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Museum Methods: a practical manual for managing
small museums and galleries
Starting a museum Section 1: Museum Management
1.1 Starting a Museum
Introduction
This sheet raises a number of issues, including legal implications, buildings, collection management and financial
management which should be considered before setting up a museum or gallery. The information may also be helpful as a
checklist for groups already running a small museum.
What is a museum?
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) defines a museum as:
a non-profit making, permanent institution, in the service of a society and of its development, and open to the public, which
acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purpose of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of
people and their environment.
Museums range from small organisations run by volunteers to large institutions with paid professional staff. A good museum is
well planned and the people in charge have vision and an
understanding of all aspects of running a museum.
Museums are set up by specialist groups, historical societies, local councils, state and commonwealth governments or individual
enthusiasts. Usually, people want to set up museums for good reasons: they have a commitment to the preservation of cultural
heritage of a particular type or in a particular subject area. However, despite good intentions, a museum may not last if it is
set up in an ad hoc way, or if it duplicates existing museums in the same area.
Do you really need a museum to achieve your objectives? Planning is essential, and the first stage of this is to consider
whether establishing a museum is the best way to meet your objectives. Are there other similar museums already in the area?
Can the town sustain a museum? Will the museum have the support of the local council? It may become clear that the best
direction is to join with an existing museum or historical society, or
to set up a heritage, research or interpretation centre, rather than setting up a completely new museum.
Another way of promoting the heritage of an area is to adopt an open-air or living museum approach. This means that perhaps a
street, village, town or even a shire could be presented as a living museum. This has happened very successfully in Melbourne's
industrial north-west and in Broken Hill. The emphasis of a living museum is on encouraging appropriate restoration, presentation
and interpretation of the heritage items in the area.
What is involved in setting up and running a museum?
Once the above questions have been answered satisfactorily, it is time to consider the following issues:
Planning
Draft a statement of purpose outlining the concept behind the museum and concisely list its main objectives. Developing a
mission statement is also a useful exercise because it means really working through the concept behind the museum and developing a
simple statement which will convey this vision.
The next step is to develop a strategic plan which lists the
museum's objectives, and the strategies that will be used to meet them over the next three to five years. These documents will then
form part of the museum's constitution.
It is also essential to develop a collections policy outlining the type and range of material which the museum will collect. Some
museums choose to collect only material relating to their region or to a relevant theme such as mining, or to a broader issue, for
example women's history.
Incorporation
A museum should be set up as an incorporated association, company or trust to administer and take responsibility for the
organisation. Check, with the relevant bodies, the legal requirements that pertain to your state.
The building A number of functional considerations must be addressed -
whether establishing a purpose-built museum or setting up in an old or heritage building. Collections have certain storage and
display requirements, and objects can be harmed by fluctuations in temperature, by light and by insects. A custom-built museum
can allow for proper exhibition spaces, spaces for education
activities, disabled access, and for a properly balanced and
monitored environment.
Many museums are set up in old or heritage buildings. These
buildings may - or may not - be suitable for museum use. Where a heritage building is clearly not appropriate, serious consideration
should be given to finding another site.
The following questions should high-light the main issues:
- Are the spaces inside the building satisfactory for display
purposes? - Is the building in the best location to attract visitors?
- Is it environmentally stable? - Will museum use of the building require inappropriate changes
that would reduce its heritage significance, eg removal of walls, new toilet facilities?
- Would the building be better presented as a heritage item in its own right? eg a flour mill as flour mill rather than housing locally
collected items. - Will development of the site compromise the building's heritage
significance?
Insurance
Museums must have public liability insurance to ensure that visitors are covered in the event of an accident. Insurance to cover
the building and the collection is also strongly advised. If the museum uses volunteers, obtain volunteer workers insurance.
(See Museum methods sheet 'Legal concerns for museums and galleries'.)
Security Museum security is often overlooked, yet every year there are
thefts from museums. Factors which can make a building susceptible to burglary include poor locks on doors and windows;
skylights; and not having an alarm system. Objects which are unsecured, either on open display or in unlocked cases, can be
easily stolen, hidden in a handbag or large pocket. Planning security at the outset, and buying showcases which lock, can save
a great deal of heartache in the long term.
Where possible, it is desirable to have on-site caretakers either in
the building or on the grounds. They can perform many of the duties involved in running a museum and will often work in
exchange for free accommodation.
Financial management
Museums are expensive to maintain properly and it is rare that
profits, from entry fees for example, will cover costs. Develop a business plan and budget for ongoing and staff costs. A museum
may be set up and run by volunteers in the beginning, but in the
long term a paid professional director, curator or education officer may be required. Many museums do survive on raffles, cake stalls
and other community fund-raising activities but often their activities - and opening hours - are very limited due to lack of
money.
In some cases financial or in-kind support is provided by local government, so it is important to discuss the proposed museum
with the council. Limited funds are available for museums and moveable cultural heritage through state government programs.
However, these are very competitive and never provide total
funding. Information about grants can be obtained by contacting the arts ministries or heritage offices in your state.
Staffing
There are many housekeeping tasks involved in the day-to-day running of a museum. Museums need to have an attendant at the
door to collect fees and/or to provide information to visitors, the collection must be documented, cared for and monitored regularly
for any signs of deterioration, and skilled people are required to develop exhibitions and public programs.
Small museums often rely on volunteers for most of these activities. However, volunteers do not have unlimited time, and
are not necessarily trained in a particular area. When planning for a new museum, consider the feasibility of employing a paid
professional curator or similar manager. Museum training can equip staff with a range of skills from cataloguing through to
exhibition development and fabrication.
Storage
A museum cannot display all its objects, all the time. In fact, even with adequate space, constant display can result in the
deterioration - or even destruction - of some objects. Separate storage areas must be planned for at the beginning; these do not
have to be high-tech or expensive. A controlled, uncluttered environment with little natural light is a good beginning. (For
further information see the Collection management and Preventive conservation sections of Museum methods.)
Collection management Collection management is the care and maintenance of the
museum collection. It includes providing adequate storage,
documenting objects as they enter and move through the
museum; ensuring that the museum has legal title to each object; caring for loan objects; monitoring the museum environment;
cataloguing the collection; and establishing policies, systems and
procedures for conservation, acquisitions and deaccessioning and disposal.
Establishing systems saves time and aggravation in the long run.
Museums which were set up without the benefit of legal documents covering donations can find themselves in a difficult
position if for example, the grandchild of a 'donor' demands the return of the silver tea-service which has been on loan to the
museum for the past 20 years. Without a deed of gift form or similar proof of ownership the museum is required to return the
service to the known owner.
Research and interpretation
There is a commonly held belief that an object can 'speak for itself'. But not everyone comes from a cultural back-ground which
enables them to under-stand the importance of agricultural machinery for example. Museums have a responsibility to research
and interpret the objects in their collection. Wherever possible the story behind the object, its 'social history', should be collected
along with the object. Once an object is documented, it can be used in many ways including in exhibitions and for research,
catalogues and books.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions are usually the public face of the museum. Labels, photographs and drawings are used to tell the visitor a particular
story. Developing a thematic exhibition is an involved process and includes developing a storyline, doing research, and designing,
fabricating and maintaining displays.
In many cases it is a good idea to employ a consultant curator and
a consultant designer to develop the displays for a new museum, particularly if the displays are being set up as a permanent or
long-term exhibition. The other advantage is that consultants can 'transfer' their skills, enabling volunteers in the museum to mount
the next display. If there is no money to employ consultants or permanent staff, it is still possible to develop successful exhibitions
by following guidelines. (See Museum methods section, 'Exhibition development and touring', for practical approaches.)
Public programs Activities for community groups such as tours for schools,
performances and exhibition viewings are an integral part of the
life of any museum. As well as fostering enjoyment of exhibitions,
such activities may encourage people to become volunteers and supporters and raise funds towards the museum's running costs.
Marketing and public relations Many museums are founded in the belief that they will attract
hordes of tourists. This is rarely the case. To create 'satisfied customers' who will spread good 'word of mouth' museums must
focus on their visitors by asking: What do we have to offer that visitors would be interested in experiencing and learning about?;
What can we do to ensure that visitors know about the museum and know how to get here?; and When they do arrive, will they be
warmly welcomed and have everything they need to enjoy themselves?
The answers to these questions will form a basis for how to promote the museum. Whether marketing means distributing fliers
to local motels, offering a personal tour to teachers in the region or taking advantage of the various web-based listings available,
the more planning that is done, the more successful the result will be.
Networking Before setting up a museum it is advisable to visit other museums
to see how they are run. There are also existing museum networks which can be tapped into. Contacting other museum custodians is
a good way to find out about the pitfalls and opportunities of establishing a museum in a specific area. For example, Museums
Australia Inc enjoys networks throughout Australia.
Summary The issues which have been touched on in this sheet are the major
ones to consider before setting up a museum, however there are
many other matters which arise when actually running a museum. Any group or individual interested in establishing a museum is
encouraged to think it through very carefully, and then to contact their local Museums Australia branch to discuss their plans further.
Further reading
Fopp, Michael, Managing museums and galleries, Routledge, London, 1997.
Gerald, George and Sherrell-Leo, Cindy, Starting right: a basic guide to museum planning, American Association for State and
Local History, Nashville, 1989.
Heritage Collections Council, Re-Collections, Caring for collections across Australia: Managing collections, and Managing people.
Canberra, 1998. Available http://amol.org.au/recollections
Museums Australia Inc, Strategic Planning Manual, 1998. Available
http://amol.org.au Museums Australia Inc, The resources directory for the museum
community, 1998.
Robins, Richard (ed), A manual for small museums and keeping places, Queensland Museum, 1992. Simpson, Shane, Museums
and galleries: a practical legal guide, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Sydney, 1989.
Brenda Factor
Director Museums Australia Inc (NSW), 1994 Updated 2001
Customer service and public
relations Section 2: Marketing and public relations
2.1 Customer service and public
relations
Visitors to museums are 'customers' in the sense
that they expect a certain level of service. The service may come
in a variety of forms, whether it be information given by telephone, greeting visitors as they enter the museum, or
providing written and verbal information about an exhibition. Customer service is about how museum staff relate to visitors.
This sheet discusses the importance of customer relations in providing the public and visitors with the services they want and
expect.
What is customer service? Customer service is recognising and anticipating the needs, wants
and expectations of your customers. A customer is any visitor who
walks through the door of your museum, or any person who enquires about your museum. It is important to treat the actual
visitor and the potential visitor with the same level of service. Displaying strong customer service is good public relations and will
ensure that visitors want to return to your museum. If staff are friendly and helpful, express enthusiasm for what they do and
welcome every enquiry and visitor, they present a positive image to the public. The Public Relations Institute of Australia defines
public relations as:
'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and
maintain mutual understanding between an organisation and its public'.1
Telephone enquiries
A telephone call is often the first introduction to a museum for many people. A telephone enquiry gives you the opportunity to
show interest in your public and make them feel welcome. Therefore it is important to be enthusiastic and helpful when
answering questions.
Firstly, identify your institution, greet the caller and offer
assistance. Listen and find out what they want. Many visitors want to know opening and closing times, what exhibitions are currently
showing and whether there are any associated public programs, is
parking available, what is the public transport like and many more small but important questions. Jot down the caller's name and the
main points of the conversation. Answer clearly and be concise.
Remember this may be the caller's first point of contact, so it is an opportunity to encourage them to visit your museum.
Front-of-house
Front-of-house staff are often the first people with whom a visitor comes in contact. They may be the staff at the cloakroom,
information or admission desk. Simply remembering to say 'Hello, can I help you?' instantly makes a visitor welcome. Front-of-house
staff should be responsive to visitor enquiries such as 'Where is such and such on exhibition?', 'Where are the restrooms?', 'What
time do you close?'. But staff can also ask questions of the visitor,
such as 'Did you know there will be a talk at lunchtime about this exhibition?', 'Would you like to join a free guided tour?', or 'Today
there is a special program on ...'
When visitors feel they have encountered helpful and friendly staff, they are likely to talk positively about their museum experience to
others. Each time a visitor leaves satisfied they help generate more visitors and act as walking advertisers for your museum.
Knowing your audience Try to anticipate visitor's needs by distinguishing between different
audiences. For example when a school group arrives, show them where to leave their bags, assist the teacher by contacting the
museum's education officer or guide and inform the teacher where the group can have lunch. For families, you may offer a discounted
entry price or mention any special family programs the museum may offer.
Students and researchers need to ask questions and gather information. This type of enquiry often takes time and demands
effective communication between the researcher and museum staff. Once again, a telephone call is often their first introduction
to the museum. They may be searching for a particular collection and related reference material, or enquiring if there is a library in
the museum. Over the telephone you can suggest either mailing the information they require, invite them to visit the museum, or
suggest other organisations or museums to contact.
Every audience group has different needs, demands and
expectations. It may be useful to conduct surveys in your museum to evaluate who your audience is (see Museum methods Section 7,
'Evaluation and audience research' for further information).
Know the aims and objectives of your museum
How can you answer an enquiry if you don't know what services you offer? Anticipate the questions people might ask about your
establishment or the locality and have the information to hand. If
you don't know the answers, do some research to find them. Developing an induction program for new staff and volunteers is a
good way of introducing them to the museum and its services, and helping them to better assist visitors.
Summary
Effective communication between museum staff and visitors/customers will enhance visitors' experience. It is the job of
all the staff in the museum to satisfy the needs, wants and expectations of visitors/customers.
Footnote 1. Macnamara, Jim R, Public relations handbook for clubs and
associations, Margaret Gee Information Group, Melbourne, Victoria, 1985.
Further reading
A practical guide to customer relations, The State Training Agency
for Hotels, Catering & Tourism in Ireland, Dublin, 1987. American Association of Museums, Museum visitor services
manual, resource report, 2001.
Developing a collection policy Section 3: Collection Management
3.1 Developing a collection policy
One of the most important documents produced by a museum is its collection policy. This policy
provides direction by determining what should be collected, as well as outlining management strategies for documentation,
preservation and administration. The collection policy can also be viewed as a control mechanism which formalises procedures
associated with these activities, presents goals and establishes standards.
