Welcome to the East Midlands Museums Service web site.

Welcome to the first edition of EMMS NEWS – our new information and news publication for museums in the East Midlands. At the recent Company Meeting, it was agreed that EMMS NEWS should be published between twice and four times each year and enjoy a wide distribution to elected members and professional museum workers, preferably by email. If you would like to receive regular copies of EMMS NEWS electronically, please ensure that we have your up-to-date address by sending an email, titled EMMS NEWS email group to emms@emms.org.uk

As EmmS evolves into a federation of museums in the region, offering support and self-help, our intention is to reflect this in EMMS NEWS. In this first edition, we are pleased to include two articles by EmmS’ members – a report on a recent, successful access initiative at Grantham Museum, and a contribution from the Regional Emergencies & Disaster Squad (REDS). In addition to keeping you up-to-date about EMMLAC, the Regional Hub, RESOURCE and issues affecting the sector, EMMS NEWS aims to share good practice, tips, news, requests for help and collaborations. Please let us have your contributions, and help us to develop this into a practical and lively publication.

The Regional Hub members continue to meet regularly. Since the last EmmS Company meeting, the hub members and key partners met with Tim Hobbs, Chief Executive of EMMLAC, on behalf of Resource, to consider any outstanding issues regarding the application by the Hub members. A presentation to the hub elected members and governing bodies and to the Chair of EMMLAC, about Renaissance, and its possible implications for the East Midlands, is to be held on 15 July.

There is no news yet of the Comprehensive Spending Review outcomes; however some regions are already beginning to think about the next stage of the Hub process, presuming that funding will be made available. The East Midlands hub members have agreed that Business Planning needs to be the key activity, in order to have a Business Plan drafted for discussion with Resource by winter 2002. Consultation with the museum constituency in the East Midlands will need to be integrated into this process from the outset.

An oral update will be given at the next Company meeting in October, and in the meantime special announcements posted on the EmmS website. If, in the meantime, you have any queries, please contact any member of the hub or the key partners:

Lincolnshire (Heather Cummins e-mail heather.cummins@lincolnshire.gov.uk)
Nottingham (Hilary Wade e-mail hilary.wade@nottinghamcity.gov.uk)
Derby (David Fraser e-mail david.fraser@derby.gov.uk)
Northampton (Peter Field e-mail museums@northampton.gov.uk)
Leicester (Sarah Levitt e-mail levis001@leicester.gov.uk)
Crich Tramway Museum (Winstan Bond e-mail ntm_library@online.rednet.co.uk)

I am pleased that this first written contact between EMMLAC and museums and galleries in the region is in the form of an offer of extra funding. I hope that it will be the first of many.

As you probably know, between 1999 and 2001, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) funded 65 museum and gallery education programmes aimed at improving the links between museums, galleries and schools. The Centre for Museum and Gallery Research at the University of Leicester evaluated this programme, and a resulting Good Practice Guide, aimed at schools and museum and gallery educators and entitled Learning through Culture, is available for downloading from www.teachernet.gov.uk .

Resource has recently announced funding for a second phase of the programme, to run between 2002 and 2004. The intention is to fund projects which will use the collections of museums and galleries to contribute to raising pupils’ standards of achievement in school by supporting an enriched curriculum. The funding is therefore aimed at ensuring that more pupils aged between 5 and 16 can benefit from access to the resources of museums and galleries, and that these are used to support their classroom-based learning. The programme will be managed by Resource on behalf of the Curriculum Division of the DfES. A separate fund for contemporary visual art is being developed and managed by engage.

The focus of the programme is on improving the standards of achievement of pupils aged 5-16 in the classroom. Holiday programmes, out-of-school activities and family-based projects are therefore not eligible for funding under this scheme. The programme’s objectives are:

· to ensure that more pupils and, where relevant, teachers, benefit from access to objects and images from museums and galleries during the school day

· to promote sustainable partnerships between schools and local museums and galleries which

MGEP2 in the East Midlands

In the East Midlands, Resource is channelling MGEP2 monies through EMMLAC. We were invited to bid for up to £100k, divided into three tranches as follows:

· no less than 50% of the amount bid for is to be used to fund a small grants programme, to enable museums and galleries in the region to deliver the objectives set out below.

