SMC e-bulletin

SMC Monthly e-bulletin August 2006

Part time post, 3 days per week.   Salary: �24,333 - �27,729 per annum (pro rata)
The Significance Scheme aims to formally recognise and fund collections of national significance in Scotland�s non-national museums. It is to be implemented by SMC on behalf of the Scottish Executive. We seek an enthusiastic and organised person with excellent communication skills to ensure the effective implementation of the scheme. The successful applicant will

• support the Significance Scheme Committee by managing the recognition process and undertaking day-to-day administration, initially finalising guidance and processes
• promote the scheme and ensure its future development
• contribute to the awarding of funding and be responsible for monitoring funding agreements
• ensure the evaluation of the scheme�s administration and impact.

Details and application forms from SMC.  T: 0131 550 4100 
E: [email protected]  Closing date: 18 August.

Show Scotland 07 will take place over the bank holiday weekend Friday 4 to Monday
7 May 2007. It is hoped that the weekend will be even bigger and better than this year�s event and SMC is encouraging museums and galleries to start planning their events now. For further information and to receive updates, subscribe to the Show Scotland
e-bulletin by sending your e-mail address to [email protected]

Deadline for pre-applications 13 October 2006
To allow members more time to develop their applications, we have brought the deadline for pre-applications forward slightly. New pre-applications forms and new main grant guidelines and applications forms will be available on our website shortly.
To help members plan for and develop their applications, we are also staging a main grant workshop in Edinburgh on 26 September. For details, contact SMC Grants Development Manager Beverley Davies.  T: 0131 550 4115. 
E: [email protected]

On Saturday 15 July, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Patricia Ferguson attended the official launch of the Future Museum South West project at Doon Valley Museum, Dalmellington. The project, funded by the Regional Development Challenge Fund, involves East Ayrshire Council as lead, with Dumfries and Galloway Council and North and South Ayrshire Councils as partners, and is aimed at setting up an integrated website chronicling the industries that helped shape the region. The day was a great success and the website, which will continue to grow and develop, can be visited at www.futuremuseum.co.uk

SMC�s A national workforce development strategy for Scotland�s museums will be published and mailed this week to our members, key partners and other organisations. The strategy aims to assist the sector in developing a diverse, fit for purpose workforce to enable the delivery of high quality learning and development opportunities, services and experiences to staff, volunteers and visitors.
The strategy is the third in the suite of four SMC is producing � A national collections development strategy for Scotland�s museums will be published later in the year.

Earlier this year, SMC reported to members on the introduction of the new SPI for museums. We have since been in contact with those of you for whom this has implications, and have now produced two new pieces of guidance to help you to meet the reporting requirements. The first piece of guidance is concerned with the collection of visitor figures and the second with web usage. You can find both on our website � see the factsheet Recording visitor figures to report against SPIs at http://194.200.63.26/pdfs/Factsheets/SPI_FAQ.pdf
and the factsheet Recording web hits to report against SPIs at http://194.200.63.26/pdfs/Factsheets/SPI_web_hits.pdf
or can contact us for paper copies if required.
If you have any questions relating to these, or to the SPI in general, you are welcome to contact SMC Planning and Partnership Development Manager Emma Inglis.  T: 0131 550 4134.  E: [email protected]

All museums working towards Accreditation are required to produce a forward plan that includes a statement of purpose, key aims relating to the museum, specific objectives and a spending plan. To assist with this process, MLA North East has produced guidance notes and a sample forward plan which are available on the web at
http://www.nemlac.co.uk/nemlac/page.php3?p=452&fp=371
SMC�s guidance on how to write a Forward Plan can be found on the SMC website at
http://194.200.63.26/pdfs/Factsheets/Forward_planning.pdf

As part of the Cultural Co-ordinators� Continuing Professional Development, we are encouraging them to visit cultural providers throughout the country and �shadow� education officers within Scottish Arts Council-funded arts organisations. We would like to offer this opportunity to host a Cultural Co-ordinator�s visit to Learning and Access departments within museums in Scotland. Participants will be offered a 1�2 day visit in which Cultural Co-ordinators may want to study education and outreach work within the organisation, see how programmes are developed or take part in a workshop, training event, etc. A brief report feeding back on the experience will be required from the Cultural Co-ordinator and learning and access officer they have shadowed. If your organisation would like to take part in this programme, please register your interest with Rhona Hamilton at SMC.  T: 0131 550 4132.  E: [email protected]
Once a list of interested museums is gathered, the Scottish Arts Council will match up Cultural Co-ordinators with an appropriate museum.