Obviously the particular needs of a museum will make its
collection policy peculiar to that organisation. There are several
elements, however, which should be included in every policy. They are outlined in this sheet.
Mission statement
This statement defines a museum's basic goals and should be placed at the beginning of the collection policy. It should include
points on the primary reason for forming the organisation (eg to preserve the tin mining history of the area) and the functions of
the museum (eg the collection and preservation of objects and documents associated with tin mining). The museum may also
state its intended means of achieving this mission - through
temporary exhibitions, education programs, a cataloguing schedule and access for schools, researchers, the local community
and visitors to the area.
What the museum will collect A collection policy should identify the subject areas and types of
objects on which the museum will focus. It may define major themes, a geographic area and/or a time frame that the collection
will cover. It should also describe the material the museum will collect (eg three-dimensional objects, documents, maps, books,
photographs etc).
It is advisable to state storage and display restrictions at this
point. This will formally allow the museum to exclude items which it does not have the facilities to handle. If the museum does not
have appropriate storage it should not collect large agricultural equipment which will deteriorate if left exposed to the
environment.
How the museum will collect
This section states how the museum will acquire objects for its permanent collection -through donation, bequest, purchase or
transfer. It is necessary to formulate a policy on conditional
donations and long-term loans, outline the role of an Acquisition Committee in approving donations and include a brief description
of the committee.
Collection criteria One or more of the following criteria will assist in the management
of acquisitions and should therefore be included in a collection policy. Whether or not an organisation decides to acquire an object
may depend on: its relevance to the organisation's objectives stated earlier in the policy; whether it is accompanied by
associated information and documentation; its physical condition;
whether safe, secure storage space is available to house the object; whether legal, cultural or conservation restrictions prevent
the object from being displayed; whether the object under consideration is a duplicate in poorer condition than an object
already in the collection; and finally, whether the donor or vendor has legal title to the object and therefore can offer it to the
museum. For more information, see Museum methods sheet 'Significance and objects'.
Collection care
Documentation
This is an important section of any collection policy. It expresses an organisation's aim to implement an effective docu- mentation
system as well as laying down the groundwork of object ownership. This section should provide guidelines for acquiring and
processing material. It is important to detail the documentary processes that the organisation will practice in order to carry out
collection management activities. Such documentation may include receipts, registers, record of gifts, catalogue worksheets and the
files in which these are maintained. Outlines of registration procedures for receiving, acquiring, cataloguing and numbering
objects should also be given.
Conservation and storage
The collection policy should record the commitment of the organisation to provide the best possible physical care of the
collection. The policy should outline the means of achieving this objective through programs and policies concerning temperature
and humidity control, appropriate storage, security and access, pest control, ultra-violet light exclusion, a conservation policy and
disaster planning.
Deaccessioning
Deaccessioning criteria It is vital that criteria for removing an item from the collection is
included in a collection policy. This section should cover the criteria
for deciding on an object's deaccession. It may include: an object's poor physical condition; its lack of significance; duplication within
the collection; non-compliance with the current collection policy; or a substantiated request for its return to the original owner.
Deaccessioning procedure
The formal procedure for deaccession-ing an object should be included. The policy should outline the role of the Acquisition
Committee in the process; the implementation of a pre-disposal period; the prohibition of staff and their families from acquiring
deaccessioned objects; and the proposed use of funds obtained
from the sale of deaccessioned items.
Disposal Agreed disposal procedures should also be documented. The
following options range from most to least preferred:
1. return to the donor or family
2. transfer to another appropriate institution 3. sell by public auction where appropriate
4. use as an interpretive or educative aid 5. destroy or recycle.
Loans
Procedures, policies and conditions for incoming and outgoing loans must be established in any collection policy. On specialised
documentation, such as loan forms and registers, include details on physical maintenance of the borrowed item such as possible
conservation treatment whilst on loan and storage and display
security. The organisation should also designate a recommended loan period and state procedures for loan renewal.
Policy review
A collection policy should not be viewed as a static document. It may need to be changed as the circumstances of the collection
and direction of the museum alter. The policy should be reviewed regularly to re-assert the objectives and focus of the organisation
and should include a clause which states an appropriate period for a policy review.
Access As an important document which presents the aims of an
organisation and the means by which these aims can be realised, a
museum's collection policy must be carefully maintained and be
accessible to staff as well as to interested parties outside the museum.
Further reading Heritage Collections Council, reCollections, caring for collections
across Australia: Managing collections, Canberra, 1998. Available online
Heritage Collections Council, (Significance), a guide to assessing the significance of cultural heritage objects and collections,
Canberra, 2001. Available online Museums Australia (Inc), Caring for our culture, national
guidelines for museums, galleries and keeping places, 1998. Available online
Developing a preventative
conservation policy Section 3: Preventative conservation
3.1 Developing a preventative
conservation policy
Definitions
Preservation or preventive conservation is action undertaken to
prevent the deterioration of cultural materials. It includes controlling the environment and conditions of storage and use with
the intention of maintaining the artefact in a stable state.
Introduction The conservation of cultural material is a commitment to future
generations. The first step toward preserving cultural material is the creation of a collection; therefore it is important to identify
what is of value to the community. However, if the preservation process stops here, the physical wellbeing of that material is at
risk.
All artefacts deteriorate as they interact with the environment, but
the rate is dependant on a range of factors. Many of these variables can be controlled and minimised through professional
preservation practices and standards.
In order to achieve preservation standards, sound management is
necessary that involves implementing a plan for protecting cultural heritage assets. As with any management system, key areas need
to be addressed:
• policy (why?) • objectives (what?)
• strategies (how?)
Finding the answers to these questions will enable the organisation
to deploy resources and acquire skills to achieve the necessary preservation goals. If this is successfully done, the safety of the
collection will be the result and successive generations will be able to enjoy use of the material.
The development of a preventive conservation policy provides the
framework by which the material assets of a collection will be protected and preserved. As the term implies, preventive
conservation aims at anticipating, minimising or preventing
deterioration and damage to a collection. This is achieved through
preservation activities that do not involve direct treatment of the object. They assist in maintaining the object in a stable state. To
minimise deterioration a range of specialist preventive activities
have been identified:
• Building maintenance - regular inspections to ensure the building is well maintained to lessen environmental influences
from climatic changes, to provide a sound and secure collection environment and to inhibit the entrance of insect and animal
pests. • Environmental monitoring - regular monitoring of the
environment will help plan environmental modifications to ensure sound and stable conditions. This includes relative
humidity, temperature, light levels, pest activity and air quality
(dust) and other pollutants. • Integrated pest management - a commitment to
comprehensive pest eradication through appropriate control techniques (including housekeeping).
Housekeeping and handling - commitment to regular safe housekeeping regimes to minimise pollutants, such as dust, and
to reduce the need for handling objects. • Conservation-grade transport, display and storage - the design
and use of archival materials and methods in the transport, display and storage of artefacts.
Disaster preparedness - current and relevant documentation of procedures required in the event of a 'disaster', including plan
for appropriate response and action sequences. • Training and professional development - a commitment to
acquiring relevant knowledge and skills to manage and
implement industry 'best practice' standards, particularly in collection care. This is especially important when 'new'
conservation methodologies are utilised.
Policy A preventive conservation policy needs to define and reflect the
organisation's commitment to professional preservation standards. This will be achieved by undertaking appropriate preventive
conservation activities that minimise potential deterioration and damage. There may be little point in undertaking individual
conservation treatments, which are necessarily interventionist,
then returning the artefact to an unhealthy environment for deterioration to continue unabated.
Expendables
There are also potential areas of the collection or individual items that may be identified as 'expendable', 'ephemeral' and not to be
preserved. They need to be documented, and any special terms,
loan or gift conditions or requirements assessed. This may relate to working exhibits, impermanent artworks, installations,
reproductions, educational collections etc.
What a policy should define
A preventive conservation policy defines:
• what the organisation will preserve • how the collection will be preserved
• the long-term role of preservation within the organisation.
An example of a policy statement:
"The X-ample Museum will provide relevant and professional standards of preservation in order to care for the collection. The X-
ample Museum will endeavour to ensure preventive conservation is a high priority within the organisation and that unstable
artefacts are protected. It is the role of preventive conservation within the organisation to ensure the collection is cared for and
well maintained at all times, including during exhibition, loan, research, and storage."
Once the policy is defined, an organisation can determine how the aims of the policy will be achieved, ie how the organisation can
develop a strategy to achieve these aims.
Conservation strategy Each of the preventive conservation activities can be developed
into strategies that guide how the organisation will undertake
preventive conservation, ideally within a 12 month to five year planning timeframe.
The strategy needs to consider the following:
• What - identifying priorities, what has to happen first, what can
wait?
• When - establishing realistic schedules, when do these priorities need to be achieved?
• How - identifying resources, what is required to achieve these priorities?
For example, here are elements of a long-term policy strategy:
• To ensure display and storage environments meet recognised conservation standards.
• Nominate a dedicated person within the organisation to coordinate preventive conservation priorities.
• To maintain comprehensive and accessible documentation
through files and records.
• To ensure conservation quality methods and materials for all artefacts.
• To establish an annual conservation budget in order to
implement programs.
In order to define and achieve these strategies it will be necessary to survey the collection and its environment to identify priorities.
Survey
A survey will help to define the preservation priorities for the
organisation by examining and assessing environmental conditions, and the condition of the collection. Worksheets from a
collection survey can be used to establish a basic catalogue that is able to be cross-referenced with already existing information about
items in the collection.
A survey report should include:
• Environmental data via reliable recorded readings.
• Modifications to the built environment. The building condition and assessment of work required.
• Housekeeping practices including insect control and cleaning. • Assessment of the condition of artefacts, including storage and
display practices, establishing priorities in order of urgency.
Having identified the range of conservation priorities via the surveys, annual programs should be developed.
Once the environmental and physical needs of the collection are addressed in broad terms, specific strategies for individual
artefacts can be identified and prioritised, including interventive conservation, stabilisation and remedial treatment to rectify on-
going damage.
Annual programs
An annual program will enable the conservation aims to be achieved and monitored to ensure the satisfactory completion of
tasks.
Annual programs are developed in order to detail how, when, and at what cost, the priorities will be achieved. By documenting
annual programs that utilise effective and regular monitoring and evaluation methods, it will enable best use of resources and best
practices to be achieved.
Budget
Instigate a conservation budget, set aside an amount of money
annually, so that surveys, strategy plans, and the maintenance of
the collection can be assured, it should also allow for possible treatment of those objects requiring stabilisation.
Defining procedures To maintain museum standards and meet the aims of the
organisation, it is useful to develop procedures that guide museum workers in day-to-day tasks. Defined procedures provide a method
of achieving a task and ensure activities are carried out to recognised standards. A comprehensive procedures manual can be
developed to induct new workers and ensure information and preservation practices are kept current and relevant.
The following examples are among a number of procedures:
• thermohygrograph procedure • artefacts handling procedure
• integrated pest control procedure • flat textiles storing procedure.
Conservation management - checklist The establishment and implementation of policies, strategies,
plans and procedures will assist an organisation in continuing to realise its goals and consolidate its achievements, especially as
museum workers change within an organisation.
In order to preserve the collection it is important to establish why and how this is best achieved. Preparing a plan will enable the
development of methodical and cost-effective ways of caring for
and maintaining the collection for future generations.
Summary The overall outcome of a preventive conservation policy should be
to enable the financial and cultural value of the collection to be maintained as an asset for future generations. It is imperative that
high quality conservation expertise be engaged as collections are a non-renewable asset, and should be made safely accessible for
successive generations. Preventive conservation treatment in itself must contribute to the preservation process, not diminish the life
of the artefact through the use of inappropriate materials and
unsound techniques.
Sample annual program
Priority Schedule Resources
Leaking roof and
chimney Urgent
Builder - cost
estimate $10,000
High natural light
levels in Gallery 3 Urgent
Materials for
screening
Hole in painting in main gallery
Urgent - temporary
treatment, complete
treatment later
Condition reports - cost estimate,
conservator - $2,500
Publish Heritage
Walking Track 3 year
Research, word
processor, printing - $1,000
Refurbish
exhibition Room 1 to best
conservation standards
5 year Approx. $15,000
Sample checklist:
Policy
Defining the collection
• What is it?
• Who or what is it for?
Defining conservation
• How is it preserved?
Strategy
Achieving the policy
• Identifying resources • Identifying priorities
• Establishing schedules
Surveys
Collections
• Record documentation • Storage
• Environment
• Housekeeping
• Condition assessment • Display environment
• Conservation priorities
Annual programs
Delivering the strategy
• How? • When?
• What? • Annual assessments
Procedures
• Describing tasks to be achieved
Further information
Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM)
GPO Box 1638 Canberra ACT 2601
www.aiccm.org.au
Further reading
Ashley-Smith, J, Risk assessment for object conservation, Butterworth & Heinemann, London, 1998.
Gilroy, D and Godfrey, I (eds), Conservation and care of collections, Western Australian Museum, Perth, 1998.
Heritage Collections Council, Australia's heritage collections, national conservation and preservation policy and strategy,
Canberra, 1998. Heritage Collections Council, Be prepared, guidelines for small
museums for writing a disaster preparedness plan, Canberra,
2000. Available online Heritage Collections Council, Best practice guide for conservation
and preservation assessment planning, Volumes 1 & 2, Canberra, 1999. Available online
Heritage Collections Council, reCollections, caring for collections across Australia: Damage and decay; Caring for cultural material
1; Caring for cultural material 2, Canberra, 1998. Available online Ogden, Sherelyn, Preservation planning: guidelines for writing a
long-range plan, American Association of Museums/Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1998.
Debra Spoehr & Sharon Towns
Conservation Consultants
Conservatrix, 2001
Developing exhibitions Section 5: Exhibition development and touring
5.1 Developing an exhibition
Introduction Exhibitions are an effective way for museums to
communicate with the public. Whether big or small, every exhibition starts the same way: with an idea. And whatever the
idea, an exhibition develops through a series of steps to reach completion. Sound planning is essential as an exhibition involves a
number of parallel tasks demanding specific and varied expertise and usually a team of skilled people.
