A guide to issues surrounding heritage development

Big questions?Big answers.

The Scottish Museums Council is the national agency forcentral government support to Scotland’s local museums and galleries.

SMC’s mission is to improve the quality of museum andgallery provision in Scotland for the public benefit.

SMC combines strategic leadership for the sector, developingnational policies and initiatives, with practical advice andservices for members.

Highlands & Islands Enterprise is the government-sponsoredmulti-purpose development agency for the northern parts ofScotland, which sets the strategic background to theservices which its Local Enterprise Companies deliver.

Local Enterprise Companies are locally-based organisations,involving public and private interests, which HIE contractsto deliver its programmes and pursue development in a waythat matches local needs.

This publication is the result of SMC and Highlands &Islands Enterprise working together in partnership. SMCwould like to express thanks to Karen Fraser, Highlands &Islands Museum Development Officer for her valuable input.

Contents Page

Introduction 1How to use Big Questions, Big Answers 2Getting started 3Choices and their implications 4Steps towards your project 32Useful organisations 35Appendix: The Big Questions 37

SMC is very grateful to everybody who contributed textfor the case studies and images for the illustration of this booklet. Most of the case studies are from smallcharitable organisations, usually run by volunteers with, in some cases, part-time, seasonal or full time paid staff.

This booklet is intended to guide andadvise anybody who is thinking aboutgetting involved with a heritage project.It is aimed at both those starting newprojects (individuals, local historysocieties, community trusts) as well as those who may be in a position tosupport or advise new projects (localenterprise companies, local authorities).The advice in this booklet is based on the Scottish Museums Council’sexperience of working with organisationsinitiating heritage projects in recentyears, mainly new museumdevelopments, and usually initiated bysmall-scale charitable organisationsthroughout Scotland.

The Scottish Museums Council isaware of a strong interest in heritagedevelopment, as witnessed by thenumber of enquiries we have foradvice and membership. We alreadyhave over 200 members runningabout 350 museums. The climate fordevelopment is difficult. Public moneyis not easily available: existing museumsare finding it increasingly hard to meetrevenue costs. The Scottish MuseumsCouncil is keen to recognise theenthusiasm for, and importance of,heritage development but also urgesanybody undertaking new projects toconsider how they can be sustainedover time and to anticipate hurdles anddisappointments along the way.

New heritage projects tend to comefrom community groups, eithercommunity groups that sharegeographical place or a commoninterest. These groups are keen topreserve something that they perceive to be of special historic significance.

They are made up of volunteers whohope to create a new resource orfacility which will be of benefit to theirimmediate community and others. If this sounds like you, then BigQuestions, Big Answers is for you.

In 1999 the Scottish MuseumsCouncil produced The Big Questions,guidelines intended to help those at thevery start of a heritage developmentproject. It suggests, through aquestionnaire format (see appendix), a number of areas of responsibilitywhich must be considered beforestarting out on a project. Big Questions,Big Answers replaces this documentand explores the issues it raised ingreater depth before leading you toarrive at your own answers.

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1. Introduction

Often, when people are thinking aboutdeveloping a heritage project, their firstconsideration is to open a museum. Inthis document we highlight particularimplications for running a museum andwhat the major difference is between amuseum and any other heritage facility.

Museums enable people to explorecollections for inspiration, learningand enjoyment. They are institutionsthat collect, safeguard and makeaccessible artefacts and specimens,which they hold in trust for society.(Museums Association, 1998)

This definition, arrived at by consensusamongst the museum profession, iscurrently used to differentiate a museumfrom any other type of facility. Museumshave one unique function – thecollecting of artefacts and preservingthem for the future. But is a museumthe only option? In fact, the definitionabove is open to interpretation andthere are a host of other ways in which you can achieve your aims.

In Big Questions, Big Answers we usethe term ‘heritage project’ to mean anyshort or long-term project (not justmuseums) which explores, celebratesand marks what people feel to beimportant to the history of people,places and ways of life. There aremany varieties of possible projects; forexample interpretive trails, oral historyrecording, visitor centres, publications,websites, digital archives, CD-ROMs,temporary exhibitions, new museums,retaining traditional craft skills.

Museums are often thought of ascentralised buildings with a variety offunctions emanating from within. Thisnotion is increasingly being challengedas it is becoming clear that suchmuseums are difficult to maintain anddevelop in the long-term and also, insome cases, a building can create abarrier (both physical and psychological)to potential visitors.

Throughout this document, we refer tocase studies which illustrate a range of projects which reflect the reality ofcurrent heritage development, offering a range of interpretations of themuseum definition given above.Solutions are endless and only limitedby our imaginations. This booklet isintended to encourage a creativeresponse to demand in a climatewhere resources are severely limited.

Think first, act second

In section 3, we map out the choicesand tools which relate to developing aheritage project. In section 4, each ofthese is illustrated by a case studyand the advantages and disadvantagesare discussed. (It is essential to readand consider these before defining yourproject.) The choices you make need tobe based on a clear understanding oftheir short and long term implications.Section 5 outlines the steps forplanning your project and section 6 offers useful websites to visit.

By the end of this booklet you will:

➜ be able to state clearly what youhave, what you want to do with itand who you want to do this for

➜ be aware of the choices that faceyou and understand theirimplications

➜ be able to weigh up the pros and cons of your choices

➜ be able to draw up a feasibleproject based on the choices youhave made.

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2. How to use Big Questions, Big Answers

What do you want to do and who doyou want to do it for?

In this section we ask you to thinkabout what you have, what you wantto do with it and who you want to dothis for. The table lists a variety ofchoices; there may be others that youwish to add. It is unlikely that any one project would embrace all thesechoices. Instead, it is important foryou to consider each one and thinkabout whether or not it will help youattain your overall purpose and will be relevant to the people your projectis designed to reach. It is crucialtherefore that, before you begin, youhave a clear idea of the purpose ofyour project and who it is aimed at.

A combination of the choices abovewill form a project concept. Whether a building is necessary to contain this project is a decision which hasimportant consequences which will be explored in more detail in section4, Choices and their implications. To help you think about the choicesthat lie ahead section 4 consists of avariety of case studies. Learning fromthe experiences of others will help toinform your own decisions.

The tools – what you are going to needin order to make it happen – are notchoices. Setting up an organisation torun the project, raising funds to pay for it and marketing it to let peopleknow about it are absolute essentials.Buildings and/or information technologycan provide the infrastructure fordelivering your project.

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3. Getting started

Choices Tools

A. What do you have? B. What do you want C. Who do you want D. What do you need to make to do with it? to do it for? it happen?

a collection? volunteering? tourism? a building?genealogical information? research? visitor services? an organisation?archives? borrowing and lending? education? information technology?oral records? create a community focus? fundraising?

create employment? marketing?exhibit?interpret?

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4. Choices and their implications

In this section, we give an explanation of each of the choices listed in section 3,before going on to outline the implicationsattached to each, which in turn shouldinfluence the decisions you make whendeveloping your project. The choices youmake now will have implications for thefuture. It is important to think through theconsequences before planning your project.

Groam House Museum Groam House Museum Kilmartin House

The MacDougall Trust, Oban

The MacDougall Trust was formed in1996 to take care of a collection ofScottish highland and island folk lifegathered by Miss Hope MacDougall of MacDougall. The Trust initiallyconsidered opening a museum in Oban.A feasibility study was carried out andthe whole plan looked marvellous.However, it became depressingly clearthat the climate was wrong for anexpensive project, and the Trusteeswere left with two options: a) investmonths of effort into a longshot lotteryapplication, or b) get pragmatic.

Having opted for pragmatic, theMacDougall Trust applied to theHeritage Lottery Fund for the bulk of money for a £89,900 project todocument and fully organise thecollection, plus an extensive outreachprogramme working in schools principallybut also using the rural ‘network’ togive talks, have displays at coffeemornings and highland games etc. Two part-time members of staff wouldrun the 3-year project.

Partnership funding fell into placeimmediately and the HLF gave everypenny asked for. The MacDougall Trusthas rearranged its administration,forming a management committee torun the project, and an active ‘Friendsof the MacDougall Collection’ (includingnew volunteers) as a vehicle forfundraising, dispensing information, andhelping out with the Collection in thestore and at public events. The originalTrustees remain as the policy makers.

The MacDougall Project is not a museum,but it will achieve important goals:

➜ the collection will be set in good order

➜ schools, local people and interestedparties will have access to it

➜ the profile of the collection will beraised immeasurably

➜ it will provide a base from whichother projects (i.e. SCRAN*, aresearch post, a touring exhibition)can spring.

Each point strengthens the case forsubsequent funding applications, andthe project will allow for clear thinkingwhen choosing the exact route to takein the future, based on knowledge oflocal demand and national priorities. It is also, quite simply, less dauntingfor a local Trust than the prospect of amulti-million pound development. TheMacDougall Trust can grow up slowly,and hopefully make fewer mistakeswhen the big day comes.

Catherine Gillies, Trustee

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You may acquire a collection as theresult of an accumulation of historicallysignificant or interesting objects whichhas taken place over time, such as theprivate collection of an individual. Or a collection may result from changes in the community, for example the lossof an industry or a way of life. Thiscollection could be complete in whichcase your priority is to provide asafeguard for it. Or collecting may

continue, through donations, and orpurchases in which case you will needto think about developing a policy forcollecting, based on the geographicalarea and time period from which youwant to collect and the limitations ofyour storage space and resources. Youmust also think about whether yourcollecting intentions will compete withthose of existing museums.

A collection

* SCRAN – Scottish Cultural ResourcesAccess Network – an electronic collection of over one million records contributed bymuseums, galleries, archives and media,including images, moving pictures and sound (see the website www.scran.ac.uk).