· 40% to be spent either on further small grants, or on support and advice if that is seen as the best way of delivering the objectives. It can also be used to fund specific projects which the regional agency wants to develop

· up to 10% can be used to fund EMMLAC’s central administrative costs in managing the MGEP programme, including the systematic collection and quarterly submission to Resource of evidence of the programme’s impact on pupils’ learning.

We are now awaiting the outcome of the single co-ordinated bid which EMMLAC recently submitted on behalf of the East Midlands, for the full £100k, following advice from a small Task Group of the EmmS Board. The bid is divided into:

· £50,000 to be spent on small grants, for which museums, galleries (and archives and libraries which meet the DfES objectives) will be invited to bid in September. Broad criteria and (simple!) application forms will be drawn up over the next few weeks, by an EMMLAC Working Group comprising museum education staff and archivists. Initially, we had thought of concentrating bids under broadly ‘Victorian’ themes, but Resource have suggested that we leave it open to institutions to choose themes that most suit their needs.

a) a 6-month post of National Curriculum Policy Adviser for the region, to ensure that museums have up-to-date education policies which address the potential for museum-school partnerships to deliver the National Curriculum

b) a number of MGEP2 Programme Directors, who will work at sub-regional level to manage and co-ordinate the Small Grants projects

· £3,000 towards central administrative costs. This will probably be channelled through EmmS as the domain-specific body for museums, and will be supplemented by EMMLAC’s opwn funds. Administrative costs, in this context, will include

a) recruitment costs for the support and advice staff, and their travel expenses once appointed

b) training for staff and institutions involved in projects under the Small Grants programme

d) other costs to ensure that MGEP2 is run efficiently and effectively in the East Midlands.

MGEP2 represents a real opportunity for our sector to continue to work closely with schools in the delivery of the National Curriculum, and I hope that all of you will be inspired to submit bids under the Small Grants programme. More details will be sent out as soon as possible.

EMMLAC, the East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, can be contacted as follows:

e-mail: t.hobbs@le.ac.uk (NB: this address is likely to change in the next few weeks)

RESOURCE has announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive. Anna Southall, currently Director of National Museums and Galleries of Wales, will take up her post in September.

Meanwhile, the Regional team has been strengthened with three new posts to ensure the achievement of RESOURCE’s main regional programmes over the next two years i.e. strengthening of the Regional Agencies and implementing the framework of regional hubs. Rachel Kerr and Richard Schofield (Regional Strategic Officers) and Dawn Routledge (Archive Development Officer) join Fran Hegyi and Geoff Warren. A regional coordinator will be appointed shortly.

Three posts have also been created in the Learning and Access team to help deliver RESOURCE’s ambitious agenda. Rajiv Anand (Culture Diversity Development Officer), Marcus Weisen (Disability development Officer) and Julie Street (Formal Learning Adviser) join Sue Wilkinson, Caroline Lang and Rebecca Linley.

Millions of works of art were looted by the Nazis during WW2. Britain’s national museums have already taken steps to investigate and document their collections, checking the provenance of items acquired after 1945. RESOURCE has announced that it will fund a research consultant to help regional museums identify items in their collections whose provenance between 1933 and 1945 is unknown and which may have been looted. The work will be managed by the National Museum Directors’ Conference (NMDC) and a list of items that may be the result of Nazi spoliation will be published next December. Further information available on the NMDC website www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/about.html

£4 Million for Voluntary Scheme to Record Archaeological Objects Found by Public –

The Heritage Lottery Fund will contribute nearly £2.5 million, matched by £1.5 million by a unique partnership of museums, archaeological bodies and the DCMS, to extend the Portable Antiquities Scheme to all parts of England and Wales. This voluntary scheme, run by RESOURCE, records archaeological objects found by members of the public. A database of finds recorded by the scheme is available at www.finds.org.uk Michael Lewis has recently succeeded Richard Hobbs as Resource Outreach Office for the scheme.

RESOURCES’s first cross-domain standard publication was launched on 22 April. Recognising that stewardship is central to development and use of collections, the publication presents a wide range of benchmarks to assist in assessing preservation needs and measuring levels of collection care. Copies are available, free of charge, from RESOUCE publications by telephone (020 7273 1458) or email viola.lewis@resource.gov.uk

A new EU culture portal dedicated to cultural policies, providing easy, free access to information on EU cultural policies and measures, funding programmes and links to culture ministries and portals in the members states and associated countries.