Exhibitions are the most visible expression of a museum or
gallery's ambitions. The public judge whether the institution is in
touch, interesting, communicative, friendly or in short, 'for them', on the basis of its displays. A good exhibition must excite and
inform. If there is engagement, learning can follow.
The exhibition is also the primary means that the museum or gallery uses to promote their mission to the visitor. The choice of
objects, exhibition themes, lighting, ambience and the information mix demonstrates the unique philosophy of the place. A good
exhibition takes this into account from the start and early research will flesh out the idea to accord with the profile of the institution.
Exhibitions might be designed to show off the collection, elaborate
on topics for which the institution is known or, alternatively, introduce the museum to new territory.
Research
Given that an exhibition is the museum's prime form of communication with its constituents, research is vital. Initial
research will assist in defining the idea and allow the curator to turn an idea into an exhibition proposal or brief. The curator might
consider what similar exhibitions have been held in the past, the literature on the topic, testing the idea through informal
discussion, or if this is a major exhibition or a permanent display,
consulting focus groups. The curator gathers information from all sources to build research files that ultimately fuel the story-line,
themes panels, object labels and overall content for the exhibition. Armed with background information, the curator can prepare an
exhibition brief to allow a decision by the institution's exhibition advisory group. Once the decision to proceed has been made,
research now takes on a more focussed aspect and the curator will:
• interview people associated with the project
• visit significant sites • identify and inspect objects for the display
• draw up a preliminary check list
• identify loans • catalogue objects needed in the display.
The curator of an exhibition may be one person or several people
working together. Occasionally the curator may work in partnership with a community as a facilitator for the ideas of the
group. It is more usual, however, for the curator to simply consult with a community as a form of research. Clearly it is vital to
understand the views and history of a community when the exhibition is designed to attract the attention of that target group.
Shaping the exhibition Approval for the exhibition brief also gives the exhibition its
defining parameters: the size of the exhibition space and number of works, budgets for construction, freight, marketing and
catalogue, opening and closing dates, status as a temporary or permanent or travelling display. This allows the curator to shape
the exhibition against a number of these constraints. It is also the moment that responsibility for the exhibition devolves to a team
rather than an individual.
An exhibition team has a portfolio of specialist skills and may
include, in addition to the curator, a registrar, designer, conservator, writer, editor, electricians, publicist, et al depending
on the scale of the project. While members of the team contribute individual expertise, staff input is required in all decision making.
Big or small, the success of the exhibition depends on team interaction and regular meetings are essential to ensure all
members are in communication with each other and equally, to monitor the progress of the exhibition.
In general, permanent exhibitions draw on the museum's collection and are intended to be on display for several years. The
duration of long-term displays tends to exclude loans and objects sensitive to environmental conditions - many objects, for example,
are light sensitive and conservators recommend limited exposure. Themes in permanent displays tend to be broad and perennial, to
maintain their relevance over a period of years and align directly with the museum's public profile.
Temporary exhibitions tend to have a sharper focus, covering a limited topic in detail. Such shows can include few or many loans
and take greater risks with subject matter and with the material
on display, as they are essentially ephemeral. Textiles and paper,
for example, are damaged by prolonged exposure to light and should only be included in temporary displays. Temporary
exhibitions are the ideal means to be topical and politically
sensitive or to show older material from a contemporary perspective.
When temporary exhibitions become travelling shows, it is
important to determine the size of each venue on the tour and adjust the number of exhibits in the touring component to match
the available space. This usually involves removing fragile items that do not travel well or incur high insurance costs, loans
available only for a short term and objects that only elaborate on the main themes of the exhibition.
Conservation considerations When developing an exhibition it is important to acknowledge
conservation standards from the very start.
The need to protect certain objects from extended display has been already discussed in the context of permanent or temporary
exhibitions. Just as important is ensuring that the light levels in
the exhibition area conform to conservation standards at any time. Light levels in an exhibition area should be regulated and the
design of the exhibition should take into account variable light sources such as windows.
Environmental monitoring is important to ensure humidity and
temperature remains within an acceptable range. The exhibition design must also accommodate the need to protect fragile objects
from being touched. Plinths, railings and showcases always take up much more room than expected. If the exhibition is to travel,
then each tour venue should provide a facilities report to provide
for a conservation perspective.
Design While an exhibition can consist of a group of unmediated objects,
interpretation of the display is customary. The curator is charged with presenting material as an intellectual design or conceit, to
argue a particular point, or tell a story or to highlight some aspect of the exhibition material to an audience.
There are different ways of organising and interpreting objects in an exhibition. An exhibition may be thematic and organised around
broad themes and sub-themes; taxonomic, displaying various classes of objects; or chronological, displaying objects in order
from the earliest to most recent. The curator uses the means best
suited to illuminate and explain the material in the exhibition.
When the object list is finalised the placement of the objects within the exhibition space can be considered.
One of the most creative partnerships in developing an exhibition
results from the dialogue between curator and designers. This is particularly important with permanent exhibitions but is an
important tool in shaping the 'look' of any display. The curator is responsible for pointing out the most significant objects and
stories in the exhibition so that they are given prominence in the
final exhibition design. The lighting, colours, spacing and sequence of objects in the display all support the curatorial arguments of the
exhibition.
Just as important is the need to ensure that the circulation within the exhibits permits an easy flow of visitors. Good exhibition
design protects the objects on display while allowing maximum access. The design must anticipate a build up of visitors when
positioning wall texts or interactive elements within the exhibition space, as people congregate at these points.
Information panels Information panels in an exhibition fall into two classes: wall texts
which provide broad information on the exhibition itself, a theme, a group of objects or a particular space in the exhibition; and
labels which name the individual objects in the exhibition. Labels should identify the exhibit using the conventions of the
museum. Some institutions prefer descriptive labels and others provide more basic information. Regardless of the house style, the
emphasis should be on clarity, consistency and conciseness. Extended labels also carry additional information to tell the reader
something further about the exhibit.
The point size of the wall and label text should be large enough to
be easily read and the label itself in proportion to the object it describes so that it does not dominate. A label should be
positioned adjacent to the object it addresses and wall texts placed to ensure that the visitor can navigate the display.
The colour and text fonts used in these information panels can be styled in sympathy with the idea behind the exhibition, taking care
not to overwhelm the display. While the design must identify with the content, the trade-off is always against the constraints of
budget, size of space and time.
Beyond the exhibition
The arrangement of display objects on the floor is only half the
exhibition. Public programs and a marketing campaign are needed
to attract and interest audiences. A catalogue can also broadcast the content of the exhibition beyond the venue.
Public programs are a way of extending the scope of an exhibition. They can be a simple guided tour through the display by the
curator, a series of lectures by experts in the field, workshops in related areas or programs by the community in response to the
exhibition. Some of these programs can be directly educational; others can be light-hearted. The point is to engage the public
through a variety of strategies. Public programs also give the exhibition a greater media profile.
It is pointless putting on a show without letting people know about it and a marketing campaign will publicise the exhibition. A press
release describing the aims and high points of the exhibition should be distributed to those most likely to spread the word -
newspapers and journals, television and radio outlets as well as critics and community groups. The aim is to garner the greatest
editorial comment in the media for as little outlay as possible. An exhibition budget, or sponsors, may allow for paid advertisements,
but this is not always possible. Traditionally, a prominent person opening the exhibition will attract an interested and influential
following, who in turn will recommend the display to others. Word-of-mouth is the best kind of advertising.
The exhibition is open, and all too often the exhibition team move on to other chores - people are exhausted and need a break; the
demands of the next exhibition are pressing - at the cost of neglecting the final part of the exhibition development process.
A post-mortem once the exhibition is open is a useful way of
reviewing the planning process and determining what worked and
what did not. This is the best time for the team to discuss how the process could be improved. It is also the opportunity to finish
outstanding jobs or to respond to feedback from the users of the exhibition.
An evaluation of the exhibition can be made within a few weeks of
opening. Comments might come from staff who worked on the project or from the visiting public. Observations might note
mistakes in the labels, or that texts were too obscure, or that pathways through the display are too narrow, etc. These
comments are intended to be helpful and should be noted.
Sometimes changes can be made in response to such advice; sometimes it is a matter of doing better next time. It is vital to
listen to those on the floor.
Further reading Barclay, R R (ed), Anatomy of an exhibition: the look of music,
International Institute for Conservation, Canadian Group,
Vancouver, 1983. Blunden, Jennifer, Powerhouse Museum label manual, Powerhouse
Publishing, Sydney, 1997. Bucaw, G Ellis, Introduction to museum work, AltaMira Press,
Walnut Press, California, 1997. Kennedy, Jeff, User friendly: hands on exhibitions that work,
Association of Science-Technology Centers, Washington, 1990. Lord, Barry and Dexter Lord, Gail (ed), Manual of museum
planning, 2nd ed, The Stationery Office, London, 1999.
Michael Desmond
Manager, Collection Development and Research Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2001
Developing exhibitions Section 5: Exhibition development and touring
5.1 Developing an exhibition
Introduction Exhibitions are an effective way for museums to
communicate with the public. Whether big or small, every exhibition starts the same way: with an idea. And whatever the
idea, an exhibition develops through a series of steps to reach completion. Sound planning is essential as an exhibition involves a
number of parallel tasks demanding specific and varied expertise and usually a team of skilled people.
Exhibitions are the most visible expression of a museum or
gallery's ambitions. The public judge whether the institution is in
touch, interesting, communicative, friendly or in short, 'for them', on the basis of its displays. A good exhibition must excite and
inform. If there is engagement, learning can follow.
The exhibition is also the primary means that the museum or gallery uses to promote their mission to the visitor. The choice of
objects, exhibition themes, lighting, ambience and the information mix demonstrates the unique philosophy of the place. A good
exhibition takes this into account from the start and early research will flesh out the idea to accord with the profile of the institution.
Exhibitions might be designed to show off the collection, elaborate
on topics for which the institution is known or, alternatively, introduce the museum to new territory.
Research
Given that an exhibition is the museum's prime form of communication with its constituents, research is vital. Initial
research will assist in defining the idea and allow the curator to turn an idea into an exhibition proposal or brief. The curator might
consider what similar exhibitions have been held in the past, the literature on the topic, testing the idea through informal
discussion, or if this is a major exhibition or a permanent display,
consulting focus groups. The curator gathers information from all sources to build research files that ultimately fuel the story-line,
themes panels, object labels and overall content for the exhibition. Armed with background information, the curator can prepare an
exhibition brief to allow a decision by the institution's exhibition advisory group. Once the decision to proceed has been made,
research now takes on a more focussed aspect and the curator will:
• interview people associated with the project
• visit significant sites • identify and inspect objects for the display
• draw up a preliminary check list
• identify loans • catalogue objects needed in the display.
The curator of an exhibition may be one person or several people
working together. Occasionally the curator may work in partnership with a community as a facilitator for the ideas of the
group. It is more usual, however, for the curator to simply consult with a community as a form of research. Clearly it is vital to
understand the views and history of a community when the exhibition is designed to attract the attention of that target group.
Shaping the exhibition Approval for the exhibition brief also gives the exhibition its
defining parameters: the size of the exhibition space and number of works, budgets for construction, freight, marketing and
catalogue, opening and closing dates, status as a temporary or permanent or travelling display. This allows the curator to shape
the exhibition against a number of these constraints. It is also the moment that responsibility for the exhibition devolves to a team
rather than an individual.
An exhibition team has a portfolio of specialist skills and may
include, in addition to the curator, a registrar, designer, conservator, writer, editor, electricians, publicist, et al depending
on the scale of the project. While members of the team contribute individual expertise, staff input is required in all decision making.
Big or small, the success of the exhibition depends on team interaction and regular meetings are essential to ensure all
members are in communication with each other and equally, to monitor the progress of the exhibition.
In general, permanent exhibitions draw on the museum's collection and are intended to be on display for several years. The
duration of long-term displays tends to exclude loans and objects sensitive to environmental conditions - many objects, for example,
are light sensitive and conservators recommend limited exposure. Themes in permanent displays tend to be broad and perennial, to
maintain their relevance over a period of years and align directly with the museum's public profile.
Temporary exhibitions tend to have a sharper focus, covering a limited topic in detail. Such shows can include few or many loans
and take greater risks with subject matter and with the material
on display, as they are essentially ephemeral. Textiles and paper,
for example, are damaged by prolonged exposure to light and should only be included in temporary displays. Temporary
exhibitions are the ideal means to be topical and politically
sensitive or to show older material from a contemporary perspective.
When temporary exhibitions become travelling shows, it is
important to determine the size of each venue on the tour and adjust the number of exhibits in the touring component to match
the available space. This usually involves removing fragile items that do not travel well or incur high insurance costs, loans
available only for a short term and objects that only elaborate on the main themes of the exhibition.
Conservation considerations When developing an exhibition it is important to acknowledge
conservation standards from the very start.
The need to protect certain objects from extended display has been already discussed in the context of permanent or temporary
exhibitions. Just as important is ensuring that the light levels in
the exhibition area conform to conservation standards at any time. Light levels in an exhibition area should be regulated and the
design of the exhibition should take into account variable light sources such as windows.
Environmental monitoring is important to ensure humidity and
temperature remains within an acceptable range. The exhibition design must also accommodate the need to protect fragile objects
from being touched. Plinths, railings and showcases always take up much more room than expected. If the exhibition is to travel,
then each tour venue should provide a facilities report to provide
for a conservation perspective.
Design While an exhibition can consist of a group of unmediated objects,
interpretation of the display is customary. The curator is charged with presenting material as an intellectual design or conceit, to
argue a particular point, or tell a story or to highlight some aspect of the exhibition material to an audience.
There are different ways of organising and interpreting objects in an exhibition. An exhibition may be thematic and organised around
broad themes and sub-themes; taxonomic, displaying various classes of objects; or chronological, displaying objects in order
from the earliest to most recent. The curator uses the means best
suited to illuminate and explain the material in the exhibition.
When the object list is finalised the placement of the objects within the exhibition space can be considered.