A. Making choices: what do you have?

South Lanarkshire Museums Forum*

Background

South Lanarkshire contains severalindependent museums, a local authoritymuseum and a national museum. Thereare therefore numerous overlaps ofcollecting area and subject interest.There had been a verbal agreementbetween museums in the past butchanges in staff, volunteers and trusteesat the different organisations, over time,led to confusion.

Aims of the collecting policy agreement

The museum forum set out to create awritten collecting policy which all inthe museums forum could sign up to.This would mean that the collectingpolicies of individual museums wouldcomplement each other. In the processof arriving at an agreement, museumswould formally discuss how collectingareas related to each other, the ethicalimplications of this and ways ofdealing with overlaps.

Process

1. The Agreement was co-ordinated bythe Museum Development Officer,South Lanarkshire Council.

2. Following a discussion of the prosand cons, the South LanarkshireMuseums Forum voted to develop a written Agreement by holdingmeetings of representatives of allmuseums operating within SouthLanarkshire. Representatives wouldhave the authority to discuss andmake decisions about collectingpolicies for their museum.

3. The Museum Development Officersummarised the Collecting Policy ofeach museum and collated theminto one document and produced a map showing geographicalboundaries. The summary andmap were circulated.

4. Representatives of all the registeredmuseums attended a meeting todiscuss the content and terms of theAgreement. The meeting discussedseveral issues, using the MuseumAssociation’s ethical guidelines onacquisition and the Code of Ethicsas the basis for their decisions. The main issues were overlappinggeographical boundaries; overlappingsubjects; Treasure Trove applications;protocol when objects of interest toanother museum are offered. Themeeting agreed methods of dealingwith these situations, based on theMuseums Association’s guidelines.Some organisations agreed to clarifytheir geographical descriptions as a result.

5. The Agreement was drafted by theMuseum Development Officer andsent to the representatives todiscuss with their governing bodies.Following approval by all parties,the final Agreement was signed.

6. The Summary of Collecting Policiesand a corrected map were includedin the Agreement as appendices.The Museum Development Officerundertook to revise the Summaryand map as necessary (that iswhenever individual collectingpolicies are renewed).

Anita Hogan, Museum Development Officer

(*Museums Forum – a grouping of museums,either by geography or by subject matter,coming together to share information,expertise and resources.)

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Bressay

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Advantages

You are preserving for present andfuture public benefit. You may beretaining something in the communityor possibly saving it from destruction.

Disadvantages

Collections have particular needs. They will need space, furniture andmaterials for display and storage, aswell as people to care for them bymaintaining a safe and secureenvironment. Objects need to beinspected periodically for signs ofdeterioration. Informed decisions need to be made about their needs.

The formation of a collection shouldbe determined by a collecting anddisposal policy. This is a key document.It will set the guidelines for what tocollect and the circumstances whenremoving objects from the collectionmay be considered as an option. Sucha policy must state the subject matter,time span and geographical area fromwhich you will collect and when it isnecessary not to collect, due tolimitations of storage or lack ofresources to care adequately forobjects. It should also acknowledgeother collections and undertake not to compete with these.

You will need to be able to account for all the objects in your collection.(Remember you are safeguarding themfor future generations as well as fornow.) This is done by documentingevery single object: giving it a numberand then attaching key information tothat number and recording this, eitheron paper or on computer. A vast rangeof information can be recorded, forexample who donated it, what is it,where did it come from, what conditionis it in? The museum profession hasfine-tuned this documentation processover the years and information andadvice is freely available, from mda(formerly the Museum DocumentationAssociation) and the National Museumsof Scotland.

You will also need to decide on apolicy for access to objects in yourcollection: can they be handled and by whom, should they be on displayor in storage, can they be loaned outto others? Access needs to be weighedagainst the need to provide security for the collections and staff and the creation of display and storageconditions that will minimise thedeterioration of objects.

As an organisation with responsibilityfor collections you would need toconsider whether or not to becomeAccredited with MLA (Museums,Libraries and Archives Council). TheAccreditation scheme, formerly knownas the Museums Registration scheme,has been in operation since 1988 and has been designed to demonstrate that a museum is working to at leastminimum professional standards in all areas. Entry to the scheme isvoluntary and free but there may be a cost attached to the work requiredto meet the standards of the scheme.Accreditation is commonly used as acriterion for funding, for example bythe Heritage Lottery Fund and by the Scottish Museums Council.

Dollar Museum

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Lismore Historical Society

‘The Returned’Achadhanard – (The High Fields) – theynamed this little township. There;sheltered from the prevailing ‘westerlies’and as yet recognisable, stand mutememorials in stone, lasting reminders of that traumatic period in Highlandhistory known as the ‘clearances’. These abandoned homes, in theirmouldering dereliction, will always kindlein us a feeling of regret for a lost people.

This was where a son they namedJohn was born to Peter and JanetKeith in 1830, surely an unfortunateera to be born in the Islands andHighlands. The ancient loyalties which– as it were – ‘ordered’ society hadcrumbled. In a few short years,Achadhanard was no more: the peoplewere replaced by new immigrants...the ‘great sheep’ had arrived.

The estate of John Campbell ofCombie was sold to William CheyneyWS. Notice was served on the tenantsand soon 400 of them would vanishinto history... MacDonalds and Keiths,McCorquodales and Carmichaels...crofters, carpenters and fishermen... all gone, many without trace.

John emigrated to Australia, finallysettling in the State of Victoria, whereeventually he would farm in his ownright. Aged forty, he married MargaretMunro – born at Kilmuir, Isle of Skye.Margaret was only aged 19 years. Onthe farm at ‘Donald’, Victoria, theyraised seven children.

We’ll now move on ... 150 years havepassed: after eviction, emigration anddanger, a descendant of John hadreturned – Karen Keith (great granddaughter). Together, we looked acrossthe Firth, towards snow-capped BenCruachan – a view unchanged fromthe long-lost days of John’s boyhood.

The wheel of fortune had turned at last!

Domhnall Mac’IlleDuibh,Chairman

Dunbeath Heritage Centre

The ‘return’ of the descendants ofemigrants to visit those places in the‘old country’ associated with theirancestors is nothing new in theHighlands. A few miles from Dunbeath,just north of the Ord of Caithness, at Badbae, stands a remarkablemonument. It was erected by a NewZealander, David Sutherland, in 1911,from the stones of the cottage in whichhis father had been born and raised.The monument commemorates acommunity its architect never knew, butwhich clearly remained important to hisfather, Alexander, to the end – even, orperhaps especially, after he emigrated tothe other side of the world in 1839. Inthe 1970s, it was another Antipodean,a later descendant, who returned, thistime to write the history of Badbae andits monument.

You may wish to provide assistance forpeople researching family history. Thiswould mean providing informationthrough access to archives, maps,collections or access to people withlocal knowledge or directing people to places in your area.

Genealogical information

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Today, with a booming interest infamily history throughout the world,coupled with the ease of globalcommunication via the internet andaffordable air travel, it is perhaps notsurprising that ‘roots-tourism’ hasbecome something of a mass movement.Even in a small crofting and fishingcommunity such as Dunbeath, throughoutthe summer months barely a weekgoes by without at least one overseasvisitor arriving at the Heritage Centreand announcing that he or she hasancestral connections to the place.Such pronouncements are met with aflurry of activity as box files, photographs,maps and family tree charts areproduced and, over a cup of tea or two,information is exchanged and excursionsto long-deserted settlements arranged.

Because of the massive scale ofemigration in the nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries, villages such asDunbeath could be said to havediasporas of their own. It is sometimesassumed that we in the old country arethe sole keepers of knowledge about our local heritage, but each of thoseemigrants carried their stories and a fewtreasured possessions with them to theNew World and these have often beenpassed down the generations.

More often than not, we know little ofwhat happened to those emigrants asthey made new lives for themselves inNorth America and Australasia. Thusour meetings with their descendantsare tremendous opportunities foracquiring knowledge as well as passingit on, and occasions for re-establishinglinks with the village’s far-flung progeny.

At Dunbeath Heritage Centre we arefortunate in having a dedicated researchroom where visitors exploring theirfamily histories may access, amongmany other resources, census, birth,death and marriage, parochial, andestate records. With the help of thesereturnees, we have been able to compilesome very detailed family histories,including old photographs, letters,certificates and so forth. In addition togenealogy-related displays in the HeritageCentre itself, we are developing a familyhistory section on our web site(www.dunbeath-heritage.org.uk) tofurther encourage diasporan dialogue.Conscious of the often profound natureof these homecomings, we have avoidedinstituting a charge for research facilitiesand assistance, preferring to leave thematter to the visitors’ discretion.

Paul Basu,Design Brief Co-ordinator

Advantages

If you have access to the knowledgeand information required, offering agenealogy service could be of greatpublic benefit as this is an areacurrently generating a huge amount of interest. It is a service which couldbe provided via a website and whichcould generate income.

Disadvantages

Will you have enough staff, time andfinancial resources to respond toenquiries? How and where will youstore genealogical records? Do youhave the knowledge, or access tofurther records, to redirect enquiriesthat you cannot undertake yourself?

West Linton Historical Association

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The Scottish Borders Memory Bank

The Scottish Borders Memory Bankwas forged on two main concepts.

The first was the idea of expandingand enriching the existing historicalrecord with first hand accounts of life and memories associated withartefacts, photographs and buildings.For example, the Scottish Bordersmuseums abound with material fromthe textile industry and although muchresearch has been undertaken, thepower and value of the first handaccount has not been fully exploited.Of particular interest were attempts torecord history while it is happening.

The second concept was to place thechoice of what to record for posterityand the historical record with thecommunities and individuals themselves.Taking the choice away from curatorsand placing it within the communitiesmeant that the community at large hasownership of the collecting programmeand the resultant records. On a practicallevel, this meant that it was possible fortwo members of staff to galvanise the300 volunteers or more who helped tocreate the Scottish Borders Memory Bank.