The DPC’s new website and the online edition of Preservation Management of Digital Materials is now available at www.dpconline.org

Range of courses, including: Water Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Applied Structural Drying

12 September 2002 – Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery (Tel: 0115 915 3657)

14-18 October 2002 – Snibston Discovery Park, Leicestershire (Tel: 01603 612612)

Workshop on Management of Photographic Collections – National Photographic Conservation Studios (Rotterdam)/ European Commission on Preservation & Access

The HLF’s recently-published Strategic Plan 2002-07 sets out details of its funding priorities and grant programmes. It is anticipated that approximately half the funding will be allocated in grants under £1 million, via the following schemes:

For a full copy of the strategic plan, telephone 020 7591 6042, or visit the HLF website www.hlf.org.uk

providing information on grants available to the volunteer and community sector from four government departments – Home Office, DfES, DTR and the Dept of Health. The website will go live later this month and, within a year, an interactive portal will enable online applications to be made. Further information, and a free guide on European Funding, is available from the Active Community Unit of the Home Office (tel 020 7217 8400) or visit www.homeoffice.gov.uk/acu.htm

An award of £5,000 open to any non-profit making organisation mounting a visual arts exhibition in the UK or Republic of Ireland, with a catalogue published between 1 June 2001 and 28 June 2002. Closing date for entries is 15 July 2002. Further details and application forms available from Helen George at AXA Arts Insurance Ltd (tel: 020 7265 4600).

EMDA is running a series of Social Enterprise and Community Development Initiatives, which includes offering capital grants of up to £5,000. An advisor is available on 0115 988 8385.

Supporting a wide range of activities that include increasing the number of disadvantaged and disabled people who take part in arts and heritage activities. Further information available on 020 7204 5276 or visit www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk

Distributes around £500,000 p.a. to registered charities, concentrating on arts, heritage and social welfare. Further information available on 01235 820044.

Charitable grants available to UK-based organisations aiming to improve quality of life for those in need, achieve sustainable benefit to communities, and promote social inclusion. Areas of special interest include Rural Regeneration and Supporting Volunteering. Further information on 01793 657183.

Promoting the use of non-national museums and galleries for learning by people of all ages, individual grants are available for sums between £2,000 and £20,000. Historic houses, industrial heritage sites and discovery centers are also eligible. The closing date for the next round of applications is mid-September. Further details available on 020 7351 6061 or visit www.cloreduffield.org.uk

The RNIB has published a new leaflet encouraging people with sight problems to visit (and enjoy to the full) leisure venues (including museums and galleries). Your Way to Leisure, written by Marcus Weisen, outlines the level of service that people can expect from leisure providers since the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act and the obligations that leisure providers are now under to ensure access for people with disabilities. The publication is available in print, Braille and tape from RNIB Customer Services on 0845 702 3153.

Access for deaf people to museums and galleries – A review of good practice in London. This report, compiled by Cathy Woolley, with Deafworks, covers a whole range of issues, with a summary of recommendations and quality standards, contacts and guidelines. A useful tool for any museum wishing to extend its access. Copies are available at £5 from Nicholas Callow at Deafworks, tel 020 7689 1048 or email njc@deafworks

ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED BY EMMS MEMBERS

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Sensations - Exploration of the Senses

Anna Brearley of Grantham Museum reports on a recent access project

Early in 2000, I was approached by our local Blind Society - they had seen information about an exhibition created for the Royal National Institute for the Blind, which was seeking new venues. The aim of this exhibition was to make people more aware of what it might be like to have a visual impairment.

Being extremely interested in increasing access within our museum, I was keen to explore this further with a view to using it. Grantham Museum is a small social history museum in Lincolnshire. It has a regular changing temporary exhibition programme that is closely linked with the other ten sites that make up Lincolnshire Heritage Services.

After finding a gap in our timetable, I contacted the June Bretherton Consultancy, which had developed the exhibition for the RNIB. June Bretherton and David Whitehead, the creators, are both registered blind. We all met up with Beth Pearce from the Kesteven Blind Society (KBS) to discuss the exhibition’s potential, and how we could achieve a local angle.

The exhibition consisted of 14 ‘feely’ boxes, and 7 paintings by an artist who lost his sight and continued to paint using a highly textured method. June also discussed the possibility of creating a darkened tunnel to simulate being blind. I was very keen to incorporate the museum’s collections wherever possible.

