand how we function or what goes on behind-the-scenes.
Best wishes, Ciara
Dear Ciara: I absolutely agree. I also sometimes think there is a risk that when a standard exists, for example Accreditation or a code of practice, that it is viewed as constraining, an additional hoop to jump through or used as a stick to beat with.
This invariably means that we approach the mostly sensible and pragmatic guidance with both suspicion and caution, resulting in the potential benefits often not being realised. We need to integrate these standards into day-to-day activity rather than by exception.
We need to think of these standards as freeing us to do more creative work with our collections and our audiences. If we think of these standards more positively we might find them more readily communicated to the public. What do you think?
Best wishes, Tamsin
Dear Tamsin: Good point. It all comes back to communication. I think there’s a need for people across all levels of organisations to be more involved in strategic decision making.
That way there’s more understanding about why policies and guidelines are in place rather than a sense of rules and regulations being imposed for no reason. The same goes for the public.
If objects aren’t on public display there’s a sense that they are going to waste or locked away to gather dust. We need to get better at advocating.
Involving the public in understanding how stored collections are used helps them comprehend the rationale for the policies and standards in place, while opening up potentially new and exciting possibilities for fresh interpretation.
Best wishes Ciara
Dear Ciara: Absolutely. We need to be more open, literally and figuratively, about the work that we do, the challenges we face and the hard decisions we have to make. You know what they say: “A problem shared is a problem halved!”
Best wishes, Tamsin