The project was adopted by theScottish Borders Council in 1998 andwas funded until October 2001.Grants were also forthcoming fromLeader II and SCRAN. The objectivewas to create a community-generatedarchive of living memories andcontemporary stories of people linkedto the Scottish Borders. The memorieswere to be recorded in people’s ownwords in their own way, be it throughaudio or video recordings, text orpictures. The recordings, catalogueand storage were all undertaken usingdigital technology so that all the issuesof holding original material did not arise.

The use of digital technology from theoutset meant that the development of a dynamic and searchable websitebecame a logical requirement as soonas funding was secured. An applicationto the Heritage Lottery Fund was madeand a grant was awarded in September1999. Without this funding from theHeritage Lottery Fund, the websitewould not have been possible. TheScottish Borders Council provided the matching funding.

Using digital technology has manybenefits that outweigh the difficulties.The technology allows preservation oforiginals by creating working copies;copies can be made without perceivabledegradation of quality; material can beshared without threatening the loss orownership of the original; the digitalorigination can allow the creation ofmany resources and income generatingby-products. The use and approach tothe new technologies is now maturing;the digital environment does not offera replacement to existing worlds but a place of new and very excitingpossibilities.

The legacy of the Scottish BordersMemory Bank is now a permanentdigital archive on CD, housed in theLocal Archive Centre; several resourcepacks; a multi-media CD-ROM; and aunique and ground breaking interactiveweb archive. This is in addition to havinghad a positive effect on numerous people’slives through volunteer work andprofessional involvement.

Visit www.memorybank.org.uk

Wendy Ball, Project Co-ordinator

Oral history recording has becomeincreasingly popular as a way ofensuring that individual experiences,opinions, stories, language andaccents are collected and preserved.

Oral Records

West Linton Historical Association

Advantages

Recording people’s histories, as told bythemselves, is a way of safeguardingmaterial that would otherwise be lost.Preserving these records for publicbenefit is a useful service which createsa resource for future research. Takingpart in oral history projects can alsohelp develop stronger links with yourcommunity and partnerships with otherorganisations, such as social services orcommunity education. It can also be ofgreat benefit to the individuals who takepart, contributing to their own feelingsof self worth.

Disadvantages

Recording oral history is a specialisedactivity which requires training. Askingpeople to speak about their pastexperiences is something which needsto be handled very carefully. The costand time attached to purchasingrecording equipment, documentingand preserving recordings, and makinginformation accessible for researchneed to be considered.

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Dollar Museum

An archive is a collection ofdocuments, photographs, maps andplans collected for preservation forfuture reference. This can be offered as a resource for research withprovision for access and study.

Archives

West Linton Historical Association

The West Linton Historical Associationstarted up about twenty-five years ago.Its aims are

➜ to stimulate a wide and activeinterest in local heritage

➜ to encourage care for theenvironment

➜ to collect and conserve localarchive material and to make it available to the public

➜ to engage in research of theLynedale Valley

➜ to provide an education resource for local children.

The Association arranges a series of winter meetings and lectures withtemporary exhibitions in the summermonths. These take place within a smallroom rented from the local authority(who pay for all overheads). TheAssociation also runs an archivecontaining slides, photographs, mapsand documents relating to West Lintonand its surrounding communities. Thearchives are available for consultation bythe public, by appointment. Items fromthe archive often form the basis fortemporary exhibitions, with associatedprivately owned artefacts borrowed fordisplay from local individuals.

The volunteer archivists in theAssociation seek advice on storageand handling of original material froma curator from the local authoritymuseum service. The small amount ofstorage space available is now almostfull and the Association has reached thepoint of considering the way forward;exploring the idea of finding largerpremises to allow the archive to expandand to offer improved facilities tovillagers and visitors.

Tony Hitt, Chairman

Advantages

An archive is a resource for research,preserving historic books, maps,photographs and documents. This canbe publicly accessible and can beused as material for researchingpublications or for interpretation.

Disadvantages

You need to be able to provideadequate space for storage, care,handling and public access. Thearchive will have to be catalogued inorder to be accessible and staff will berequired to care for the collection andhandle public enquiries. Creating anarchive may be a duplication of anexisting local authority service.

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West Linton Historical Association

Helensburgh Heritage Trust

Helensburgh Heritage Trust was formedas the result of the actions of onewoman, Mrs Betty Humphrey, whogradually built up an interest andsupport for a project to develop a newmuseum for Helensburgh. A charitablecompany was formed in 1995. Earlyinvestigations into a suitable buildingled the Trust to realise that it wouldnot be able to generate enoughrevenue to cover the costs associatedwith the upkeep of a building. Instead,they embarked on a series of projectsincluding exhibitions in local halls and churches, the restoration of acommemorative cairn in a local glen,the publication of a book, ‘AroundHelensburgh’ (part of the ‘Images ofScotland’ series), and the rescue andrestoration of stained glass windowsfrom a demolished church. In 2000,the Trust raised money from theHeritage Lottery Fund and

Dunbartonshire Enterprise to install asemi-permanent exhibition on the lifeof John Logie Baird in the local library.This partnership is being continuedwith plans for a further temporaryexhibition in the library interpretingthe development of the town ofHelensburgh over the past twohundred years.

The Trust also holds lectures, runsguided town walks and responds topublic enquiries. The history of thedevelopment of the Trust, articles fromprevious exhibitions and useful contactsare available on the Trust’s website,www.helensburgh-heritage.co.uk

Dr Anne Gray, Trustee

Advantages

Exhibiting is the most direct way ofoffering public access to collections orinformation. This is an opportunity tointeract with audiences and tell a story.You can raise your profile and increaseaccess through hosting a series oftemporary exhibitions, either of your ownmaking or brought in from elsewhere.

Disadvantages

Exhibitions take up a lot of spacewhich is costly to maintain. Creatingexhibitions is time consuming andexpensive and needs a lot of planningand people power. Space for storageand handling will be required if youwant to hire in touring exhibitions.Thinking about who the exhibition is for, and creating displays to suit,is a complicated process. Considercollaborating on an exhibition insomebody else’s venue to discoverwhat is involved in setting up andrunning an exhibition.

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Exhibitions, both permanent andtemporary, are the most immediateway of presenting collections to thepublic. You may wish to do thisthrough the display of objects, writtenmaterial and photographs. To avoidopening and maintaining a building inwhich to display exhibitions, you couldcollaborate with other existing venues:museums, libraries, local halls.

Exhibit

B. Making choices: what do you want to do?

Kilmartin House

Nairn Museum

The Museum collection was started in 1858 when a local doctor, JohnGrigor, encouraged local people todonate varied and interesting items,housed in various premises on theHigh Street. It moved to ViewfieldHouse, a Georgian building owned bythe local Council, after World War IIand was exhibited in four small atticrooms. The Council upgraded thebuilding in 1985, giving the collectionthe use of larger rooms, and a chairliftwas installed to improve access.

In 2000, the Fishertown Museum,which began in 1977, added itscollection to Viewfield. At the sametime, the local arts group moved fromthe building, freeing up a large room,and the Council caretaker vacated herflat. With help from a local trust fund,this was converted to offices andworkshops, which now include a

family and local history researchroom, which focuses on Nairnshire.This very popular facility has beenrun for eighteen months by museumvolunteers, and by members of thelocal heritage group, who have spentthe last ten years computerising localrecords, including census returns andold parish records.

The children’s area was an innovationin 2000 and is very much appreciatedby all generations, and our monthlyexhibitions, introduced in 2001, arevery successful and improved ourvisitor numbers by almost 20%.Looking ahead, we are improving oursales area and hope to have a café.

Visit www.nairnmuseum.co.uk

Jenny Rose-Miller, Curator

Advantages

Research forms a sound basis foreverything else you do: from fundraisingto exhibitions, dealing with publicenquiries and developing an educationservice. Offering a research facility canadd to the public benefit of your project.

Disadvantages

Offering research facilities can be timeconsuming for staff and requires spaceand possibly a computer. Having thetime to undertake your own researchoften becomes a luxury when facedwith the demands of other priorities.

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Research

You are in a position to researchinformation and share it with others,through displays, publications,websites. You can also provideresearch facilities for others.

Dollar Museum

Your facility can become a focal pointfor community activity: volunteering,events, temporary exhibitions,celebrating local events, providingmeeting spaces, sharing information,fundraising events. Over time, thisfocus can help generate a sense ofidentity for a community.

Create a community focus

Cordale Housing Association, West Dunbartonshire

This organisation has been active forthe past ten years and represents thecommunity of Cordale in the village ofRenton. Renton itself dates back to1715 when the first bleachfields inScotland were established as part ofthe textile industry in Argyll. At onestage, up to a dozen firms were basedin the area, bleaching, dyeing andprinting cloth which was exported toIndia and West Africa. The demise ofthe industry caused mass unemploymentand today around 75% of the HousingAssociation’s tenants are on benefit.The Association is actively promotingcommunity development and socialinclusion on a number of fronts includingdeveloping a museum with the TurkeyRed Trust, named after a type of dyeused in the printing process. This isbeing done in consultation with thelocal council and the Social InclusionPartnership.

The idea for a museum came originallyfrom the community who wanted to see a disused church in the village putto some use and to find a way ofremembering the textile industry thathad been so important. The Turkey RedTrust was born and received £8,000from West Dunbartonshire Partnership tocarry out a feasibility study for a museum.The aim of the museum will be to raisethe awareness of textiles in the Vale ofLeven and to create employment andvolunteering opportunities. Although apermanent collection is not yet in place,members of the community have beendonating material, photographs andstories. The Trust has already securedfunding from Awards for All for anexhibition to take around libraries andschools in the area giving the people ofRenton an opportunity to see their livesand heritage represented.

Stephen Singer, Community Development Project Worker

Advantages

Your project can bring a wide range of benefits to your local community,especially if it provides new, needed,facilities. It can foster a sense ofidentity and pride within a community.Having a strong community focusmeans it should be easier to findwilling volunteers to help. A vibrant,locally supported project is also morelikely to be attractive to funders.