We called the exhibition ‘Sensations - the exploration of the senses’. The ‘feely’ boxes contained different challenges, such as tying a shoelace or using a telephone. Other boxes contained scenes such as ‘the farmyard’ - complete with soft animals with their relevant noises when squeezed. We also used the boxes to house a number of items from the museum’s collection for people to try to identify, including a bust of Margaret Thatcher. There was a display looking at postcards - but how do you send a card to someone who cannot see? The KBS provided us with a selection of gadgets for the exhibition such as talking clocks, calculators, Braille dominoes and a noisy ball, and also advised us on writing the text and the use of Braille.

Through the KBS we were put in contact with local visually impaired artists and we were able to display work from the craft club that is run at the society. We were able to utilise the communication networks of the KBS, for example, the talking newspaper and the local newsletter to advertise the exhibition. Built into the project was a training session run by the KBS for the museum staff. I felt that this made a major impact on the staff’s confidence in being able to offer appropriate assistance to visitors where necessary without being overhelpful.

The exhibition costs came to £600, which included everything from transit to installation. It has built good relationships with our local Blind Society and has involved the local visually impaired community. I feel that this exhibition is just a start in the museum’s progress towards making it more accessible to all and bringing elements we have learnt into all our developments for the future.

For the full article see Barrier Free, Issue 11 Spring 2002, by the Museums and Galleries Disability Association (MAGDA).

Fire at Derby Industrial Museum
At Friday lunchtime on 5^th April a serious fire broke out in a roof-space at Derby Industrial Museum. It was caused by cutting equipment being used by workmen to remove an old fire escape. The roof of the former mill building was destroyed, and repairs are estimated at over £140,000. Luckily the fire did not spread below the roof-space, and water entry was minimal. Most of the water came from an internal mains pipe destroyed by the fire rather than from the spray hoses used by the fire brigade

One REDS team member who worked at Derby Museum attended the incident. Other available REDS members were put on alert during the afternoon, but were not needed. Both the REDS stockpile material and Derby Museum's own stockpile of emergency equipment were needed. Surprisingly, only one photographic item was badly damaged by water. The REDS team was stood down by 8pm that night, although the museum's own staff remained on 24hr duty over the following weekend whilst emergency structural repairs were made. The Museum reopened to the public about a fortnight later.

Have You Got Piles?
The recent fire which destroyed a roof at Derby Industrial Museum showed the immense importance of each museum having its own stockpile of essential items immediately to hand. Once staff was allowed back into the building, the fire-damaged area was declared a hard-hat zone. Where were the safety helmets? Water was everywhere, but mops and buckets were not. These were needed, and fast! The cleaning-up operation got underway immediately, and was a mucky job, but could have been far worse. Where were all the overalls and wellies and gloves the volunteers needed?

Derby Museums was fortunate in having built up a small stockpile of emergency materials of its own. It didn't have everything it needed, but it helped considerably. Mainly because it was all there - and accessible. It was also lucky; the incident was relatively small, with little water damage, and occurred during daylight hours.

Derby also had a REDS team member on its staff, who accessed the county stockpile, and this was called upon, too. But, if you've ever thought the REDS team stockpiles would meet all your needs, think again. Each county has just one stockpile, designed to fit into a standard car. Most of the equipment is intended for use by a REDS member, and few large items are duplicated.

Here is a list of bare minimum items that every museum really should ensure it has readily available. Every single venue needs immediate access to these. Please don't see this list as a replacement for that given in the Emergency Manual. But if you manage a museum and don't have even these few items in store, how easily will you sleep at night next time you hear a fire engine go past your window?

Safety helmets 10
Plastic buckets         20+
Self-squeeze mops       5
Roll of Plastic sheeting, heavy duty
Gaffer tape for fixing sheeting 2 rolls
Torches and batteries   5+
Rubber Gloves, various sizes    10+
Wellies, various sizes 5+
Disposable overalls     10+
Dust masks 20+

Finally, are your Disaster Plans up to date and accessible? If housed in the building currently ablaze, there's little chance of you being allowed back in to fetch them!

Nick Moyes Simon Lake
Derby Museum & Art Gallery Leicester New Walk Museum & Art Gallery

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If you have an article or news that may be of interest to other museums in the region, please send it to Susan Lansdale at EmmS, PO Box 7221, Nottingham NG12 3WH, fax 01949 81859, email emms@emms.org.uk

EMMS NEWS June 2002

MGEP2 in the East Midlands

ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED BY EMMS MEMBERS

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Sensations - Exploration of the Senses

Anna Brearley of Grantham Museum reports on a recent access project