One of the most creative partnerships in developing an exhibition
results from the dialogue between curator and designers. This is particularly important with permanent exhibitions but is an
important tool in shaping the 'look' of any display. The curator is responsible for pointing out the most significant objects and
stories in the exhibition so that they are given prominence in the
final exhibition design. The lighting, colours, spacing and sequence of objects in the display all support the curatorial arguments of the
exhibition.
Just as important is the need to ensure that the circulation within the exhibits permits an easy flow of visitors. Good exhibition
design protects the objects on display while allowing maximum access. The design must anticipate a build up of visitors when
positioning wall texts or interactive elements within the exhibition space, as people congregate at these points.
Information panels Information panels in an exhibition fall into two classes: wall texts
which provide broad information on the exhibition itself, a theme, a group of objects or a particular space in the exhibition; and
labels which name the individual objects in the exhibition. Labels should identify the exhibit using the conventions of the
museum. Some institutions prefer descriptive labels and others provide more basic information. Regardless of the house style, the
emphasis should be on clarity, consistency and conciseness. Extended labels also carry additional information to tell the reader
something further about the exhibit.
The point size of the wall and label text should be large enough to
be easily read and the label itself in proportion to the object it describes so that it does not dominate. A label should be
positioned adjacent to the object it addresses and wall texts placed to ensure that the visitor can navigate the display.
The colour and text fonts used in these information panels can be styled in sympathy with the idea behind the exhibition, taking care
not to overwhelm the display. While the design must identify with the content, the trade-off is always against the constraints of
budget, size of space and time.
Beyond the exhibition
The arrangement of display objects on the floor is only half the
exhibition. Public programs and a marketing campaign are needed
to attract and interest audiences. A catalogue can also broadcast the content of the exhibition beyond the venue.
Public programs are a way of extending the scope of an exhibition. They can be a simple guided tour through the display by the
curator, a series of lectures by experts in the field, workshops in related areas or programs by the community in response to the
exhibition. Some of these programs can be directly educational; others can be light-hearted. The point is to engage the public
through a variety of strategies. Public programs also give the exhibition a greater media profile.
It is pointless putting on a show without letting people know about it and a marketing campaign will publicise the exhibition. A press
release describing the aims and high points of the exhibition should be distributed to those most likely to spread the word -
newspapers and journals, television and radio outlets as well as critics and community groups. The aim is to garner the greatest
editorial comment in the media for as little outlay as possible. An exhibition budget, or sponsors, may allow for paid advertisements,
but this is not always possible. Traditionally, a prominent person opening the exhibition will attract an interested and influential
following, who in turn will recommend the display to others. Word-of-mouth is the best kind of advertising.
The exhibition is open, and all too often the exhibition team move on to other chores - people are exhausted and need a break; the
demands of the next exhibition are pressing - at the cost of neglecting the final part of the exhibition development process.
A post-mortem once the exhibition is open is a useful way of
reviewing the planning process and determining what worked and
what did not. This is the best time for the team to discuss how the process could be improved. It is also the opportunity to finish
outstanding jobs or to respond to feedback from the users of the exhibition.
An evaluation of the exhibition can be made within a few weeks of
opening. Comments might come from staff who worked on the project or from the visiting public. Observations might note
mistakes in the labels, or that texts were too obscure, or that pathways through the display are too narrow, etc. These
comments are intended to be helpful and should be noted.
Sometimes changes can be made in response to such advice; sometimes it is a matter of doing better next time. It is vital to
listen to those on the floor.
Further reading Barclay, R R (ed), Anatomy of an exhibition: the look of music,
International Institute for Conservation, Canadian Group,
Vancouver, 1983. Blunden, Jennifer, Powerhouse Museum label manual, Powerhouse
Publishing, Sydney, 1997. Bucaw, G Ellis, Introduction to museum work, AltaMira Press,
Walnut Press, California, 1997. Kennedy, Jeff, User friendly: hands on exhibitions that work,
Association of Science-Technology Centers, Washington, 1990. Lord, Barry and Dexter Lord, Gail (ed), Manual of museum
planning, 2nd ed, The Stationery Office, London, 1999.
Michael Desmond
Manager, Collection Development and Research Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2001
The role of public programs Section 6: Education and public programs
6.1 The role of public programs
Introduction Public programs are the main ways in which
museums and galleries communicate with their public. Public programs include exhibitions; interpretive activities such as tours,
talks, workshops or demonstrations; education programs; school holiday programs; outreach/community programs; open days;
performances and theatre; conferences and seminars.
A framework for public programs A museum's approach to public pro-grams is usually shaped by its
corporate plan. This defines the mission and philosophy of the
museum and outlines the content areas and approaches the museum may take. A consideration of the museum's mission and
the interests, expectations and needs of audiences, as identified through market research and evaluation, is needed in planning
and implementing all public programs.
A useful way of approaching this is to develop a public program plan. This defines content areas and caters for a range of
audiences using a variety of interpretive styles. Every public pro-gram should have clearly defined objectives. All decisions about
the content and strategies used in a particular public program
should be made with the objectives in mind.
Audiences Every public program, whether it is an exhibition, a talk series or a
schools program, should have a clearly defined target audience. This is important for planning and promotion purposes. Audiences
can be defined in a number of ways - demographically (age, gender, location, profession etc), psychographically (values and
lifestyle pattern categories) or by orientation of visit (family group, school group, adults etc). The most commonly used information
for public program planning is that of orientation of visit. This
information can be gathered through ticket sales, exit surveys etc. When the audiences for each public program have been defined, it
is then important to assess the needs and interests of each of the audience groups, and ensure that the planned program takes
these into account.
Interpretation Every public program is an interpretive tool. Exhibitions, school
programs, performances etc, are all interpretations of the
messages the museum wishes to communicate. Interpretation places information in a context which makes it accessible. It aims
to reveal meaning and relationships rather than simply to convey
factual information.
Museums can employ a variety of interpretive strategies in exhibition and program design. The most common is 'presentation'
which includes static displays, text panels, objects, graphics, models, robotics, videos and some mechanical interactives etc.
This strategy involves the presentation of information to visitors in an expert-to-novice relationship, but does not allow for visitors to
have much involvement in the information exchange.
'Problem-solving' strategies are also used widely. These include
interactives such as computer games, and activity-based units such as 'hands-in boxes', puppet play or touch specimens.
Interactivity involves a dialogue between the visitor and the exhibit, where the act of participation communicates the message.
Visitors involved in interactive exhibits have a series of choices and can manipulate the outcomes. Activity-based units, by
contrast, involve a 'hands-on' approach with more open-ended outcomes.
Another valuable strategy is that of a 'structured experience' where free-choice opportunities such as walk through
environments, dress-ups, book corners etc, are provided to cater for visitors, particularly young children, to more freely explore.
Interpretive strategies should also consider the age, gender, social
composition, cultural background, language and mobility of audience groups.
The most important factor in developing public programs is to provide a a range of interpretive strategies to cater for diverse
audiences. In doing this the different ways people learn and their diverse needs and behaviours can be considered. Through a range
of interpretive strategies museums can assist visitors to experience new learning situations by creating a context that
extends their current boundaries.
Evaluation
Evaluation is an integral part of all public programs. It is important to continually assess a public program, throughout its planning,
development and implementation, against its set objectives. Evaluation can help assess specific areas such as finding out
whether visitors understand the message of the program,
improving the quality of visitor experiences, attracting visitors,
becoming more cost effective and providing a basis for planning new public programs.
Summary Public programs are the links between a museum and its
audiences. The effectiveness of each public program relies on a clearly defined purpose and an understanding of the target
audiences, combined with the appropriate use of a range of interpretive strategies. The success of the program also depends
on all staff involved in its development and implementation having an understanding of these elements.
Carolyn MacLulich Head (Acting), Division of Education
Australian Museum, 1994 Reviewed 2001
An introduction to audience
research Section 7. Evaluation and audience research
7.1 An introduction to audience
research
What is audience research?
Research is the careful, systematic investigation of something in
order to further our knowledge and understanding of it. The aim of research is to test hypotheses or discover facts or principles that
explain how things work or why things happen.
In museums and galleries, audience research is the term used to describe studies that help us understand our audiences. Audience
research assists us to answer questions such as 'who is visiting?', 'why do they visit?', and 'what do they do during their visit?'.
Research and evaluation have a lot in common and often use the same methods to generate data. However, research is focused on
discovering new facts or principles that can be generalised from one situation to another, whereas evaluation provides feedback on
the merit or worth of something specific.
Which audiences are researched? Museums and galleries generally research two types of audience -
their actual audience, and their potential audience.
As its name implies, the actual audience is the group of people
who actually go to a museum or gallery - its visitors.
The potential audience, on the other hand, consists of all the people who could ostensibly visit the museum or gallery. It
includes those people who already visit, as well as non-visitors.
Why do audience research?
There are lots of good reasons for conducting audience research.
Firstly, audience research helps you understand who your visitors are. By knowing who visits your museum or gallery and what they
do during their visit, you are able to make informed decisions
about the exhibitions, facilities and services you provide as well as other services you could offer.
Another reason is for audience development. Audience research
can help you find out what motivates people to attend your
museum or gallery, as well as any barriers (real or perceived) that may prevent others from attending. This information can enable
you to market your site more effectively, winning over members of
your potential audience with an appropriate 'hook', and attracting your current visitor base to return more often.
Increasingly, accountability is being demanded of many publicly-
funded museums and galleries, and the results of audience research can be used to demonstrate whether or not your
institution is visited by a wide cross-section of the community. This research can also uncover whether certain sections of the
community are unable to access your museum or gallery because of structural barriers that prevent their participation.
Audience research also enables institutions to monitor how well they are performing. Visitors can be asked how satisfied they are
with the exhibitions, services and facilities provided by a museum or gallery. If satisfaction levels fall, it could indicate that there's a
problem that requires addressing. Similarly, suppliers (such as caterers) may be required to meet agreed standards of customer
service and satisfaction as part of their contract with a museum or gallery. The results of audience research can provide information
on whether these standards are being met.
Types of audience research studies
The reasons that drive an institution to conduct audience research will dictate the type of study that is done. The most common
audience research studies include:
Visitor studies Visitor studies can provide a museum or gallery with a profile of its
actual audience. They can provide information such as who your
visitors are, where they come from, how they travel to your museum or gallery, how often they visit, who they visit with, why
they visit, what they do during their visit, their level of satisfaction with various aspects of their visit, and even whether they visit
other galleries or museums during their leisure time.
Visitor studies are often conducted as one-off or 'cross-sectional' studies, to provide a snapshot view of the visitors at a particular
point in time. However, these snapshots may not always present the entire picture, especially when museums and galleries are
affected by seasonal fluctuations in visitation. For example, it is
likely that different types of visitors will attend during school term times as opposed to school holidays. Similarly, if your region hosts
an annual festival or event such as Canberra's 'Floriade', then you
may find that you attract a different sort of visitor at that time. To
overcome the limitations of one-off studies, it is possible to conduct visitor studies over longer periods of time (such as a 12-
month period); this enables a museum or gallery to build a more
accurate picture of its visitor base and of visiting patterns. Studies that take place over a length of time are called 'longitudinal'
studies. Longitudinal studies are ideally suited for monitoring a museum or gallery's performance.
Segmentation studies
Segmentation studies are a specific type of audience research that have their origins in marketing. Segmentation studies are based
on the premise that audiences differ from one another, have different motivations and attitudes, and follow different patterns of
behaviour.
By grouping audiences into segments that share similar attitudes
and behave in similar ways, a museum or gallery is better able to understand what people seek from their visit. This allows
museums and galleries to develop exhibitions, products or services that closely match with what individual segments require.
Segmentation studies also enable museums and galleries to market their products more effectively to different segments, and
therefore to build a stronger competitive position.
Segmentation studies are complex, costly, and time-consuming, and require significant technical expertise to undertake
successfully.
Barrier analyses
Studies which seek to determine who doesn't visit museums and galleries, and why, are known as barrier analyses. Barrier analyses
aim to uncover any real or perceived barriers that may prevent people from attending a museum or gallery, and to recommend
ways in which potential audiences can be converted into actual visitors.
Because barrier analyses focus on potential audiences rather than
actual visitors, they require methodologies that can be
implemented off-site. One such method is a telephone survey using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), although
these can be costly to commission. A less expensive alternative is to place your questions in an omnibus survey. These are surveys
conducted by market research firms where several different clients ask their questions of the same sample of people. They are
conducted regularly in capital cities and regional areas across
Australia, and are priced on a cost-per-question basis.
Visitor counts Visitor counts allow museums and galleries to monitor visitation to
specific exhibitions or areas. Visitor counts can be done manually with a clicker or counter, or more sophisticated techniques such as
infra-red beams can be used. Visitor counts enable museum staff to determine the proportion of total visitors that sees a particular
display, peak visitation times, and even the number of parking spaces that are needed to meet demand on a busy day.
Planning for audience research If you are thinking about conducting audience research, the first
and most important thing you should do is develop a plan. This plan should outline clearly your reasons for conducting research,
what you want to find out, and how the results will be used. It should also outline how you will conduct the research - that is, the
methodologies you will use.
Audience research projects often use large-sample, quantitative methodologies, because these methods allow researchers to
generalise the results back to the population as a whole. However,
qualitative techniques are also used to explore in-depth the attitudes, motivations, and opinions of audiences.
The most commonly-used quantitative methodology is the
questionnaire, either administered by an interviewer or completed by the respondents themselves. In museums and galleries,
questionnaires are often conducted as exit surveys; this enables respondents to comment on their experiences and perceptions of
their visit. Unfortunately, exit surveys can be time- consuming for both the
people being surveyed, and from an administrative point of view.
Also, they may consistently under-represent certain visitors such as those with limited English, and this can result in skewed
profiles. To some extent, the collection of 'refusals data' (basic information about visitors who decline to take part in a visitor
study) enables you to check whether a representative sample has been obtained, and to identify whether particular segments of an
audience have not been included in the survey.