Disadvantages

Can you provide a service for everybodyin the community? How do you know if you are achieving this? Do you knowwho your community is? How will youcommunicate with them? Can you beopen at hours which suit your visitors?There is a risk of appearing to be aclique that will actually put others offor you can find that you get divertedfrom your purpose into other causes,for example local politics.

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Grantown Museum

Timespan Heritage Centre and Art Gallery

In 1982, the Helmsdale and DistrictAction Committee was formed toaddress the problem of the deterioratingeconomy of Helmsdale which hadresulted from the declining fishingindustry and the partial by-pass of thevillage by the new A9 road bridge.Helmsdale Heritage Society, andsubsequently Timespan Heritage Centre,grew out of a sub-committee formed toconsider the possibility of establishing avisitor to encourage tourists to visit thevillage. Existing local property wasacquired by lease from the DistrictCouncil and Timespan Heritage Centreopened in 1987. The art gallery wasadded in 1997.

Helmsdale Heritage Society is aregistered charity and a companylimited by guarantee. It is run by avoluntary board of directors. The Societyexists to promote the history of the areaand preserve its culture, heritage andartefacts. Another of the board’s mainconstitutional aims is to improveemployment and boost the economy of the area.

The board appoints a full-time managerwho has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the building and whoprovides the link between the board andthe employees. Investment in thetraining and management of its staff,board, and volunteers, is on-going andTimespan is preparing to be assessedfor the Investor in People award.

Since opening in 1987, Timespan hasbrought many visitors to the village andthis has been of great benefit to thevillage’s economy. More money is spentin local shops and this increased tradecreates more employment, which inturn leads to more spending within thearea. A more direct benefit has been theemployment of people within Timespanitself. A wide range of jobs, both fulltime and seasonal have been created.Once again, the increased spendingpower has had knock on benefits for the local economy.

Visit www.timespan.org.uk

Kari Moodie,Centre Manager

Advantages

Your project could keep people andskills in the community. Seeing aheritage project at work can give analternative role model and options forcareer development for local people. It can bring new skills into the areathrough creating training opportunities.

Disadvantages

You will need to be able to complywith relevant employment regulations.The cost of employing staff may be adanger to the long-term stability ofyour organisation. Before creating paidposts, you must be absolutely clearabout the purpose of the post and how(and by whom) it will be managed. You will need to invest in your staff byproviding training and opportunities toprogress professionally.

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Sometimes a heritage development is seen as a way of creating newemployment. In fact this is veryproblematic as most struggle financiallywith no paid staff whatsoever. However,it is possible that in areas targeted for regeneration that employment can be created.

Create Employment

Grantown Museum

Volunteers at the Smith Art Galleryand Museum

The Smith was first opened in 1874. A century later, due to the dwindlingfunds of the original Trust, the Friendsof the Smith was formed with theremit of rescuing and restoring theorganisation. Volunteer help andcontribution has been an importantelement in the operation of the Smithsince then.

Among the museum’s most frequentvisitors and users are groups andindividuals with much skill and talent,who have been willing to help withprojects and tasks which are beyondthe Smith’s limited resources. Forexample local societies, which use themuseum for meetings, often help outwhen asked. Student projects arealways first rate, and with some pre-planning, can be tailored to the needsof the museum. The knowledge bankof our visitors is large, and those withspecialist knowledge have been generousin sharing it. Much of the voluntary workwhich is undertaken is quite mundane.One volunteer has worked most Fridaysfor the past two years to index theSmith’s contemporary ephemera,housed in twenty volumes of StirlingNotes. Others have catalogued andindexed slides and pamphlets. Thereis nothing which is beyond the talentand means of our volunteers, fromdriving vans to painting lampposts,delivering posters and leaflets andproviding some of the best finger foodin Scotland for Smith openings.

The value of the voluntary contributionto the Smith was brought sharply into focus through the necessity ofattempting to quantify it in advancefor the purposes of a Heritage LotteryApplication in 1999. The valuationcame to a significant sum. As theproject progressed, contributions ofvolunteer labour came from all quarters.We ended with a contribution four timesthe original estimated sum. This was notallowed under HLF’s rules, but taught usa valuable lesson in how to recognise,value and evaluate the voluntarycontribution, without which the Smithcannot, and does not, function.

The contribution by our volunteers isnow identified in our Service LevelAgreements with Stirling Council, andin our Forward Plan. The recognitionand reward to which they are entitledis highlighted in our Education andAccess Policy. Their contribution is sobig in every way, that we are about toset up a register, in the style of ourmuseums accession register, to recordfor posterity this input which makesthe Smith function as well as it does.

The opportunities offered by VolunteerDevelopment Scotland throughVolunteers’ Week for publicising boththe volunteers and the museum arewelcomed, and will be in our annualevents programme for the foreseeablefuture. These events create their ownmomentum. Visitors new to the Smith,seeing acknowledgements for displaywork, paintwork, information and floralarrangements, or met by one of our

volunteer gallery guides, are givenencouragement to come up withproposals of their own to add to ourrich cornucopia of voluntary contribution.

Elspeth King,Director

Advantages

Encouraging volunteers to support your project has benefits for bothsides. For the volunteer, this could bean opportunity to give something back to the community, learn new skills orenjoy the company of others. For yourorganisation, it is an opportunity tocreate stronger links with the localcommunity and access a wider pool of knowledge and expertise.

Disadvantages

Volunteers need to be managed just aspaid staff; that is recruited, given clearroles and responsibilities, offered trainingand protected by the same health andsafety regulations, legal requirements and insurance.

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Your new development may provideopportunities for volunteering in awide range of activities supported by a variety of tasks: front-of-housedocumentation, caring for collections.Your project may be entirely managedand operated by volunteers or theremay be a combination of paid andvolunteer staff.

Volunteering

Bressay

Bressay Heritage Centre borrows itemsowned privately by local individuals for temporary exhibitions. Displays atKilmartin House are augmented byloans of archaeological material fromthe National Museums of Scotland.The Museum of CommunicationFoundation based in Bo’ness has alarge collection in storage, parts ofwhich are loaned to other institutionsfor display or are put on temporarydisplay by the Foundation at open day events.

Advantages

Borrowing objects from other museumsor from private collectors can enhanceyour own collection by adding depth toit or by filling gaps. It can also be a way of involving the community bydisplaying items that belong to themand therefore have an immediaterelevance to their lives and interests.Lending objects to other institutions canraise your own profile and can lead toadditional research which you might not be able to undertake yourself.

Disadvantages

When borrowing or lending objects,you have to be able to ensure that youcan provide adequate insurance andsecurity and that items will be handled,stored and displayed in appropriateconditions. Some organisations will onlylend if you are an Accredited museum.

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You may wish to be able to borrow or lend items for the purposes ofresearch or temporary display. If youare doing this, you need to put inplace written agreements betweenborrower and lender setting conditionswhich will ensure that items areproperly cared for during the period of loan.

Borrow and Lend

Grantown Museum

Interpret

Kilmartin House

Kilmartin House Trust, set up in 1994,runs the Museum of Ancient Culture,the Centre for Archaeology & LandscapeInterpretation and is supported by theKilmartin House Trading Company. After3 years of volunteer effort the museum,shop and café opened in 1997. Fiveyears on, approximately 40% of thecosts of Kilmartin House Trust issupported by the Trading Company and the remaining 60% is made up by short-term grants.

The Kilmartin valley with one of therichest prehistoric landscapes ofScotland, has from the late nineteenthcentury onwards been subject tonumerous excavations of many of itsmonuments. Many of the artefactsassociated with these monuments leftthe region following excavation tobecome part of the British nationalcollections. In addition, changes in land-use brought changes to the archaeologicallandscape, with monuments removed,altered or marooned. The localcommunities were left with scatteredshells of monuments in a dislocatedlandscape.

Kilmartin House was set up specificallyto interpret the landscape and itsmonuments for both the localcommunities and visitors to the area. It aims to provide a focus for theinterpretation of the area and its history,a place of learning and discovery and atool for socio-economic development inthe local area through job provision,economic revenue generation and localconfidence building.

The museum of ancient culture usesinterpretation panels, artefacts (most on loan from the national institutions)replicas, models and sound as tools to interpret an entire landscape. Theapproach is to bring the prehistoriclandscape to life, looking at the everydaydetail and focusing on activities centralto human life, food, music, religion andbelief, alliances and war.

A museum ticket is valid for the entireday and from the museum, the visitoris encouraged to go out into thelandscape and return to the museumlater for further clarification or study.The museum experience is supportedby the café, where the menu is basedaround native and local foods, againextending the themes of the museum,and the bookshop, where visitors candelve into those issues that interestthem particularly.

However, this central aim to interpret a landscape has not come without itsown problems. The landscape ofArgyll, by its very nature rural andisolated from the urban centres,means that the museum suffersproblems of extremely skewed visitornumbers, with significant impacts oncash flow. Kilmartin House, as acommunity development tool, iscommitted to a year round operation,offering a full time service and fulltime jobs. To continue to do this, themuseum has to devise strategies forcoping with fluctuating incomes.

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This term can mean different things todifferent people. Think of it as usingvarious techniques and media to givemeaning, offer explanations, tell storiesabout people, places, events or objects.The information which you can providewill be available from a variety ofsources: the knowledge of peopledonating objects, local knowledge,

your own expertise, academic research.The techniques for interpreting acollection are many and varied; labellingobjects, written guides, guided tours,virtual tours via a website, computerinteractives, interpretation boards, liveinterpretation, artworks, drama.

Groam House Museum

The rural location of the museum andthe small size of the local communitiesalso mean that developmentprogrammes and funds are not alwaysforthcoming. The Kilmartin Houseresponse to this lack of revenue fundingis to aim for financial sustainabilitythrough developing the Trading companyand its activities outside KilmartinHouse. Financial independence forKilmartin House looks like one of thebest ways to financial stability.