Accredited Museums
At the Accreditation panel meeting in July, Full Accreditation was awarded to the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Greenock, and to the City of Edinburgh Museums: City Art Centre, Lauriston Castle, Museum of Edinburgh, Newhaven Heritage Museum, Queensferry Museum, The Museum of Childhood, The People�s Story, and The Writers� Museum.
2007 Invitations to Apply for Accreditation
All museums being invited to apply for Accreditation in 2007 will by now have received a pre-invitation letter. Letters have also been sent to curatorial advisors of these museums. 2007 invitees include university museums, regimental museums, large independents and non-government-funded museums using 'national' or equivalent in their name.
Queries
If you have any queries about Accreditation, please contact SMC Accreditation Managers Susie Hillhouse (Tues - Thurs) or Fiona McDougall (Mon, Thurs pm, Fri).
T: 0131 550 4124.  E: [email protected] or [email protected]

SMC�s forthcoming National Collections Development Strategy for Scotland�s Museums recognises both active collecting and disposal as necessary to constructive collections management. Each requires assured decision-making based upon sound knowledge of collections, supported by robust policies and procedure, and access to appropriate resources.
The MA has been reviewing its existing guidance on disposal and intends to produce a toolkit of revised practical and ethical advice to encourage confidence in this area. As part of this process, a consultation paper has been published and the MA is inviting comments from interested members. This is your opportunity to contribute your experience, concerns and aspirations about disposal of collections and to play a part in shaping important policy for the future.
See http://www.museumsassociation.org/asset_arena/text/on/policy_disposalconsultation.doc
The consultation is open until 31 October 2006.

The prize aims to stimulate and recognise originality, imagination and excellence in UK museums and galleries. A single award of �100,000 will be presented to the entry which best demonstartes these qualities through work undertaken during 2006. Applications forms will be available from 1 September 2006. T: 020 7636 5365. 
E: [email protected]  W: www.thegulbenianproze.org.uk
The closing date is 3 November 2006.

The income derived from the investment of the Beecroft Bequest, administered by the Museums Association, is distributed as grant-in-aid to UK art galleries and museums for the purchase of pictures and works of art (furniture and textiles can be considered) not later than the 18th century in date. For the conditions governing awards from the fund, see the MA website at
http://www.museumsassociation.org/ma/8037&search=2.2#The%20Beecroft%20Bequest
or contact Pamela Poynter at the MA.  T: 020 7426 6914   E: [email protected]

Do you have any plastics, nylon, acrylics, rubber, CDs, DVDs or synthetics in your collections? Are you thinking about collecting a contemporary sculpture made from perspex? Or acquiring a large donation of Irn Bru cans? If so, a new subject specialist network focusing on modern materials in collections will interest you. The MMiC:S Network aims to share interdisciplinary, cross-sector experience and knowledge to:

• raise awareness of modern materials
• improve confidence in collecting, handling, display and storage
• inform decision-making for acquisition, care and disposal.

The launch meeting in St Andrews on 9 November will include case studies illustrating modern materials and the issues they raise in different collections.
Contact Dr Anita Quye, t: 0131 247 4376, e: [email protected]
or Emma Roodhouse, t: 01324 504689, e: [email protected]

Working with Older Learners
30 August, Paisley
�30 for GEM members, �60 for non-members
Different ways museums are working with older learners.
Kirsty Kennedy, Group for Education in Museums, c/o Shetland Museums & Archives.
T: 01595 741558.  E: [email protected]

Negotiating Museum and Gallery History
7�8 September, Newcastle
�30 for MGHG members, �40 for non-members
Trends in and uses of museum and gallery historiography and attempts to link contemporary museological concerns (such as access, inclusion, diversity, restitution etc.) to historical precedents. There will also be a focus on ways in which museums and galleries work with (or against) their historic identities, buildings, collections, displays and the historical paradigms of knowledge, culture and society inherent within them.
Museums and Galleries History Group.  W: http://www.mghg.org