How many people should you survey? Ideally, your sample should be large enough so that it is a miniature version of the population
from which it is drawn. It should also be small enough so that it
can be managed in terms of administration and cost. Unless you survey everyone in your audience, there will always be some
variation in your sample. However, for research purposes, a
sample of 400 people will provide a fairly accurate picture of your
audience in most instances. If you want to increase your level of accuracy, measure small differences, or study certain segments of
your audience, you may need to increase the sample size.
emember though, the way you select your sample is more
important than how large it is. A random sample, in which everyone in the audience has an equal chance of being selected, is
the best sample for obtaining reliable and accurate results.
When planning your audience research, you should also consider
the type of information you need to collect. There are two broad types of information: objective measures, which are based on
facts, and subjective measures, which are based on attitudes and opinions.
Objective measures include:
• Demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, place of residence, cultural and language background, household
composition, and life-cycle stage. • Socioeconomic characteristics, such as level of education,
occupation, and income. • Participation data, such as whether they are a first-time or
repeat visitor to your museum or gallery, frequency of attendance, number of companions during the visit and their
relationship to them, and tourist data such as their reason for visiting the region, days in the region, and the type of
accommodation in which they are staying.
Objective measures are fairly easy to obtain so they often form
the mainstay of audience research. However, objective measures fail to tell you why people visit. Even though people may share the
same demographic or socioeconomic characteristics, they may be motivated by very different needs and wants, and behave in very
different ways. This is where subjective measures come in to play.
Subjective measures include:
• Personality characteristics, such as attitudes, values, interests,
and motivations, including the intended purpose for visiting a museum or gallery and the perceived benefits, cost, and value
of a visit. • Lifestyle characteristics, such as activities and behaviour
undertaken in work and leisure-time; opinions about politics, the environment, and social and moral issues; and perceptions
of one's place in the world, including family and societal roles,
interactions with others, goals, and aspirations.
Subjective measures are collectively known as psychographics. They tend to be much more difficult and time-consuming to collect
than objective measures. They are essential in segmentation studies.
It is unlikely that a researcher would attempt to collect all of these
measures in any one study. Instead, the reasons for conducting audience research - as outlined in your plan - would determine the
type of data that is gathered and the particular questions that are
asked.
Conclusion Audience research offers many benefits to museums and galleries.
Armed with greater understanding of who does and doesn't visit, museums and galleries are better positioned to develop new
exhibitions, programs, services, and facilities; to market these more effectively; to attract new and returning visitors; to monitor
on-going performance; and to demonstrate accountability. As such, audience research is a wise investment, and should form
part of every museum and gallery's business.
Further reading Close, Helen & Donovan, Robert, Who's my market? A guide to
researching audiences and visitors in the arts, Australia Council, 1998. Available http://www.ozco.gov.au/resources/publications
Fink, A, How to sample in surveys, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 1995.
Hood, M G, 'Audience research tells us why visitors come to museums - and why they don't', in Scott, C (ed), Towards 2000:
papers of the evaluation and visitor research in museums
conference, Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 1995, pp 3-10. Hood, M G, 'Getting started in Audience Research', Museum news,
February 1986, pp 25-31. Hooley, G J and Saunders, J, Competitive positioning: the key to
market success, Prentice Hall, New York, 1993. McManus, P, 'Towards understanding the needs of museum
visitors' in Lord, G D and Lord B (ed), Manual of museum planning, HMSO, London, 1991.
Meehan, C, 'Museums and consultants in audience assessment', in Scott, C (ed) Towards 2000: papers of the evaluation and visitor
research in museums conference, Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 1995, pp 23-30.
Miles, R S, 'Museum audiences', The international journal of museum management and curatorship, Volume 5, 1986, pp 73-80.
Miles, R S et al, The design of educational exhibits, Allen and
Unwin, London, 1982. Savage, G and James, J, A practical guide to evaluating natural
and cultural heritage interpretation, Flinders University Adelaide,
2001. Scott, C, 'Mapping the terrain: evaluation and visitor research in
museums', Museum national, August 1995, pp 7-10.
Linda Ferguson Audience Advocate and Evaluator
Australian War Memorial, 2001
Cultural diversity: an
introduction Section 8. Cultural diversity
8.1 Cultural diversity: an introduction
Introduction These days many museums are looking for ways to
increase links to their local communities. This includes attracting more young people, more family groups, more school groups,
more people from every cultural background represented in the community, more tourists and so on.
Museums are asking how they can:
• bring in more visitors
• increase friends and supporters • expand funding sources.
One of the starting points in a planning process is to consider how
relevant your collection, and the way it is displayed, is for many in the local community. In some cases we may need to change our
museums so that a wider group of people feels welcome, as if the museum is about their lives, experiences and interests. From
tourists visiting our communities we hear that they want to visit museums to see what is distinctive about a local community's
experience; to learn about the history of the Indigenous people of
the area and about the people who have settled there.
We know that opportunities to work with the diversity of our local communities will broaden the base of support for our museums
and that collaborative projects with culturally diverse communities will increase the range of possible funding sources for our
museum, heritage and artistic projects. Many of us, however, have questions about just how to go about working with particular
cultural groups. We hear the phrase cultural protocols and are perhaps not entirely sure what it means to work within the cultural
protocols of particular communities.
Addressing cultural diversity
A starting point could be to conduct a study of your collection and public programs, your audience, staffing - paid and unpaid,
supporters and sponsors. Ask yourself who and what are included? Who and what are left out? How representative is your museum of
the local community? What gaps can you find?
Start talking before it is too late
Museums will be confronted with issues of inclusion sooner or later, so rather than wait for such confrontation, encourage
discussion about joint projects now. But be prepared to be patient
and allow the community involved to take its time to develop its own way forward, don't rush people into following your deadlines.
Advantages to museums
Cultural diversity in museums can:
• broaden the audience base of the museum and attract more
visitors • broaden the support base of the museum and attract more
people as volunteers, friends, supporters and sponsors • strengthen and diversify the objects and oral history collected
and conserved by the museum • build and diversify the pool of skills, knowledge and experience
on which the museum draws for its public programs • build links with school curricula and increase use by student
groups • attract tourists and increase regional economic opportunities by
creating experiences and products that uniquely reflect the diversity of the region
• increase the available funding sources for which museums are eligible.
Advantages to the community The community also benefits from a museum's active interest in
their story. Cultural diversity can:
• increase pride in a community's culture and heritage through access to artefacts and documents
• increase access to training and skills to research and document
family and community history • develop a sense that the museum is for them and that they
have access to all of its activities • maintain children's knowledge and appreciation of their own
cultural identity • maintain knowledge of traditions brought from immigrant
cultures • attract tourists and increase regional economic opportunities by
creating experiences and products that uniquely reflect the diversity of the region
• increase the available funding sources for which communities are eligible.
Cross-cultural communication
Even more important than developing your knowledge of other
cultures is developing an awareness about culture and its influence on how we behave and communicate and to practise cross-cultural
communication skills. Not everyone in your local area will share
the same cultural background or the same values, beliefs, perceptions and communication styles.
To be successful in communicating across or between cultures you
need to:
• know what culture(s) you belong to
• be aware that cultural differences do exist and that your preferred values and ways of being, seeing, doing and
communicating are influenced by culture and are not necessarily 'right'
• remember when you judge another culture you are probably using your own culture's standards to do so, when investigating
another culture don't base your questions on your own culture • accept that, although goodwill and tolerance provide a
reasonable start, they are not enough. Look for the knowledge, awareness and skill needed to improve intercultural
communication • don't make the mistake of thinking your culture is more
complex than others, or that the people in your culture are diverse individuals, whereas the people in other cultures are
indistinguishable from one another
• be realistic, realise that like all interpersonal matters, intercultural communication can be enjoyable, frustrating,
puzzling, rewarding, irritating, fruitful, difficult and fascinating • when communication goes awry, don't blame the people
involved. Look for the problem - usually a language hitch, a difference in communication style, or a difference in values and
expectations • be sensitive to verbal and non-verbal behaviour.
You may need to practice skills so you are able to:
• avoid miscommunication which is due to cultural factors • recognise when miscommunication could be due to cultural
factors • repair miscommunication which may be due to cultural factors.
(From Kerry O'Sullivan, see Further reading.)
Summary
The diversity of the local community is a positive resource. Forging links between a museum and its local communities has many on-
going advantages for museums. Developing new relationships may
not always be easy or go smoothly, but they will ultimately be
very rewarding.
Further information
National Directory of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Organisations
Ethnic Affairs directories for each state and territory Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
There is a list of contacts in Museums Australia (Inc) A plain English guide to previous possessions, new obligations: policies for
museums in Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 1996.
Organisations listed in Cross-cultural communication - a national resource guide, DEET, AGPS, 1992.
Further reading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols for libraries,
archives and information services, http://www.ntu.edu.au/library, Deakin, Australian Library and Information Resource Network.
Australia Council, Arts in a multi-cultural Australia: Australia Council policy on arts in a multicultural Australia, Sydney, 2000.
Available http://www.ozco.gov.au/resources Australia Council and Powerhouse Museum, Open up! Guidelines
for cultural diversity visitor studies, Sydney, 1996. Australian Government Publishing Service, Cross-cultural
communication - a national resource guide, 1992.
Bennett, Tony, Trotter, Robin and McAlear, Donna, 'Museums and citizenships: a resource book', Memoirs of the Queensland
Museum, vol 39, part 1, 1996. Birtley, Margaret and McQueen, Patricia (eds), New responsibilities
documenting multicultural Australia, MAA Vic and Library Council of Victoria, 1989.
Corrin, Lisa G (ed), Mining the museum: an installation by Fred Wilson, The New Press, The Contemporary, Baltimore, 1994.
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Addressing the key issues for reconciliation, AGPS, 1993.
Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, The art of fair play, cross-cultural communication and awareness for the arts resource
manual, Brisbane, 1994. Fischer, Darryl, Museums, trustees and communities: building
reciprocal relationships, American Association of Museums, 1997.
Grogan, David, and Mercer, Colin, The cultural planning handbook: an essential Australian guide, Arts Queensland, 1995.
Heritage Collections Council, re-Collections, caring for collections across Australia: Caring for cultural material 2, Canberra, 1998.
Available online Karp, Ivan, Mullen Kreamer, Christine and Lavin, Steven D (eds),
Museums and communities: the politics of public culture,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1992. Mellor, Doreen and Janke, Terri, Valuing art, respecting culture:
protocols for working with Australian Indigenous artists, National
Association for the Visual Arts, Sydney, 2001. Migration Museum, Cultural diversity at the Migration Museum,
Adelaide, 1996. Migration Museum, The forum - a community access gallery, an
invitation to community groups and organisations, Adelaide, 1996. Migration Museum, The forum - a community access gallery,
welcome to the forum, Adelaide, 1996. Museums Australia (Inc), Museums and cultural diversity draft
policy, June 1997. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts policy of the
Australia Council, Australia Council, Sydney, 1998. National Museum of Australia, 'Creating heritage partnerships',
Creating Heritage Partnerships, National Museum of Australia conference papers, 21-23 August 1995, Canberra.
O'Sullivan, Kerry, Understanding ways communicating between
cultures, Hale & Iremonger, Sydney, 1994. Powerhouse Museum and the Yiu Ming Society, Yiu Ming Temple
Precinct Alexandria Sydney, A conservation report on its architecture and objects, 1996.
South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Commonwealth Office of Multicultural Affairs, Department of
the Prime Minister & Cabinet, Adelaide, Community relations resource kit.
Szekeres,Viv, 'Myths, meaning and minefields: the construction of reality at the Migration Museum', in Identity, icons and artefacts,
Museums Australia conference papers, Fremantle, 1994. Vytrhlik, Jana, 'Cultural diversity: new challenges for museums
(part 2)', Museums and communities: rhetoric or real stuff, Museums Australia (NSW) State Conference papers, 1994.
Wall, Colleen, 'Protocols: are they important?', Cultural linkages,
Regional Galleries Association of Queensland conference papers, 1995.
Museums Australia (NSW) and Museums Australia (Qld), 1998
Updated 2001
This sheet is based on Museums Australia Inc (Qld), Taking the
time, museums, galleries, cultural protocols and communities; a resource guide, 1998. Available online
Museums Australia (Qld)
L3, 381 Brunswick St Fortitude Valley Qld 4006
Phone (07) 3215 0840
http://www.maq.org.au
Curating archaeological
collections Section 9. Archaeological collections
9.1 Curating archaeological collections
Introduction This information sheet outlines the appropriate care
for archaeological material in a small museum collection. It discusses what archaeological material is, the best ways in which it
can be documented and interpreted, and the effects of legislation.
What is an archaeological collection? Archaeology is the study of people through their material remains.
An archaeological collection consists of artefacts which are related
to each other and to the history of the particular site where they were found.
In Australia, archaeology has three major focuses: prehistoric
archaeology, which focuses on the sites and material which documents the pre-history of Aboriginal people; historical
archaeology (generally post 1788), which examines material produced after the introduction of written records; and maritime
archaeology, which includes all underwater cultural remains, whether historic or prehistoric.
This information sheet concentrates on the curation of historical and maritime archaeological collections. Material from these sites
can include domestic, industrial and maritime relics, such as bottles, old machinery and material from shipwrecks. These
objects are studied together with other types of historical evidence, such as documents, maps and pictures, to build up our
understanding of how people lived in the past.
Collecting archaeological material in the field is illegal without a
permit from the relevant government authorities, and may only be undertaken by people who have expertise in this area.
Acquisition
As with all museum objects, archaeological material should only be acquired into a museum collection in accordance with a carefully
planned collection policy. Archaeological collections are labour intensive, as interpretation requires a lot of research and they also
need high-quality display and storage conditions. In addition,
archaeological collections often require expensive conservation
work to ensure that they will last for future generations. This is
especially so with objects from a marine environment - leather, wood and metals which have been submerged in salt water may
take years of specialised treatment to stabilise. It is, however,
important that the public get access to archaeological materials - so museums in local areas are the place best for them.
Archaeological collections play an important role in research,
recording a 'slice' of time. It is important to keep all the material collected from a site together. It may be tempting to keep only the
pretty or interesting things, but the mundane, broken objects found with them can reveal important information. Even 'rubbish'
can tell a lot about the day-to-day aspects of life in the past. And who knows when the things we throw out as rubbish could prove
to be of interest?