More information on the Trust and its work can be found atwww.kilmartin.org

Dr Deborah Long, Research Programme Manager

Advantages

This is your chance to tell a story or tointroduce people to new ideas, inspire asense of wonder and encourage learningby providing people with the means toexplore a subject. There is the potentialto connect with audiences by involvingthem, for example by asking people to contribute information or to lendmaterial or to test out your ideas forinterpretive media and techniques.

Disadvantages

In order to communicate viainterpretation, you need to know whoyou intend to communicate with.Finding out about your audience ortargeting new audiences is a time-consuming but essential business.What is it you want to communicateand how will you do it? What mediawill you use and are there costsattached to these? Be aware that bycommunicating with one audience you could be excluding others.

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Helensburgh Heritage Trust

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You may be looking for a way to attractnew tourists into an area by providing a new facility or you may be attemptingto attract existing tourists, who alreadyvisit other attractions in your area, tostay longer.

You may be offering entertainmentthrough the telling of a story or youcould be acting as an orientation centre,introducing people to a place or area.

C. Making choices: who do you want to do it for?

Tourism

Grantown Museum

Grantown Museum, a small,independent, Highland museumoffering a wet weather facility forvisitors and a focal point for members of the local community, opened to thepublic in 1999.

Strathspey is heavily dependent ontourism for economic survival and theseason is a very short one, althoughthere are various initiatives being putin place to address this problem.Many visitors arrive as part of a coachparty. The majority of these groupsvisit the museum which maintains agood relationship with local hotel andguest house owners. The museum hashad to adopt a very flexible openingpolicy. Group visits out of hours areaccommodated whenever possible.

A varied temporary exhibitionprogramme is essential to encouragerepeat visits by locals and to attractpeople who might not otherwise visit.We originate displays by working withlocal artists or by running projectswhich result in a temporary exhibitionand we take in touring shows such asthose available from the NationalMuseums of Scotland.

To help address the problem of thequieter winter months, GrantownMuseum offers access to the internetand the use of computers to thepublic. This service can be used byvisitors accessing e-mail etc and bylocal people who do not have theirown computer. We work alongside the local history group who purchased amicrofiche reader and printer. We havefilms of census, births, deaths andmarriages in the local parish alongwith newspapers which are used bygenealogists. This facility is used byboth local people and visitors. There is arecognised increase in the Highlands inthe demand for this facility and it is onethat we hope to build on by increasingthe material currently on offer.

Visit www.grantown-on-spey.co.uk/museum.htm

Molly Duckett, Curator

Advantages

Positioning yourself as a visitorattraction can bring money into thearea and create spin-off benefits forother local businesses. To tap thispotential, it is useful to think aboutjoint marketing and ticketing withother attractions or businesses.

Disadvantages

Custom from tourists is likely to beseasonal. You need to be able to meetthe high expectations of tourists – theimportance of customer care here isvital. You should be able to offerinformation in a variety of languages,targeted at the nationalities of peopleknown to visit Scotland as well asmeet the needs of local and UKvisitors. Too much reliance on tourismas an income stream is dangerous, astrade fluctuates. Scotland has an ever-increasing number of visitor attractionswithout rising visitor figures to matchso supply is outstripping demand.

Year 1980 401 attractions in Scotland 30 million visitors

Year 2000 1,013 attractions in Scotland36 million visitors

(STB-Moffat Centre Visitor Attraction Monitor)

Groam House Museum

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Visitor Services

You must always be ready to meet the needs of all your visitors. Publicexpectations are high so even if youcannot provide an extensive range offacilities, such as toilets, a café, shop,or a website, customer care must beexcellent to ensure that visitors aresatisfied. (You may also wish to provideadditional services such as an enquiryservice, crèche, internet access.) The

quality of visitor service you provide isultimately dependent on the way staffrelate to visitors; a friendly welcome andoffers of assistance go a long way. Gooddirectional signage and publicity arealso vital.

Gordon Highlanders RegimentalMuseum

Training is central to the promotion ofcustomer care in our business. Thisstarts from the top, with the Curatorhaving undertaken the Scotland’s Bestfor Managers course. This is thenpassed to the staff and volunteers, in an annual pre-season Customer Caretraining course. All new volunteers andstaff are trained in customer care.Between formal training sessions, the standards of customer care aremaintained by the management talkinginformally to volunteers, by praisinggood customer care and demonstratinghigh standards themselves.

The Gordon Highlanders Museum is differentiated from other visitorattractions by its standards of customercare, because it is run by volunteers.Our staff, therefore, are here becausethey want to be, and because they arepassionate about the heritage of theNorth East of Scotland and the historyof the Gordon Highlanders. This zealshows through at all times, and givesthe Museum a remarkable atmosphere.

Being a relatively small concern, theMuseum only has a limited budget tospend on advertising and other forms ofmarketing. We therefore rely to a largeextent on word of mouth. If we exceedour visitors’ expectations, they will telltheir friends, and become regularvisitors to the Museum.

We like to know that our visitors arehappy; it is rewarding to us and in turnimproves morale amongst volunteersand staff. We also have the strongtraditions and reputation of the GordonHighlanders to maintain!

The Museum is fully equipped to helpour less able guests, and their needswere a primary consideration when theMuseum was redeveloped in 1996/7.The Museum has a ramp entrance, ahearing loop, special toilet facilities andlow level exhibitions for wheelchairusers. The corridors and walkways havebeen designed to allow wheelchairs topass through freely, and counters andtables are at the correct level.

Maintenance and Future Plans:

➜ Standards of customer care aremaintained by the formal and informaltraining methods outlined above, andby sharing results with staff.

➜ Market research is continuallycarried out on existing customers tofind out their needs and comments.

➜ All thank you letters are copied anddistributed to staff.

Visit www.gordonhighlanders.com

Melanie Brooker, Curator

Advantages

Good visitor services and goodcustomer care mean that people aremore likely to make repeat visits andspread positive commendation byword of mouth.

Disadvantages

Providing a high quality of service isvery demanding; this includes offeringsuitable opening hours, having enoughstaff to deliver, being physicallyaccessible, promoting and marketingyour services, and knowing your targetaudiences and anticipating theirneeds.

Kilmartin House

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Education

You may wish to provide learningopportunities for your potentialaudiences, bearing in mind thateducation does not have to be forschools only. There are a variety ofways in which you can do this:temporary exhibitions, outreachservices, loan kits, quiz sheets,interactive displays.

The service you can provide will beenhanced the more you involve otherswho already have educationalexperience, for example your localPrimary Adviser or CommunityEducation staff.

Scottish Borders Council MuseumService

From 1996, after the merger of fourDistrict Councils into the ScottishBorders Council, the Museum Servicehas been running a schools educationservice, built upon existing staffknowledge and experience. We offer a combination of visits, workshops,resource packs and handling boxes for schools. We have no dedicatededucation staff as such but we havemade the delivery of an educationservice one of our priorities. Funds,additional to the core budget, aregenerated through grants, subscriptionfees and loan charges.

The key to delivering our service is that we

➜ consult with the audience (teachers,education advisers, and pupils)

➜ design services which allowteachers to make clear links to thecurriculum

➜ inform schools well in advance ofevents to allow them to work visitsinto their forward plans

➜ use our collection (schools wanttheir pupils to interact with realmuseum objects)

➜ establish partnerships with Councildepartments, outside organisationsand other museums

➜ apply for grants

➜ buy in expertise and employ temporarystaff to deliver ambitious projects.

The success of our service is leadingus to expand to meet the educationalneeds of other users beyond schools.

Shona Sinclair, Assistant Curator

Scottish Borders Council Museum Service

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Groam House Museum

Pictish Loan Boxes

We knew from museum school visitsthat teachers felt they did not knowenough about the Picts and theybelieved that there was no relevantliterature available. To fill this gap, we sought funding from the ScottishMuseums Council and Ross &Cromarty District Council to createloan boxes. The overall cost of theproject (in 1995) was £1,400.

Our aim was to present teachers with‘Picts on a plate’, a kit that wouldrequire no previous knowledge ormuch additional work from teachers.The intention was to supplement andnot duplicate a visit to the museum; to encourage visits to the museum;and to create a stimulating learningaid linked to the 5-14 curriculum.Developing the loan boxes did not getoff to the best start as the teacheroriginally charged with offering advicedid not have an empathy with themuseum or the subject. In the end,two other teachers provided invaluableinput to the production of an activitybook to accompany the boxes.Subsequent teachers using the bookhave commented on its usefulness.

We now have two boxes containing

➜ dressing up clothes (boy and girl)

➜ information posters

➜ back up notes for teachers

➜ activity book based on items in the boxes

➜ replica Pictish stones

➜ replica jewellery

➜ weaving kit with wool

➜ associated publications.

The loan boxes are free but teachersare responsible for collection andreturn - breakages are paid for byschools at cost. Loans are available for periods of 6 to 8 weeks. Both setshave been in constant use since theywere launched. They are mainly takenout by primary schools but they havealso been used by WRI and specialneeds adult groups.

After several years of use, we arefinding that the contents of the kitsare becoming a little tired and coulddo with being replaced, but we do nothave the funds to do this. We haveasked schools if they would be willingto pay a charge for the use of the kitsbut they are not willing to do so.

Susan Seright, Curator

Advantages

Offering an education service is anexcellent way of attracting newaudiences and raising your profile.Educational activities can help you toreach people who might not otherwiseconsider approaching you.

Disadvantages

Time: good preparation is essential butvery time consuming. You need tothink carefully about who your educationservice is aimed at and what exactly they will need. If working with schools,you need to consider how you will offer something which matches therequirements of the curriculum. Youmay need to offer additional facilities or staff skills for working with peoplewith special needs.