Looking Back, Looking Forward. MAGDA
21 September, London
The Museums and Galleries Disability Association will be celebrating 20 years as an organisation by marking its past achievements and looking to its future legacy.
Geraldine Wootten, c/o MLA South East.  T: 01634 405031. 
E: [email protected]

Virtual Visitors and Real Readers
21-22 September, Bristol
�90 for VSG members, �120 for non-members
The Visitor Studies Group 2006 Visitor Research Summer School will explore different approaches to a study of the learning experience.
Mary Phelps, VSG Administration.  T: 020 8392 2357  E: [email protected]

Care of Textiles
28 September, Edinburgh
�35 for SMC member museums� volunteers, �85 for SMC/ASVA members,
�107 for non-members
Guidance on identifying care needs, handling and moving, storage, support, protection and the display of various textiles.
Training, SMC.  T: 0131 550 4112.  E: [email protected]
W: http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/areas_of_work/training/training_programme.asp

Session Leading Skills. GEM/SMC Grass Roots Project Training
29 September, Stirling / 5 October, Aberdeen
�30 for SMC and GEM members, �60 for non-members
How to plan and deliver a learning session, including drama and relaxation techniques, basic art activities, storytelling and how to lead a group discussion using objects.
Susan Galloway, Group for Education in Museums/SMC Learning Development Officer.  T: 01382 523 635  E: [email protected]

Conservation and Preservation of Photographs
2 - 4 October, Edinburgh
�150
Identification and conservation of different types of historic and modern photos.
Helen Creasy, Scottish Conservation Studio.  T: 0131 331 5875. 
E: [email protected]

Objects of Admiration � Interpreting Museum Collections for the Public
4 October, Perth
�35 for SMC member museums� volunteers, places supported by The Binks Trust,
�75 for SMC / ASVA members, �100 for non-members
Ways to interpret objects so that visitors appreciate them and are interested in the stories they can tell.
Training, SMC.  T: 0131 550 4112.  E: [email protected]
W: http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/areas_of_work/training/training_programme.asp

CPD+ Learning-set Meeting
11 October, Falkirk
Free of charge
The meeting will be held in the Education Suite of Callendar House, following a tour of the house.
Joan Lyall, Documentation Assistant, Museum of Edinburgh.  T: 0131 529 4502. 
E: [email protected]

Contemporary Collecting: a Practical Workshop
11 October, Cardiff / 18 October, Newcastle
Free of charge
This workshop organised by the Specialist Subject Network in Urban Social History and the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales will include discussion of why we should bother with contemporary collecting; contemporary collecting strategies; and using outreach as a tool for contemporary collecting.
Contact [email protected] about the workshop in Cardiff
or [email protected] about the day in Newcastle.

Inspiring Learning for All. GEM/SMC Grass Roots Project Training
17 October, Inverness
�30 for SMC and GEM members, �60 for non-members
What Inspiring Learning for All is and how we can use it as an effective tool in our work.
Susan Galloway, Group for Education in Museums/SMC Learning Development Officer.
T: 01382 523 635  E: [email protected]

Ready for Anything? Emergency Planning and Response in Museums
Day 1 19 October 2006, Edinburgh / Day 2 20 October 2006, Edinburgh
Day 1 only or Day 2 only: �35 for SMC member museums� volunteers, �70 for SMC/ASVA members, �100 for non-members
Day 1 and 2: �60 for SMC member museums� volunteers, �120 for SMC/ASVA members, �150 for non-members
This course has been devised to be in line with MLA Accreditation guidelines and to provide information about preparations for effective prevention and response to emergency incidents. Day 1 will explore the planning crucial to consider in anticipation of an emergency situation. Day 2 will consider what to do in practice, looking specifically at collection salvage and what needs to happen in the immediate aftermath of an emergency incident.
Training, SMC.  T: 0131 550 4112.  E: [email protected]
W: http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/areas_of_work/training/training_programme.asp