It is important to be selective when acquiring archaeological
material. Establishing a collection policy which defines the boundaries of your collection will help. For example, a collection
could be limited to archaeological material from the local district, or even from just one site within that district.
Documentation An object is only as interesting as the information which explains
it, so you will need to document the collection extensively. When acquiring archaeological material it is important that it be
accompanied by as much supporting material as possible.
If the museum is fortunate enough to be offered a collection of material that has been excavated by professional archaeologists,
the objects will be accompanied by detailed notes on where the material was found, what the site looked like and where the
objects were positioned in relation to each other. To ensure that
this relationship is not lost, it is essential that the artefacts and their documentation are not separated. This information will add
greatly to the interpretive potential of the collection, as will any reports which summarise the findings of the dig.
If your museum does not have the resources to care for a
collection offered to you, seek expert advice to locate another repository for the material. The best source of such advice is your
state Heritage Office. If a repository cannot be found, you may consider documenting the material by photographing and
describing it. This will ensure that the information offered by the
collection is preserved for future researchers, even if it is not feasible to keep the material. Disposal of collections is only
allowed with written permission from the Heritage Office.
Be cautious about accepting archaeological objects from someone
who does not know the history of an item. Without a history or 'provenance' an object will need extensive research and unless it is
a very unusual specimen, it will be useless for archaeological
purposes. It probably also means that the objects were illegally obtained. Lack of provenance is a good reason to refuse an object
for your collection.
Interpretation Archaeology can contribute greatly to our understanding of
Australian history. For many people, objects bring history to life more effectively than the written word.
Archaeological material also provides factual information about the past which is not recorded in documentary sources. Archaeological
objects can provide technical information about how objects were made and how they worked. They can add detail to our
understanding of the fabric of past lives and can even bring to light inaccuracies in documentary records.
However, archaeological material does need careful interpretation.
While the objects are interesting, their significance can be difficult
to understand after many years of burial or submersion. Through well interpreted exhibitions, museums can use archaeological
material to complement and illustrate other kinds of historical evidence.
Archaeological collections can help to interpret the history of the
changing uses of particular sites. The history syllabus in high schools requires students to study a local site of historical
significance. Information from archaeological collections can be particularly useful to these studies.
Interpreting objects is not difficult but does take a lot of time and thought. Objects can be interpreted through labels, pictures, oral
history, even videos. Using objects to tell stories makes communicating with your visitors easier. Remember that a story
has a beginning, a middle and an end. A large introduction or 'theme' label can be used to introduce the major idea underlying a
display, and smaller 'story' labels can highlight objects of particular interest.
There are many ways to interpret archaeological material. Signage can be used at the archaeological site to explain the story of that
site. Some of the archaeological evidence can be conserved and interpreted where it was found, ie, in situ. An entire collection of
archaeological objects can be used to tell the story of the historical
archaeology of a district, or a single archaeological object can be
used in any exhibition to illustrate a particular point. The possibilities are endless.
Legislation covering archaeological material Because of the significance of historical archaeological material,
state and commonwealth governments have enacted legislation to protect it.
At a national level, archaeological material is covered by the Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act (1986), and the
Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).
hese acts protect archaeological material with particular aesthetic,
historic, scientific or social value. The Historic Shipwrecks Act provides specific protection for archaeological material from
shipwrecks over 75 years old.
Material connected with a site which is on the Register of the National Estate is protected by the Commonwealth under the
Australian Heritage Commission Act (1975).
In NSW, the Heritage Act (1977) protects archaeological sites,
including submerged sites, from being disturbed or altered without an excavation permit issued by the Heritage Council of NSW.
Aboriginal archaeological sites and material are protected by the
Common-wealth through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (1984-89) and at a state level by the NSW
National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974). There are many issues
involved in dealing with Aboriginal material in museum collections. Museums with archaeological material relating to Aboriginal sites
should contact their state museums to discuss how best to curate such material.
Summary
All museums with archaeological material should be aware that the material is considered to be a significant element of the cultural
heritage of the nation. The material should be treated with due care, as museums are the custodians of this material for future
generations.
Suppliers
See Museums Australia Inc website for up-to-date information on suppliers:
http://www.museumsaustralia.org.au
Further information
Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material
GPO Box 1638
Canberra ACT 2601 http://www.aiccm.org.au
Museums Australia Inc Phone (02) 6208 5044
http://www.museumsaustralia.org.au
Museums & Galleries Foundation of NSW Phone 02 9358 1760
http://www.mgfnsw.org.au
Australian Museum
Phone (02) 9320 6311 http://www.austmus.gov.au
Powerhouse Museum
Phone (02) 9217 0111
http://www.phm.gov.au
Australian National Maritime Museum Phone (02) 92987 3777
http://www.anmn.gov.au
Further reading
Heritage Victoria, Archaeological artefacts management guidelines, 2001.
Colin MacGregor
AICCM for NSW Department of Planning, 1994
Updated 2001
Domestic technology:
approaches to research and
interpretation Section 10: Interpretation and research
10.1 Domestic technology: approaches
to research and interpretation
Introduction Many regional and state museums have rich collections of
domestic technology that can be valuable sources of information about the history of our towns, regions and indeed, countries. This
information sheet looks at approaches to the research and interpretation of domestic technology in Australia and suggests
possible source materials.
What is domestic technology? Over the past 200 years work in the home has increasingly come
to be seen as women's unpaid work. This was not always the case.
In pre-industrial societies and in rural communities, both men and women worked in the home and contributed to unpaid and paid
work. Women had the primary responsibility for childrearing, food preparation, cleaning and washing but men often had some role in
these tasks, just as women contributed to cash labour. Women have always used tools in carrying out their domestic work.
Two factors make domestic technology in the 19th century
particularly interesting. Men were increasingly working outside the home for wages and as a result the home became seen solely as
the place of women's unpaid labour. At the same time innovations
in the technologies of sewing, washing, food preparation, cooking and cleaning brought machinery (and with it a range of new
goods) into the home. Many of these new things were treasured by their owners and passed from one generation to the next,
ending up in our public collections.
Researching domestic technology Objects such as washboards, sewing machines, Mrs Potts' irons
and cast-iron cooking stoves have a rich history, and an understanding of their social and economic significance can add
enormously to the interest of a display. Domestic technology can
be approached in a number of ways. Much has been written about the objects, the history of their manufacture and their significance
to women's work.
General histories Ruth Schwartz Cowan is generally credited with insisting that
domestic technology was as interesting and as worthy of study as the technology of mining or agriculture. In More work for
mother[1] she argues that the home was as much a site of the industrial revolution as the cotton mill, and was subject to the
same pressures to become efficient, rational and time and labour saving. However, unlike the factory, where time saving became a
major criteria for a technology's success, the introduction of machinery into the home had little impact on the amount of work
done, though it did effect the approach taken.
Susan Strasser in Never done [2] argues that it was not machines
that made the difference to housework but utilities, such as gas, running water, sewerage and, most recently, electricity.
Both Schwartz Cowan and Strasser are writing about
developments in America, however their analysis can readily be applied to Australian conditions. Not only were the experiences
often the same - managing in new settlements remote from major
cities for example - but the multinational nature of manufacturing from the late 19th century meant that many of the products were
as well. Thus Singer were selling their sewing machines in Bathurst and Broken Hill as well as San Francisco and New York.
Two major studies have been published about domestic technology
in Britain and again these are useful for an understanding of the context of the objects. However, both take a rather 'heroic' view of
technology, seeing it as one advance after another, rather than attempting to discover why some new technologies were
successful and others not. Nonetheless Caroline Davidson's A
woman's work is never done [3] and Christina Hardyment's From mangle to microwave [4] provide good descriptions of work
processes and histories of particular technologies.
Unfortunately, there is no good general work on domestic technology in Australia. Beverley Kingston's My wife, my daughter
and poor Mary Ann [5] provides a very general history with little analysis of particular technologies or their impact. Kerreen Reiger's
The disenchantment of the home [6] is a useful study of the impact of new ideas about scientific management on the home,
and has excellent chapters about childrearing and motherhood.
The best analysis of the uneven distribution of domestic technologies and their impact on the Australian housewife is Ruth
Barton's study of domestic technology in Western Australia from
1900 to 1950. [7]
Specific histories Much has been published about the histories of particular domestic
technologies. Among the best are those produced in the Shire Album series. Published in England, these modest little books
provide very good descriptions of major appliances and of work processes, with over a hundred titles in the series.
Food preparation, cooking
David J Eveleigh, Firegrates and kitchen ranges (Ayelsbury: Shire
Publications, 1983). This is a good, simple introduction to the subject.
David J Eveleigh, Old cooking utensils (Ayelsbury: Shire Publications, 1986).
Rachel Field, Irons in the fire: a history of cooking equipment (Marl-borough: Crowood Press, 1984).
Hugh D Roberts, Downhearth to bar grate (Avebury: Wiltshire Folk Life Society, 1981).
Priscilla Brewer, 'We have got a very good cooking stove: advertising, design and consumer response to the cookstove,
1815-1880', Winterthur Portfolio, 25 (1) (Spring 1990). Though hard to get, this has some marvellous quotes from users of
cooking stoves and provides excellent information on the advertising and distribution methods of stove manufacturers.
Michael Symons, One continuous picnic: a history of eating in
Australia (Adelaide: Duck Press, 1982). The best work on this subject.
Robin Walker, From scarcity to surfeit: a history of food and nutrition in New South Wales (Sydney: University of New South
Wales Press, 1988). An excellent analysis of changing dietary habits.
Sewing machines and sewing
Grace Rogers Cooper, The invention of the sewing machine (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1977). This is very
good for American-made sewing machines and includes date
charts for some registration numbers of machines. F Brian Jewell, Veteran sewing machines: a collector's guide
(London: David & Charles, 1975). Carol Head, Old sewing machines (Ayelsbury: Shire Publications,
1982). Marion Fletcher, Costume in Australia 1788-1901 (Melbourne:
Oxford University Press, 1984). A good introduction to the history of clothing.
Diane Douglas, 'The machine in the parlour: a dialectical analysis of the sewing machine', Journal of American Culture 5 (1)(Spring
1982). Worth asking your library to get since it is the only work
that takes a social history approach.
Washing machines, mangles, irons and laundry work
Pamela Sambrook, Laundry bygones (Haverfordwest: Shire Publications, 1984).
Brian Jewell, Smoothing irons: a history and collector's guide (Des Moines: WH Books, 1977). A good introduction to the subject.
Judy Politzer, Early Tuesday morning: more little irons and trivets (San Francisco: Stone Press, 1986). Useful for dating American-
made irons.
Gadgets
Jacqueline Fearn, Domestic bygones (Aylesbury: Shire Publications, 1977). A history of all sorts of domestic curiosities.
Shar Jones, Let there be light: the development of domestic lighting in New South Wales 1788-1904 (Glebe: Historic Houses
Trust, 1984). Rebecca Weaver & Rodney Dale, Machines in the home (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1992). C A Meadows, The Victorian ironmonger (Ayelsbury: Shire Publi-
cations, 1978). In the 19th-century domestic appliances were sold in hardware stores, or ironmongers as they were then called.
Contemporary sources The purpose of researching objects is to be able to present them
so that they capture the imagination of the visitor. To do this successfully it is not necessary to be an expert on a subject but
rather to know just enough to make it interesting. An extract from a letter or diary, or quote from an oral history interview, may be
far more valuable as an interpretative tool than all the facts available.
Take for example the sewing machine. These are in most collections and their very familiarity can make them rather
uninteresting. However if in the labels we say something about their popularity, try to explain why this was so, display some of
the 'fashionable' clothing made on the machines and provide a quote from a contemporary source, we have turned a rather dull
collection of machines into a story about technology. For instance Rachel Henning's letter after having seen a sewing machine in
operation at a neighbour's:
[Mrs Ranken] showed us her sewing machine, which they have
just set up. Amy is wild to have one, and they are now on sale at Bathurst, but 10 pounds is a good deal of money.[8]
Or the comments of a woman inter-viewed about her family
sewing machine 120 years later. Penny Peel recollects that her grandmother, who was born in Queensland in 1929, had a Singer
treadle:
She had been given it when she was young ... The machine was a
sacred object in the home, and even the repair man worked under supervision. It gave her financial independence. She could earn
with it, and it was her money ... She said, 'When I go, it's yours.' It went to her daughter when she lived there, and it's still in my
Aunt's hall ... When she goes, I'll take it on unless she gives it to me before. [9]
Research materials like these are called primary sources and can be broken down into a number of different types.
Letters and diaries
Letters and diaries can be found in the local library. They provide a rich resource for the history of family life and work in the home. A
number of excellent published collections of women's writing also provide 'quotable quotes'. Lucy Frost's No place for a nervous lady
[10] is particularly good for experiences of bush life in 19th-
century Australia.
Other collections which have particularly lively descriptions of women's daily life and work are:
David Adams (ed), The letters of Rachel Henning (Melbourne: Pen-guin Books, 1963). Rachel Henning lived in Sydney, Bathurst, far
north Queensland and later the north coast of New South Wales in the 1860s and '70s and provides amusing commentary on all she
sees and does. Anabella Boswell's journal (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1987).
Dating from the 1830s and '40s Anabella Boswell writes of growing
up in Sydney, Parramatta and Lake Innes. Joseph Elliott, Our home in Australia: a description of cottage life
in 1860 (Sydney: The Flannel Flower Press, 1984). Joseph Elliott writes a detailed description of his family home providing a rare
example of the material culture of Australian domestic life. Eugenie McNeil, A bunyip close behind me: recollections of the 90s
(Melbourne: Hawthorn Press, 1972). Heather Ashford (ed), The Diary of Evelyn Barwick (Scone: Scone
and Upper Hunter Historical Society, 1988). This is unusual in being the diary of a woman who was a maid in the Scone area.
Dale Spender, The Penguin anthology of Australian women's writing (Ringwood: Penguin Books, 1988).
Domestic guides and cookbooks
Australia has a rich history of cookbooks and domestic guides.
These provide marvellous descriptions of how particular chores were to be done, what tools were best and how women were
supposed to organise their work.