Collaboration with other organisationscan be very beneficial, especially inidentifying and developing newaudiences but be aware that once youare working with others you can only go as quickly as the slowest player:always consider the time constraints of others when planning andtimetabling a project.

Scottish Borders Council Museum Service

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A building

Buildings for heritage projects must meet a variety of needs depending on what youplan to do. They might include displayspace, storage, workshop, offices, toilets,café, meetings room, research area,archive, security and the health and safetyof visitors and workers.

D.Tools: what do you need to make it happen?

Bressay

Bressay local history group was formedin the early 1990’s in response to themechanisation of the island’s lighthouse.Initially formed to protest against themechanisation, the activities of thegroup raised an awareness that localhistory and heritage was rapidlydisappearing and that with the gradualloss of older members of the communitya lot of memories and local knowledgewere also being lost.

The group needed a workspace andplace to gather and thought at first oftrying to convert an old building. Asnothing suitable was available the grouptried to raise funds for a new building.Raising funds proved to be very difficultbut eventually £96,000 of Europeanfunding was secured.

The centre opened in 1996 and nowholds temporary exhibitions during thesummer, often using objects loaned bylocal people, with photographs and localknowledge used to illustrate themes.The group continues to gather localhistory, stories and oral recordings and offers facilities for talks and slideshows in the winter. The island, whichhas a population of approximately400, attracts hundreds of visitors ontheir way to a bird sanctuary on theneighbouring island of Ness. 1,200 of these visited the centre in 2001.The group decided at the outset notto collect objects for a museumcollection (donations are directed to Shetland Museum) because theyfelt they could not offer appropriatestorage and care but this position isreviewed periodically, with occasionaladvice from Shetland Museum.

Barbara Anderson,Volunteer

Bottom: BressayTop: Dollar Museum

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The Museum of Abernethy

The Museum of Abernethy Trust wasset up in April 1994 in order to createa museum by converting MorningtonStables, a Grade B listed buildingclose to the heart of the village, nearto a Historic Scotland property, theearly mediaeval Round Tower, andwith a character felt to be sympatheticto the display of artefacts andphotographs relating to the history of the village. The Stables are leased to the Trust, in perpetuity, for apeppercorn rent.

When the Trust took over the lease ofthe building in July 1995, MorningtonStables was in a dangerous state of repair, and the restoration of thebuilding structure to provide a weather-tight building shell was identified as amost urgent initial phase of the museumproject. The restoration of the buildingwas designed and overseen by Perth & Kinross District Council PlanningDepartment and necessary repairs werecarried out by Scottish ConservationProjects Trust. Perth & KinrossHeritage Trust contributed £60,865 and Scottish Enterprise Tayside£24,500 to the project.

The second phase of the project,supported by a £117,000 grant fromthe Lottery Heritage Fund with acontribution of £29,000 raised by the

Trust, was the fitting out of the interiorof the museum. The Trust took advicethroughout the development of themuseum from a Curatorial Adviserfrom Perth Museum, in order toensure that the museum was designedto provide all the facilities required for storing, handling and displayingcollections. The project architect,selected by competitive tender, alsohad experience in museum design,conservation requirements andconverting historic buildings.

The idea for a museum had existedsince the early 1980s, but only beganto take shape in 1992, when it toppeda list of conservation projects in a localsurvey: this was partly in response to aperception that Abernethy was facing aperiod of major change with significantnew housing developments likely to alterthe character of the village, and partlyin response to the gradual loss of localhistorical knowledge and material as the older generation of the communitypassed away. In 1992 it was anticipatedthat the project would take two to threeyears to complete. The museum openedin May 2000.

Alexandra Nickell, Volunteer

Advantages

Being based within a building has theobvious advantage of bringing all youractivities under one roof and providinga visible, physical attraction. It offersyou the opportunity to create anambience and a public image. Yourproject could save a building otherwiseunder threat and you could combinewith other partners to offer otherfacilities needed locally.

Disadvantages

Bills have to be paid: heating, lightingand insurance at the very least.Maintenance costs have to be met –these can be high in older buildings.The building needs to suit your purpose,should be easily accessible and shouldhave the potential to be developed asyour organisation grows. Older buildingsdo not often meet these requirementsand, if they are listed, making necessarychanges may be prohibited. Findingthe funding to create a new building,which would meet your needs, is very difficult.

Grantown Museum

You may be considering using anexisting building. Will it meet all yourneeds? If considering a new one will the design meet all your needs?

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Information Technology

Any new heritage project must plan touse information technology. IT may bethe solution for your project or it maybe one of many tools you can use todeliver your project.

If you are interested in gathering andsharing information it may be possibleto do this by constructing a website orproducing a CD-ROM (see ScottishBorders Memory Bank and HelensburghHeritage Trust case studies) without evertaking full responsibility for the longterm care and preservation of objects or archives. However, if you do form acollection you could use IT to interpretand help display the collection, forinstance by using touchscreen computers,CD-ROMs or a website. Using IT tointerpret collections means that you canoffer different levels of information todifferent users and you can make links to other resources or collections. You can also use IT to hold catalogues ofinformation about the collection. This is a much more powerful tool for staff andalso means that you can make

information more easily accessible tothe public. And don’t forget IT canhelp you with the business side of yourproject, e.g. for accounting, marketing,keeping mailing lists and producing in-house publications.

A website can be an excellentmarketing tool. You can increase the presence of your organisation bylinking your website to others, often forfree (e.g. www.24hourmuseum.org.uk).Increasingly information and opportunitiesare only available online. The ability to use e-mail and the internetimproves your access to the widerworld and also allows wider accessto your own information, which canhelp overcome the limitations ofspace, opening hours and staffing levels.

Groam House Museum

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Organisation

If you intend to set up a long-termheritage project you will need toconsider setting up an organisation torun it. In the not-for-profit sector, thisis likely to be a charitable organisation,either a trust or a company limited byguarantee. Advice on options is availablefrom the Scottish Museums Council orthe Scottish Council for VoluntaryOrganisations and ultimately youshould seek the advice of a lawyer.Whatever type of organisation you

choose to become, you must thinkabout how this will be sustained. Canyou attract new people to join it as theyears go by? Can you find people whohave the right skills required to steerthe organisation through its lifespan?Arts & Business offers advice andtraining in the area of boarddevelopment.

Dollar Museum

Dollar Museum opened in 1988, setup and run entirely by volunteers.With a determined long-term goal ofraising standards, the Dollar MuseumTrust and Friends of Dollar Museumwere set up in 1991. All developmentwork at the museum has been carriedout by volunteers, local tradesmencharging minimal costs and with inputfrom a curatorial adviser.

Trustees meet four times a year.Trustees are drawn from the Friends of Dollar Museum, and representativesfrom Clackmannan Council, the parishchurch, the local school, the LocalHistory Society, the Dollar Civic Trustand Dollar Community Council.

In addition to this, the Friendscommittee meets monthly. Membersserve 3 years with one third coming off every year (although they can bere-elected) at the AGM. Committeemeetings are well attended (12 to 15people). Meetings are efficient but fun.We have an excellent secretary whoproduces full and accurate minuteswhich are circulated to all members(by e-mail or car) usually within acouple of days.

The Friends committee sees to theday-to-day running of the Museum.Friends staff the museum at weekendsusing a rota system whereby committeemembers take it in turns to be in chargeof the museum for a whole weekend.Two volunteers must be on duty at alltimes and one of them must be acommittee member. The system isflexible to allow people to swap times if they have other commitments.

The Honorary Curator is in overallcharge of the operation of the museumand is often available in the museumduring opening hours to help withproblems should they arise. The Friendscommittee also produces ideas andmanpower for setting up exhibitions, co-ordinated by the Hon. Curator.

We are lucky that as we have becomeestablished we have been supportedby more than 200 Friends. On theTrustee and Friends committees wehave dedicated and enthusiastic peoplewho have given us long or short periodsof their lives. It is a big commitment for members to give up perhaps two or three weekends a year to attendmeetings and to help organise fund-raising events and exhibitions.

We recognise the need to keepevolving. If we were to reach a pointwhere no new people were beingattracted to the museum or where nonew ideas for exhibitions or eventswere being put forward, the museumcould lose momentum. So far, luckily,there is no sign of this happening:new ideas are continually beingproposed and new committeemembers are elected at most AGMs.

Janet Carolan, Honorary Curator

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Fundraising is essential to keepingyour project going. It is a never-endingprocess for everybody. It will include:raising funds for short-term projectsthrough applications to grant givingbodies and trusts; seeking sponsorshipfor one-off projects or events;generating income through fundraisingevents, membership subscriptions,tickets at the door, running a café orshop; looking for support in kindthrough partnership or free advice;

running a ‘Friends’ organisation to helpwith fundraising. A combination ofany, or all, of these needs constantattention, planning and sheer hardwork and is inescapable as there arepresently no guaranteed sources offunding to cover revenue costs.

Fundraising takes a lot of time andwork. The process of raising fundsfrom grant giving bodies is particularlydemanding and requires a lot of

planning time and professional advice.Fundraising locally can be anopportunity to raise the profile of yourorganisation and encourage people tobecome involved with your work.Fundraising events can add to thesocial life of your community.

Fundraising

Crawfordjohn Heritage Venture Trust

The Crawfordjohn Heritage Venturebegan after a few local peoplepurchased the Old Church (1988). It was decided to try to establish an interpretative centre, a heritagemuseum to explain the life of countrypeople to the visitor and to relate thepast to the present.

The Crawfordjohn Heritage VentureTrust (CHVT) does not own the buildingbut leases it from Crawfordjohn ChurchPreservation Trust. The CHVT isresponsible for insuring and maintainingthe building and with the help of theAssociation of Friends of CHV runs thefundraising activities to raise the fundsto be able to assist with this.

Funds are also raised by the annualmembership of the Association of theFriends who are mainly people whohave visited the museum and whocome from all parts of the UK andabroad (lots of family history seekers).

Very few locals participate in therunning of the museum but are happyto participate in social events such asthe Bingo Nights, Annual Raffle Drawor other events which are thought ofas ‘fun’ events. We try to have at least

four fundraisers per year. This year we are trying a Quiz Night. The BingoNights are most popular as an eveningthat the whole family, from Grannie to‘the weans’, can enjoy. The fundraisingbrings another dimension to museumlife but as Crawfordjohn is a smallcommunity we have to be aware ofother fundraising events that take placeso that we can avoid clashing. Withhard work and mutual respect we haveestablished a worthwhile fundraising‘venture’ within the community.

To be able to organise such events and also to run the museum it takesvolunteers and trustees with lots ofcommitment and time to give (themajority of our volunteers are retired folks).

CHVT has a group of like-mindedpeople who are committed to theproject and with a desire to preserve a way of life for future generations, but it is not easy to find such people.Especially some younger people.

Jess Cairns, Trustee

Grantown Museum

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Marketing is absolutely vital to thesuccess of your project. Unless youpublicise your activities you cannotexpect people to take an interest.

Marketing is about identifying what youhave to offer (your ‘product’), thinkingabout who your ‘customers’ might beand then finding the best availablemeans to promote your product.

There is a wide range of techniquesyou can use, some cheaper thanothers; leaflets and posters (productionand distribution), press releases,advertising, joint publicity schemes withother organisations, events programmes,direct mail, membership schemes.Market research must be undertaken toget a better idea of who yourcustomers are so that you can target

them more effectively and so that you can target gaps in your market. It is also important to evaluate theeffectiveness of your marketing toensure that you are not wasting timeand money.

Marketing

Grampian Transport Museum

The product

The Grampian Transport Museum(GTM) has grown from communityvolunteer roots (1981) into one of Aberdeenshire’s busiest visitor/educational facilities. The museum’smission statement reads: ‘The purposeof the museum is to promote anawareness of, interest in, and betterunderstanding of road and rail transporthistory in its Grampian context.’

The museum’s fifty-acre site has beendeveloped to provide facilities for thestaging of ambitious open-air events. It includes a licensed road circuit, 350 seat covered stand and a controltower. At least 30% of the seasonalexhibitions (April to October inclusive)within the main building (1000m2) arerenewed every year to promote returnvisitors. The total marketing budget ispitched at 10% of annual turnover.

Market research

From the outset the museum hasgathered information from its visitors.For the past eight years this has beento a common format (visitor survey)enabling comparisons to be made andtrends identified. Now called ‘datacapture’ this is an absolutely essentialactivity and underwrites the museum’smarketing strategy.

The marketing strategy

The museum’s marketing strategy wasoriginally devised in 1987 and hasbeen developed as the museumdevelops. In many cases marketingconsiderations have led development.The strategy’s aims are:

➜ To enable the GTM to compete for market share by offering an enhanced range ofexperiences/activities.

➜ To adopt a planned approach to the marketing of the developingmuseum during the period.

➜ To become more systematic ingathering information in house andfrom external sources in order tobecome more market led.

➜ To maintain and where possibleraise visitor numbers.

➜ To target activity and apply maximumeffort to most accessible markets.

➜ To pitch marketing effort at a level that does not produce unrealisticexpectations among visitors, but issufficiently attractive to promote visits.

The strategy records the current rangeof marketing activity.

Current marketing activities

The following are only a sample of the entire range of marketing activitiestaking place at GTM. These areconstantly under review and newproposals are examined annually.

Leaflet

The GTM produces a full colour leafletthat is seasonally revised to include all important events and exhibitionchanges. The leaflet accompanies allmail as routine. Print run in 2001 was 75,000.

Leaflet distribution

The distribution has always beenhandled ‘in house’ apart from anexperiment in 1996 when a servicecompany was employed with poorrecorded results. Volunteer distributorsare co-ordinated by a Trustee andoffered a generous mileage rate tocover expenses. The distribution areacoincides roughly with the perceivedcatchment (one and a half hoursmaximum drive time). Feeder TouristInformation Centres and key visitordestinations also receive leaflet supplies.

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Group initiatives

The GTM contributes to packages withother local attractions via the AlfordMarketing Group and the GrampianTreasures Initiative. Both groups publisha collective leaflet. Both leaflets areselectively enclosed with mailings andthe Alford leaflet includes an ‘in house’produced events panel.

Advertising

Advertising in the local press isundertaken only in a very small wayfor the core operation. The seasonalevents programme has a dedicatedadvertising budget for each eventpitched at approximately 10% of event turnover.

Press activity

All museum developments, exhibitionchanges, etc. that are genuinelynewsworthy are described in a pressrelease and mailed to a regularlyupdated press list. The seasonalevents programme is also the subjectof many releases – average of threeper event. Releases are alwayspreceded by a ‘phone call to regularpress contacts to encourage interestand usually a photograph can beoffered to key contacts. The museumalso endeavours to provide illustratedarticles to the editors of specialistmagazines, either complete and readyto run, or in summary form for writingfrom information supplied.

Mike Ward, Curator

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Identify the project concept

By exploring the choices and theirimplications in the previous sectionand identifying which of these bestsuit your own aims, you will now havea better sense of what type of projectwill fulfil these aims. This will be your‘project concept’. Considering theimplications of each of your choiceswill help you to set the framework fora plan of action. How exactly are yougoing to achieve the concept? Do youhave the resources to do it? Followingthe steps outlined below will help youto arrive at a carefully planned andrealistic project concept.

Step 1.

Before you attempt to define theproject concept, you must decide onyour purpose, your ultimate goal. Whyare you doing this and who are youdoing it for? Whether you intend topreserve a building, create digitalresources or provide a home for acollection, the ultimate shape of yourproject is going to depend on who youare doing it for and why you are doingit. You must have a clear vision beforeembarking on the project. Remember,potential funders will expect you to beable to express your purpose and thebenefits of your project clearly.

Step 2.

Follow the diagram above, discuss thechoices you are faced with and howthese relate to your audience. Don’tforce yourself down a route with whichyou do not feel comfortable. As you goalong, list what it is that you wish tobe able to deliver as a result of yourproject and list the managementresponsibilities attached to each ofthese. Remember that fundraisingand marketing are musts.

Step 3.

With your list, return to section 4,Choices and their implications, andconsider the pros and cons of each ofyour choices. Remember that the mostimportant implication for all aspects ofthe project will be time and money.Try to be as realistic as possible aboutwhat you think you can achieve. (Youcan always start small and add to yourproject over time.) At this stage it isvery important to learn from otherpeople’s experiences, by looking at the case studies in this booklet or,even better, speaking directly to otherpeople who have been involved insimilar projects. You need to get anidea of where your heritage project fitswith other similar developments. Youneed to get a sense of the importanceof your project by comparing it withothers. Are you likely to facecompetition?

Identify useful contacts. A goodstarting point is your local authorityheritage officer or museum service.Seek out somebody who can give you curatorial assistance, if required,during the development stages of yourproject. Speaking to someone who isalready involved with heritage canhelp for a numbers of reasons. It cangive you an idea of

➜ where your project fits with othersimilar developments

➜ how others view the ‘heritage merit’of your project

➜ the competition, that is othersimilar projects which may seek toattract the same users as you

➜ useful contacts

➜ what curatorial assistance (ifappropriate) may be available toassist your project.

5. Steps towards your project

Step 2

Defining the Project Concept

what do you need to make it happen?

purpose and audience

what have you got?

what do you want to do with it?

who do you want to do it for?

project conceptStarting Point

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Raise awareness of your project in thelocal community e.g. ask if the projectproposal can be put on the agenda oflocal community meetings such as thecommunity council. This is a goodinformal way to seek local opinion.

Start seeking advice on possible sourcesof funding. This is not actually the timeto start applying for funds but it isimportant to find out about the possibleoptions available and what the fundingpriorities are from each of the possiblesources. Funders (and advisers onfunding) that you may want to contactin the first instance include HeritageLottery Fund, the Community Fund,your Local Enterprise Company, andyour local authority. The ScottishMuseums Council can offer early advice on funding.

Try answering The Big Questionsquestionnaire in the appendix. Theresults of this will show you if youneed to do more preparation beforedeveloping the project any further.

Step 4.

Make a final decision on the choicesthat you have made. Sum these up inthe form of a project concept. Nowconsider how you are going to make ithappen? Money is obviously importantbut finding people who can committime to the project is equally important.You need to be able to show how youare able to achieve the tasks with theresources that you have. This might bebest represented in a brief outline planwith proposed timescale. Decide who isgoing to manage the project.

At this point, we strongly advise youto seek other opinions – e.g. theScottish Museums Council, localauthority, local enterprise company.

At this stage you may wish toreconsider aspects of your project.There is no harm in this at all, in fact it will strengthen your project andprobably result in something moresustainable as you can now show thatyou have considered other opinionsand the overall context for your projectdevelopment. Make sure that this isyour project and not something builton other people’s visions.

Step 5.

You now need to gather some extraevidence that your proposal can work.Why not give your proposal a ‘testrun’? For instance, you might want totry staging a temporary exhibition.This could give a valuable opportunityfor feedback from the local communityand visitors from further afield. It willalso help you gain some experiencewhich may add to your credibility ortrack record when funders come toconsider your application.

Alternatively, you could commission afeasibility study from independentconsultants. You may think that thisseems an unnecessary expense butthere are many reasons why thisexercise is in fact worthwhile:

➜ funders may expect or even requireit (that is they will look for anindependent survey / opinion)

➜ this may seem very obvious but itcan demonstrate how feasible yourproject is (that is can the necessaryinvestment in resources be justifiedin terms of the benefits the projectwill bring – is there a demand forthe project, are there sufficientpotential visitors, can the projectbreak even?)