The first cookbook published in the colonies was Edward Abbott's
The English and Australian cookery book (1864). Though dedicated to the 'ladies of the "Sunny South"', it was written for the elite end
of the market and provided little practical advice for the colonial cook. Far more useful were books published by women, beginning
in 1878 with Mrs Lance (Wilhelmina) Rawson's, Cookery book and household hints. A rush of cookbooks followed and many local
history collections will have at least one or two from the period.[11]
Mrs Lance (Wilhelmina) Rawson, Cookery book and household
hints (Rockhampton: William Hopkins, 1886). Mrs Rawson lived as a young married woman in far north-west Queensland. All her
books are particularly good for suggestions as to how to 'make do' with available materials and to prepare meals from 'bush tucker'.
Mrs Lance Rawson, The antipodean cookery book and kitchen companion (Melbourne: George Robertson & Co, 1895).
Mrs Lance Rawson, Refer to me for everything: Australian enquiry book of household and general information (Melbourne: Pater &
Knapton, 1895). Mrs Lance Rawson, Australian cook and laundry book (Melbourne:
J W Knapton & Co, 1897). Mrs Harriet Wicken, The Kingswood cookery book (Melbourne:
George Robertson & Co, 1888). Mrs Wicken arrived in Sydney in 1891 to be the first lecturer in Domestic Economy at the
Technological College in Ultimo. She takes a more formal approach
than Mrs Rawson but is no less prolific. Mrs Harriet Wicken, The Australian home: a handbook of domestic
economy (Sydney: Edwards, Dunlop & Co, 1891). 'An old housekeeper', Men and how to manage them (Melbourne:
A H Massina & Co, 1885). The anonymous author of these works takes an amusing and practical look at the problems confronting
the contemporary housewife. 'An old housekeeper', Australian plain cookery (Melbourne: A H
Massina & Co, 1891). Philip E Muskett, The art of living in Australia (Kenthurst:
Kangaroo Press, 1987, first published 1897).
Trade catalogues and other advertising material
A third valuable primary source is material put out by manufacturers and retailers. This includes the manuals that came
with machines, catalogues sent out by manufacturers and retailers and any advertising material included in journals and newspapers.
Virtually every country town had at least one newspaper in the
19th century and there are a number of journals that carried relevant material. Castner's Rural Australian began publication in
1876 and often had useful articles about managing the dairy,
housekeeping and other domestic matters. Australasian ironmonger was a trade journal that started in 1886 and most
issues include a feature on domestic appliances.
Oral history Finally, the best information can often be collected at the time the
object is donated to the museum. Ask donors and visitors for memories of the objects, how they worked, what importance they
had and whether or not they made any difference to the work itself.
Louise Douglas & Ruth Thompson, Oral history: a handbook (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1988). For guidance on how to collect
oral history. Diane Bell, Generations: grand-mothers, mothers and daughters
(Melbourne: McPhee Gribble/Pen-guin Books, 1987). A very good example of the way oral sources can be used to interpret women's
lives and work.
What is interpretation?
Interpretation is any material used to give meaning to an object. Traditional museum displays often arrange objects in neat rows
with minimal support material. This is fine for the visitor who already knows a lot about an object, however for those who don't,
the resulting display will be uninformative and possibly dull. A successful museum display tells a story imaginatively. To do this
there must first be a story to tell. Sometimes the object itself will be enough, at other times support material - such as photographs,
contemporary catalogues or advertising material, even receipts - will enhance the object and attract the interest of the visitor.
Methods of interpretation Before looking at how to interpret objects, first decide on an
approach. Is it to be a display of like objects, or of objects as part of a work process, or as part of the home?
The marvellous thing about domestic technology is that the
objects are com-monly found in museum collections and are open to an enormous range of interpretations. It is not possible to
provide detailed suggestions here, but the following display ideas
for two common museum objects may give some idea of their potential.
Sewing machines
These often form the staple of local museum collections since they are frequently passed from mother to daughter. Some ways to
approach their display are:
• Homemade and making-do - the history of making clothes and
household linen at home. Support materials would depend on the age of the machine(s) to be displayed but could include
women's magazines with features on fashion, paper dress-patterns, examples of home-made clothes from the same
period as the machines, other haberdashery objects related to sewing, people being interviewed about making and wearing
homemade clothes. • The travelling salesman - the success of sewing machines as a
new domestic technology was closely related to the way they
were sold. Stories of local travelling salesmen, material from the pubs they stayed in, photographs, sewing machine
catalogues and advertising material could all be used. • The machine in the parlour - the sewing machine as a piece of
furniture and the role it had in the home. This might include photographs, manuals, examples of sewing machines that had
been converted into tables and desks.
Irons Mrs Potts' irons, flat irons, early electric irons, kerosene irons and
fluting irons all form an important part of many museum
collections. l The iron and the local iron industry. Some irons were locally
made, but most were imported. If relevant to the collection, tell the story of the relationship between locally made and imported
manufactures.
• 'Lilywhite and clean'. The development of the iron was closely linked to the spread of the fashion for starched white linen for
the household and for personal clothing. Material from the museum's collection of whitewear could be displayed with the
irons, together with guides to laundry work and instructions on
how to wash and iron clothes. The display could also include materials that have now disappeared from laundries, such as
blue bags and starch. • Laundering in the bush. Irons could be displayed together with
the general domestic technology of laundering. The display could look at the particular challenges of washing in the bush,
such as shortage of water, and dust. Photographs, extracts from oral history or diaries, domestic guides, 'hands-on' tubs
and washboards could all be used as support materials.
Summary Imagination is the only limit to the interpretation of domestic
technology. As Mrs Wicken advised her readers, 'Nil desperandum!
Never despair!'
Footnotes
1. Ruth Schwartz Cowan, More work for mother: the ironies of household technology from the open hearth to the microwave
(New York: Basic Books, 1983). 2. Susan Strasser, Never done: a history of American housework
(New York: Pantheon Books, 1982). 3. Caroline Davidson, A woman's work is never done: a history of
house-work in the British Isles 1650-1950 (London: Chatto &
Windus, 1983). 4. Christina Hardyment, From mangle to microwave: the
mechanisation of household work (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988). 5. Beverley Kingston, My wife, my daughter and poor Mary Ann:
women and work in Australia (Melbourne: Nelson, 1975). 6. Kerreen Reiger, The disenchantment of the home: modernizing
the Australian family 1880-1940 (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1985).
7. Ruth Barton, 'Household technology in Western Australia 1900-1950', Oral History Association of Australia Journal, No 7 (1985),
pp 108-129. 8. Rachel Henning to her sister Etta, 10 September 1861 in David
Adams (ed), The letters of Rachel Henning (Melbourne: Penguin Books, 1963), p 76.
9. Diane Bell, Generations: grand-mothers, mothers and
daughters (Melbourne: McPhee Gribble/Penguin Books, 1987), p 74.
10. Lucy Frost, No place for a nervous lady: voices from the Australian bush (Fitzroy: McPhee Gribble, 1984).
11. If you are trying to date a cookbook in your collection Bette Austin's A bibliography of Australian cookery books published prior
to 1941 (Melbourne: RMIT, 1987) provides a very comprehensive list.
Kimberley Webber
Senior Curator, Social History
Powerhouse Museum, 1994 Reviewed 2001
An introduction to information
technology Section 11: Information Technology
11.1 An introduction to information
technology
Brief history of the personal computer
The first home computers began to appear in the 1970s. They
were chiefly of interest to hobbyists. In most cases they did not work together, and it was very difficult to move information from
one computer to another. There were no common standards and normally one computer type could not read any file created on
another type.
In the early 1980s IBM released the first personal computer, or PC, which eventually dominated the industry, and set the pattern
for the bulk of today's personal computers. At the same time, Microsoft appeared, and over time has set a de facto standard for
all common programs for PCs. Finally, PCs have become
progressively more powerful, and at the same time they have become progressively cheaper.
This combination of common hardware and software standards,
increasing power and decreasing price, means that now, 25 years after the start of the PC revolution, the technology has reached a
point where it is not only useful enough, but cheap enough for the average small museum or gallery to consider acquiring.
This sheet is intended as only the briefest introduction to the possibilities that Information Technology present to a small
museum or gallery. In the space available, I can do little more
than say "Did you know it can do this for you?" and briefly suggest what hardware and software you should consider. The latter
information will probably be out-of-date by the time this article is printed.
Word processing
Probably the first and most familiar use of a computer in a museum is word processing - using the computer as an electronic
typewriter. People who have never touched a computer are comfortable with a typewriter, and this can serve as a relatively
painless introduction to the field.
Unlike a typewriter, a computer can store standard letters, or
standard paragraphs that can be quickly assembled into complete
letters. It can store lists of names and addresses and add them to blank letters in the appropriate positions. In theory, a computer
allows a skilled user to deal with their museum's correspondence
needs in about one fifth of the time. In practice, you do five times the work in the same time, so you are five times more effective.
A word processor can also be used to prepare professional
appearing object and display labels, especially if it is linked to a collections database where information such as object names and
donor names are already stored.
Spreadsheets
Most people who have ever worked in an office have encountered the ledger book, or the cash receipts book. A spreadsheet is an
electronic cashbook, but it is so much more. A spreadsheet can keep running totals, calculate formulas automatically, print
financial reports and make forecasts about the future effects of present trends. It can take all this information and present it
graphically so you can see at a glance where costs are blowing out and what activities are returning the most money. It is the
bookkeeper's best friend.
Databases
Collection databases Every museum has a collection. Every collection has some sort of
system for finding out what you have, where you put it, who gave it to you, what the story of the object is, and all the other
information associated with an object. Previously this information was kept in register books and on index cards. However,
collections of any size are starting to shift over to computer-based records because searching for particular information on the
computer is much, much faster than looking through paperwork. In addition, the database can automatically produce neat lists or
object record sheets, sorted and ordered to your request. There are at least three Australian designed and supported products for
managing small museum collections available. There are also
similar products available from overseas. For more information on collection databases, see Museum methods sheet 'Systems for
collection management'.
Bodies that make grants of money to museums are starting to require a certain level of accountability and record keeping in
return for the grants. Introduction of a computer-based collection management system will, in most cases, greatly assist in
preparing that information, so long as the museum keeps the records on the computer reasonably complete and up-to-date.
The disadvantage of databases is that their successful use requires
a commitment to them from everybody. Unlike a word processor, which leaves the option of just using the typewriter, databases are
an all or nothing project. It is not practical to run a manual record
system and a computer database together. This means that everyone concerned with record keeping has to understand at
least enough about the database to do their job.
Membership databases Museums, galleries and historical societies, like any other group,
have to keep records of membership, renewal dates, names and addresses, and so on. They frequently need to do mailings, either
to a few members at a time or to the whole membership. A member database combined with a word processor that supports
form letters can massively speed up and simplify such tasks.
Contacts databases
Museums keep track of useful people. They keep track of other museums and historical societies. They keep track of retailers of
useful and hard-to-get materials. Usually, this is done in a 'Where-is-it?' book by the phone. However, putting that information into a
database means that it can be easily copied, printed and updated. This is a function of computers that most people dismiss as trivial
until they have used it awhile, then they would hate to do without it.
Desktop publishing Desktop publishing is nothing new. Thirty years ago people
assembled flyers, newsletters and small books with a typewriter and a mimeograph machine. However, if you have a computer and
a decent printer you can now produce printed documents of a quality almost indistinguishable from that of a professional
publisher or printshop. As well as the normal things like letters, a small museum with a desktop publishing set up can produce fancy
and eye-catching flyers, display guides and illustrated catalogues. As the master copies of the documents live in the computer it is
very, very easy to update and correct the information before
reprinting.
A word processor is also a good tool for doing small labels for objects. If you wish to do large explanatory labels, posters or
anything that involves mixing pictures, symbols and text, a desktop publishing program is the better tool for the job. The
difference between a good display and a bad one will often be demonstrated by the clarity and appearance of labels, captions
and information boards.
Email is a boon to the isolated. Postal mail (commonly called snail mail by email users) is relatively cheap, but slow. Telephone calls
are fast, but calling STD gets expensive, and you can only talk to
one person at a time. Fax machines are good, but can only send information on paper, and you frequently have to re-type it before
you can use it.
Email allows you to send a message to anyone who has email, anywhere in the world, for a cost usually less than a stamp. It will
be delivered very quickly, usually within five minutes, although it may take a while for the receiver to get around to reading it. The
same message can be sent to a hundred people as easily as to one, and for the same cost as to one. You automatically keep a
copy of what you sent, stamped with the time and date you sent
it. You can also send and receive any type of computer file by attaching it to an email message. This means that it is possible to
send pictures, account spreadsheets, the sound of your voice or anything else that can be put into a computer.
The low cost of email and its ability to send to many users at once
have made possible one of the most useful resources for any museum - museum oriented mailing lists. A mailing list is a free
service one subscribes to, run by interest groups. A message sent to a mailing list is automatically re-sent immediately to everyone
who is a member of the list. Any of them can reply, either to the
list as a whole or privately to the person who sent the original message. Tens of thousands of mailing lists exist, on every
conceivable subject. Some of these are dedicated to museum related matters - curation, conservation, grants, staff vacancies
and help wanted, and so on. The ability to post a sticky question to the list and ask for advice, and to receive, within 24 hours,
replies from a dozen people all around the world who have dealt with the same problem is a pearl beyond price for those running
small museums. It means that you can get experienced advice from professionals in minimum time and at minimum cost. The
classic examples are the Australian Museums Forum, and the Museum-L mailing list.
Unlike most other things you can do with a computer, email access usually costs money every month. If it does not come with your
computer, you need to purchase a modem (at about $150) and subscribe to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), who usually
charges a monthly fee for the connection - much like the phone service. No extra cables or plugs in the wall are needed. The
modem plugs into the telephone lines.
People in cities and large towns usually have a choice of several
ISPs and the prices can vary significantly. However, everyone with a phone has access to Telstra, which is also an ISP, (under the
name of BigPond.) They offer a variety of connection plans ranging
from very cheap, so long as you don't use the service much, up to quite expensive but you can stay connected permanently.