➜ it can give you an independent andobjective view as to how yourproject could or should develop

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➜ it can highlight areas that you havenot yet considered

➜ it may give pointers as to the weakareas of your project and how thesecan be addressed

➜ you may get a better idea of thedemand for the project, that is whothe potential users are and howmany visitors you might expect

➜ the completed study can act as avery useful guide to your futureforward plan

➜ the process of commissioning andmanaging a feasibility study willbe useful planning experience andcan help your group clarify furtheryour purpose.

Based on the experience of others, thefollowing are hints on how to get themost out of working with consultants:

➜ be as objective as possible (doquestion the consultant and his /her findings)

➜ don’t let the consultant run you,you are employing him / her

➜ take time in setting the brief (theScottish Museums Council can offer advice on preparing a brief)

➜ speak to others who have workedwith consultants previously – askfor references / recommendations

➜ lastly, make the most of theopportunity! It may well be thatothers are funding your feasibilitystudy. Make sure that you get themost out of this chance. This studymay well form the basis of yourforward plan so you need to behappy with it, as you will beworking to/with it for many yearsafter the consultant has gone.

Step 6.

The results of your test run and feasibilitystudy will prepare you to write abusiness plan, an essential for anyfundraising. Unless you are alreadyexperienced at business planning, wesuggest that you carry out backgroundreading, look at online information,and seek Local Enterprise Companyand Heritage Lottery Fund advice. It is a good idea to look at fundingapplication forms to see what funderswill expect from you. Speak to othersabout their business plans.

Step 7.

Approach funders. If your planningprocess so far has been thorough andwell thought out, you will be in a farbetter position to convince funders tosupport your project.

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6. Useful organisations

Background information and usefulresources, such as guidance sheetsand publications, are available fromthe following organisations. If you are unable to access the internet, you can contact the Scottish MuseumsCouncil’s Information Centre foraddresses and phone numbers.

Tel 0131 538 7435

Arts & Businesswww.AandB.org.uk

Association of Independent Museumswww.museums.org.uk/aim

Convention of Scottish Local Authoritieswww.cosla.gov.ukLinks on this website will give you contact details for individual localauthorities

Group for Education in Museumswww.gem.org.uk

Heritage Lottery Fundwww.hlf.org.uk

Historic Scotlandwww.historic-scotland.gov.uk

Interpret Scotlandwww.interpretscotland.org.uk

mdawww.mda.org.uk

Museums Associationwww.museumsassociation.org

MLA (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council)www.mla.gov.uk

Scottish Council for VoluntaryOrganisationswww.scvo.org.uk

Scottish Cultural Resources Access Networkwww.scran.ac.uk

Scottish Enterprisewww.scottish-enterprise.com

Scottish Natural Heritagewww.snh.org.uk

VisitScotlandwww.scotexchange.net

Volunteer Development Scotlandwww.vds.org.uk

24 Hour Museumwww.24hourmuseum.org.uk

Scottish Enterprise Network

Scottish Enterprisewww.scottish-enterprise.com

Highlands & Islands EnterpriseCowan HouseInverness Retail & Business ParkInverness IV2 7GF

Tel 01463 234171E-mail hie.general@hient.co.ukwww.hie.co.uk

SE Ayrshire17/19 Hill StreetKilmarnock KA3 1HA

Tel 01563 526623E-mail ayrshire@scotent.co.uk

SE BordersBridge Street Galashiels TD1 1SW

Tel 01896 758991E-mail seb-enquiry@scotent.co.uk

SE Dumfries & GallowaySolway HouseDumfries Enterprise ParkTinwal Down RoadHeathallDumfries DG1 3SJ

Tel 01387 245000E-mail sedg.enquiries@scotent.co.uk

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SE DunbartonshireSpectrum House Clydebank Business ParkClydebank G81 2DR

Tel 0141 951 2121E-mail dunbartonshire@scotent.co.uk

SE Edinburgh & LothianApex House99 Haymarket TerraceEdinburgh EH12 5HD

Tel 0131 313 4000E-mail lothian@scotent.co.uk

SE FifeKingdom House Saltire Centre Glenrothes KY6 2AQ

Tel 01592 623000E-mail Fife@scotent.co.uk

SE Forth ValleyLaurel HouseLaurelhill Business ParkStirling FK7 9JQ

Tel 01786 451919E-mail forthvalley@scotent.co.uk

SE Glasgow50 Waterloo Street Glasgow G2 6HQ

Tel 0141 204 1111E-mail glasgow@scotent.co.uk

SE Grampian27 Albyn Place Aberdeen AB10 1DB

Tel 01224 252000E-mail segrampianenquiries@scotent.co.uk

SE LanarkshireNew Lanarkshire HouseStrathclyde Business Park Bellshill ML4 3AD

Tel 01698 745454E-mail selenquiry@scotent.co.uk

SE Renfrewshire27 Causeyside StreetPaisley PA1 1UL

Tel 0141 848 0101E-mail renfrewshire@scotent.co.uk

SE TaysideEnterprise House45 North Lindsay Street Dundee DD1 1HT

Tel 01382 223100E-mail set.reception@scotent.co.uk

The Big Questions

The Scottish Museums Council hasdesigned a set of questions, to helpyou to see whether or not you haveconsidered all the implications – notonly of setting up a new museum, butrunning it successfully in the long term.

How to answer The Big Questions

The tables group these questions intoheadings which relate to the definitionof a museum plus a section examiningthe sustainability of the museum.

This exercise is best undertaken as a group with somebody keeping note of any points which arise from thediscussion. Don’t worry if you find thatyou are ticking lots of ‘don’t knows’.There are lots of sources of advice andinformation available for you to follow-up. The point of the exercise is notabout scoring highly but it is to find outfor yourselves how far your preparationstowards a new museum have gone.

Public Benefit - museums exist to offer a service to the public.

Appendix: The Big Questions

Has any local consultation been carried out with other organisations and local people?

Are you able to outline the cultural/historical value of the project?

Does this duplicate or overlap with something already being dealt with in other museums or visitor centres?

If so, have you discussed your project with them?

Have you made contact with your local authority museum service to discuss your project?

Does the project relate to local, regional or national strategies or plans, e.g. local tourism plan?

Is your organisation aware of the Accreditation scheme for museums?

1 Yes No Don't Know

Preparing for a new museum

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6

7

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Yes No Don't KnowCollect - most museums collect actively, either by receiving donations or by purchasing. The type and quantity of objects to be collected must be decided at an early stage.

Has a collection been formed yet?

Will the organisation own the collection?

Has your organisation defined what the future collecting policy should be?

Have you discussed with others whether this will impinge on collecting undertaken by other museums?

Do you have the resources to document the collection (i.e. to gather, store and manipulate information relating to objects in a museum collection)?

3

Institution - the ‘institution’ is the organisation established to own a collection and operate a museum.

Organisations running museums need to have a legal constitution which states whatthe museum will do. Have you made progress towards such a constitution?

The museum will need a governing body, usually Trustees, which will operate according to the rules of the constitution. Are you aware of all the responsibilities attached to being a Trustee?

Will you be able to attract voluntary support to continue the operation of the museumin the future across the full range of its activities, for 5 or 10 years into the future?

Yes No Don't Know2

If you have an existing building in mind do you know if it is adequate for all museum activities, e.g. storage, display, education?

Does your organisation have, or have access to, the expertise necessary to protect and care for the collection, in the long term?

Does the building contain suitable storage and display areas with conditions whichwill not be detrimental to the collection?

Have you considered the annual costs required to maintain and secure your buildingwith the special conditions which your collection will need?

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Yes No Don't KnowPreserve - it is the duty of all museums to ensure that objects on a collection are stored, displayed and handled in a way that promotes preservation.

4

Yes No Don't KnowExhibit and Interpret - museum collections can be used to illuminate an incredibly wide range of ideas. Time for research, display and publication are vital to successful communication.

Does your organisation have access to knowledge and information about the collection?

Have you thought about who will be using your museum and what their needs and interests will be?

Do you have plans for interpreting and displaying the collection?

Will the museum have room for temporary exhibitions and educational activities?

5

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Visitor Services and Access - visitor expectations are high. It is important to consider who the museum visitors are likely to be and how their expectations can be met.

Has an assessment of the museum’s visitor potential been carried out?

Are your estimates of visitor numbers realistic?

Have you considered what services you can offer to the local community?

Are you aware of the Disability Discrimination Act and its requirements to provide access to your museums and services?

Are there good transport links?

Yes No Don't Know

Sustainability - there are a wide range of costs and responsibilities associated with running a museum and maintaining visitor interest. Before setting up amuseum, it is important to examine how these will be met in the long term.

Can your organisation generate enough income to run the museum from year to year and into the long term future?

Does the project have a written Feasibility Plan or Business Plan?

Have you contacted your Local Enterprise Company?

Have you contacted your local Tourist Board?

Have you considered links that your organisation might make with others to increase activity/audiences?

Yes No Don't Know

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If you would like to discuss your results with the Scottish Museums Council, you are welcome to contact

Museum Development Manager Scottish Museums Council County House20-22 Torphichen StreetEdinburgh EH3 8JB

Telephone (Switchboard) 0131 229 7465Telephone (Information Service) 0131 538 7435Fax 0131 229 2728

E-mail inform@scottishmuseums.org.ukWeb www.scottishmuseums.org.uk

Scottish Museums CouncilCounty House20-22 Torphichen StreetEdinburgh EH3 8JB

Tel (switchboard) 0131 229 7465Tel (information service) 0131 538 7435Fax 0131 229 2728E-mail inform@scottishmuseums.org.ukWeb www.scottishmuseums.org.uk

Contact

Published by the Scottish Museums CouncilMay 2002 (reprinted in April 2005)A large print version of the text is available on request.

A company limited by guarantee No 74264, recognised as a charity No SCO 15593.

Big Questions, Big Answers