Considering that it takes about 1 minute to collect your mail, about the same amount of time to send your replies, and that you
can hang up while you actually do your reading and writing, simple email can cost as little as $5 a month. However, most users
quickly find that they stay connected for longer than that (see Internet, below). Most ISPs offer monthly rates of around $30,
with service conditions that make the plans attractive to individuals and small groups.
Internet Beyond email is the Internet. In concept, the Internet is very
simple. In practice it has a complexity and richness that makes it the greatest single resource available to any museum or gallery
anywhere.
Here is how the theory works. You start with one computer. On it is all your data and all your programs. All your printers, modems,
scanners and so on are plugged into this one computer.
A slightly larger organisation may have a couple of computers. It
is possible to connect them so that each computer can get files from the others, and so that any computer can use any printer or
other device plugged into any other computer. This is called a network.
It is also possible to connect networks. All the information on
every computer in every interconnected network is now potentially
available to any user at any computer anywhere. Standard protocols ensure that most people can only see data intended for
the public, and stop users in Estonia or Belfast from accidentally using your printer instead of their own.
This, in essence, is the Internet. It is not one network. It is
thousands and thousands of small, medium and large computer networks, all around the globe, all connected.
What do you find on the Internet of interest to a small museum or gallery? Practically anything. Great museums and art galleries
have taken pictures of their collections and displays. They then put the information into their computers, and put the computer on the
Internet so that anyone can see what they have. Professional
groups like conservators and registrars put information in the
Internet on collections care and maintenance. Dealers advertise material for sale. Conservation suppliers have on-line catalogues
and price lists. Police warn of recently stolen art objects that may
be offered for sale.
A small museum or gallery, for relatively little cost, can rent space on a large Internet-connected computer. They can advertise their
existence and their collections. They can place information and pictures of their collections and make the information freely
available to a worldwide audience. A presence on the Internet is a presence on the world stage.
In Australia it is even easier. Australian Museums On Line and Australian University Museums On Line are projects that hope to
eventually put the entire collections of every museum in Australia on the Internet. They will host the information about your museum
and your collections free of charge.
Hardware requirements Hardware standards for computers constantly change, so what
follows is necessarily general and subject to frequent revision.
As a rough guide, you should expect to spend about $2000 for
your basic computer system. That seems to be the one figure that is pretty constant. However, what you get for your money is
constantly improving, and will change almost every week. That $2000 should buy you your computer, your monitor, keyboard,
mouse, etc, together with basic software. Expect to pay extra for a decent printer, a scanner, a modem, a backup storage system, a
digital camera and so on. A brand new computer with all the bells and whistles you are ever likely to need or want will probably cost
about $3500. A digital camera is an additional cost, with models
now available for under $100 up to several thousand dollars.
I would try to give you some specific details about what hardware you should buy, but it would be obsolete by the time you read
this. In fact, it will be obsolete by the time I finish writing this. The best advice I can give you is to fix your budget clearly in mind,
identify the tasks you want to perform, and talk to a knowledgeable and reputable merchant. As a quick hint, make it
clear that you don't want to play games, watch movies or listen to music on your computer. You want a business machine, not a
home entertainment machine. That can save you $1000 right
there.
You will need a printer. Today your options are a small laser
printer or an inkjet printer. The laser is to be preferred, because it
is faster, although slightly more expensive. If speed is not a problem, an inkjet is just fine. Beware, though, of buying a very
cheap printer ($100-$200). Many manufacturers make very cheap,
very good low cost printers, but they charge like a wounded bull for ink refill cartridges. You may find that a refill costs half as
much as a new printer. Remember to price not only the hardware, but the consumables as well.
If you wish to work with pictures and attach images to your
documents, or send images by email, you will need a scanner. It is a device rather like a photocopier, but instead of a copy on paper,
the copy is a computer file. Reasonable quality scanners that will handle photographs and standard documents are available for
about $200. Some scanners will also make good images from
photographic slides. Expect to pay somewhat more for these, but if your photo collection is slide-based the extra expense is worth it.
Finally, consider the speed the machine scans at. Cheap scanners
may make good images, but they are slow, taking up to 30 seconds per photo. If you only use the machine occasionally, this
is not a problem. If you wish to scan a photo collection of many hundred or many thousand items, however, you don't want to
grow old waiting for the scanner to recycle.
The importance of good backup
The single greatest weakness of computers is that, unlike paper-based records, they are horribly susceptible to electrical and
magnetic accidents that can garble the data or erase it in toto. You must always assume that the next time you turn on the computer
it may not work. You must keep a copy, or several copies, somewhere off the computer, and preferably somewhere
geographically distant. (It does no good to have backup copies at the office if the building burns down.)
At the moment there are several reliable backup options. They include tape drives and removable hard disks such as Iomega's Zip
and Jazz drives. There are also companies that offer to backup
your data over the Internet, for a monthly fee. However, the best current option, in my opinion, is a recordable CD-ROM drive. They
are relatively cheap to buy, the disks they use are cheap and hold a large amount of data, and the information is stored optically,
rather than magnetically. This last means that magnets, to which most other systems I have mentioned are very vulnerable, will not
erase a CD disk.
In the final analysis it doesn't matter what backup system you adopt. What is important is that you have one, and that you use it
routinely and frequently.
Don't neglect the oldest and simplest, as well as the most reliable backup method of all. Printouts on paper of critical information
such as your collection registers and membership lists may never
be used, but if you need to, you can physically re-enter all data line by line. Just the thought of having to do so, however, should
be enough to make sure you do not neglect making adequate backup tapes.
Last, but definitely not least, you will need a modem if you plan to
use email or the Internet. Any new computer should have a modem as part of the package, and a modem can be added to any
old one. Make sure that you get the fastest modem available. All modems are slow, but some are less slow than others. Pay for
speed. It's worth it.
Software requirements
A computer is nothing without software. Firstly you need an operating system. This normally comes pre-installed with the
computer, and is the set of instructions that enable the computer to find files, run other programs and so on. It is the essential
foundation of your software.
For IBM type computers, Microsoft Windows is usually pre-installed
as the operating system. There are other operating systems available, most notably Linux. Unless you are comfortable and
confident with computers you would be best advised to stick with Windows. Windows comes in several varieties at present - 98,
2000, ME, NT, and XP will be released by the time you read this. I cannot tell you which one to get, because it will vary with time,
place and circumstances. If you have found a good merchant, take their advice.
You then need a word processor, a spreadsheet, a database, and all the other programs that make a computer actually useful. The
easiest way to get them is to buy a software suite, or a package deal of applications. Best known and most popular is Microsoft
Office, which includes the Word word processor, the Excel spreadsheet, the Access database, the Outlook email and calendar
program and the Internet Explorer web browser, as well as various minor additional applications. This is practically the world standard
software package, and you can't really go wrong with it.
Also available as an alternative to the Microsoft products is the
Lotus Smartsuite, which includes programs of similar power and function, but which is far less commonly used.
The primary use of a database in a museum is collections control -
computerised records of what you hold and where you stored it. You have a choice here. You can take your database and build a
collection management application exactly the way you think it
should be. However, to do that, you have to be confident in the use of databases. The usual path is to buy a collection
management package already set up to control a museum collection. There are several of these packages available in the
$500 to $1500 ranges, including three developed for Australian museums (see Museum methods sheet 'Systems for collection
management').
The Apple option Apple computers are the single biggest competitor to the
IBM/Microsoft combination of hardware and software. Their
computers and software are renowned for being simple to set up and operate, and the various programs available are as capable as
any available for the PC. However, a museum should think hard before adopting Apple as their system. For historical reasons (the
early high cost of Apple computers as compared with PCs) most museums seem to be using IBM/Microsoft. Consequently most mu-
seum specific programs such as collections databases seem to be only written for PCs. Prospective Apple purchasers should look
hard at what they want to do with a computer and what software is available to do it with. In today's world any machine that cannot
run standard PC software is at a disadvantage when compared to those that can.
Training requirements Computers are often presented by marketing people as household
appliances, as easy to use as a toaster or washing machine. This is a lie. Using a computer takes learning and practice. Having said
that, it isn't all that hard to learn. Using a computer effectively takes about as long to learn as it takes to learn to drive a car
effectively. You need some instruction and a lot of practice.
Probably the best way for the average user to get started is to sign
up for introductory computer courses at TAFE, or at similar institutions. This is inexpensive and gets you off to a good start.
Unfortunately, many of us don't live conveniently close to a TAFE college, or have other things to do with our time.
There is a thriving market in 'teach yourself computing' books.
Some of them, most notably the 'Dummies' and 'Idiots' guides are written clearly, simply and with a rich and constant sense of
humour. It is fairly easy to sit in front of a computer and work through these books, and you will learn relatively painlessly.
However, you have to have the computer first.
Finally, there are programs available that will actually use the computer to teach you. With titles like 'Teach Yourself Microsoft
Word' the program introduces you to the features of the computer and the software, presents you with sample problems, prompts
you when you get stuck and corrects you if you push the wrong button.
However, don't make the common mistake of thinking that
learning can replace practice. Most people who are competent with
computers got that way through owning one and learning at home. It is like everything else you have ever done - practice (and a lot
of cursing) makes perfect.
Glossary Application - an application is a program that tells another
program how to do a particular job. For example, a database can be used to keep records for everything from ambulances to zoos.
A museum collections application will tell that database how to run a museum collection, and give it copies of standard forms, reports
and so on. One can write an application oneself, or purchase a
pre-written application. Backup - the process of making a copy of the information in a
computer so that, when the computer breaks down the data is not lost as well. Failure to backup regularly is sure to result in eventual
disaster. CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory. Computer CDs hold
software instead of music, but are otherwise identical to music CDs. Most programs are supplied on CD-ROM disks. A recent
innovation has been CD-W or CD-RW. The first of these, CD Writeable, allows one to copy information to a blank CD, although
the information cannot then be erased. CD-RW, or CD Rewriteable, allows a user to copy information to a CD, and to erase the CD and
use it again. Blank CD-RW disks are several times more expensive than blank CD-R disks. Both these devices are excellent for
backup.
Database - essentially, a program that allows you to save, sort, and retrieve information in a fashion similar to a card index.
Download - to bring information from another computer through the Internet and onto your own computer. 'Upload' is the opposite
process. Email - the sending of written messages and attached files from
computer to computer over the Internet. File - a set of specific information stored in a computer. The
information can be data that has been entered, or the instructions that tell the computer how to manipulate the data.
Form letter - a standard letter with identical information sent to
many different people, personalised by the computer inserting different names and addresses on each copy.
Hard drive, also hard disk - the place where your computer can
put information to one side so that it is available when it needs it. If your computer were a person working at a desk, the hard disk
would be the shelves, drawers and filing cabinets. Hard disk space is measured in gigabytes, or Gb. Currently, 20 Gb is considered as
an average size to start with. Some hard drives use removable disks, such as Iomega's Zip and Jazz drives, or Imation's
SuperDisk. These are frequently added to computers for easy backup of files.
IBM, International Business Machines - though they did not invent the PC, their pattern has become the most common version of it.
Information technology - strictly, the use of any tool to store, manipulate and/or transmit information. It includes telephones,
printing presses and Indian smoke signals, but is usually used to refer to the use of computers and their peripherals.
ISP, Internet Service Provider - the organisation that your modem
phones to get onto the Internet. You usually pay by the month. Microsoft - the software company that produces most of the
popular common programs for IBM PCs and clones. Modem - the peripheral that allows your computer to plug into the
phone lines, and from there to the Internet. May be inside the computer, or separate and plugged in the back.
PC - common abbreviation for personal computer. In this article it refers specifically to IBM pattern computers.
Printer (inkjet) - printer that sprays liquid ink onto the paper to form letters. Usually somewhat cheaper than laser printers, but
slower. Printer (laser) -printer that uses a laser beam to melt powdered
toner, which is then sprayed onto the paper before it cools. Generally considered the best printers available, short of
expensive professional graphics printers.
Processor - the 'brains' of the computer. The faster it is the more powerful it is. Speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigaherz
(GHz), 1000 MHz = 1 GHz. The higher the number the better. For example, a 200 MHz processor is twice as fast as a 100 MHz one.
If your computer were a person working at a desk, the processor would be the person themself.
RAM (Random Access Memory) - roughly speaking, the amount of information your computer can handle at once. More RAM makes a
faster computer. If your computer were a person working at a desk, the RAM would be the amount of workspace they have on
the desk. RAM is measured in megabytes, or Mb. Scanner - a device the size of a small desktop copier that takes a
picture of a page of text or a photo and converts the image to an
electronic file for use in a computer.
Spreadsheet - a standard accounting tool that lets your computer function as an electronic ledger.
Subscribe (for email mailing lists) - to add ones name to the
distribution list so that one receives a copy of every message sent to the list address. Unlike subscribing to a magazine, subscribing
to a list is free of charge. Suite - a set of various applications such as a word processor, a
spreadsheet and a database that are usually designed to work together, but can work separately. Do not confuse a suite of
separate programs (like Microsoft Office) with one program designed to do several jobs (like Microsoft Works.) The latter is a
toy by comparison and is not suited for serious work. Tape drive - device that copies information onto tape cassettes for
backup storage. The cassettes are not normal audiocassettes but special computer specific tapes.
Usenet - one of the biggest and oldest parts of the Internet. Usenet is full of special interest groups ranging from flower
arrangers to footballers. By subscribing to a newsgroup of interest,
you may see every message posted to the group, and post replies of your own. A very similar system called Bitnet works slightly
differently, but does the same job. Windows - Microsoft's family of operating systems, which are
under continual development and which see frequent new releases of new versions.
Word processor Essentially a program that lets your computer function as an electronic typewriter.
WWW (World Wide Web) - presently the most popular part of the Internet, the WWW consists of millions of 'pages' put up by
individuals, companies, and anyone else. The pages can contain anything from family photos to essential public information.
Information is found through programs called 'search engines' which look for keywords.
Further information Australian Museums and Galleries OnLine (AMOL)
PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238
Phone (02) 9217 0469 [email protected]
Peter Volk Senior Technician, Social History
Queensland Museum, 2001