We experimented with providing recorded readings from the Book of Sark in an exhibition of the illustrations late last year. We had little budget to play with but I found some small and cheap Sansa clip MP3 players with a 2Gb capacity from a local shop for £30 and we bought some over-ear (rather than use the supplied in-ear) headphones for £8.00 each. The players have a screen and menu system which allows people to choose what they are listening to, though one of our staff thought the players were too small and fiddly. We charged a returnable £5.00 deposit to encourage people to return the units!
As a first attempt at this sort of thing it was a worthwhile experiment but I was disappointed to learn afterwards that only fifteen people had availed themselves of the facility. However, the MP3 files have also found a place on our website in company with the Book of Sark images - and we have the players available for future use.
Alan Howell
Senior Curator
Guernsey Museums & Galleries
www.museums.gov.gg
DDI +44 (0) 1481 706964
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Meredith Greiling
Sent: 04 February 2009 11:34
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mini-emergency re: Listening posts/audio equipment
Hi Susan
I would be very interested in seeing the responses to this as I too am organising an exhibition with an oral history component and am interested in cheap listening devices that can be used in a temporary exhibition. We too have no money (does anyone?) although we could do some fund-raising if there were a solution that could be reused for other exhibitions.
Many thanks,
Meredith
Meredith Greiling
Assistant Keeper of Maritime History
Neighbourhood Services (Central Area)
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Shiprow, Aberdeen
AB11 5BY
Tel: (01224) 337711
Visit http://www.aberdeenships.com ( http://www.aberdeenships.com/ )
or Aberdeen City Council's website at http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk ( http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ )
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>>> Susan Buhr <[log in to unmask]> 04/02/2009 11:06 >>>
Hello,
We're overall a pretty low-tech museum here in Hampstead (mostly cos we're poor) so until now we've just been using a regular old laptop chained down to a radiator to display audiovisual materials. It's obviously not ideal, but it's worked fine for over a year now- until it was stolen over the weekend!
As it happens I am submitting an application TODAY for a grant from the HLF Your Heritage programme to do an oral history project and exhibition. The exhibition, which would take place in Sept/Oct this year would be built around oral history interviews and would of course involve some form of listening post (or posts) in the gallery space. To be honest we're not the kind of place where we can ask people do download podcasts at home, and as a Grade I listed building our options for building things directly into the gallery space are pretty limited without getting loads of planning permission (and even then, we don't have audio-visual elements to all of our exhibitions, so we need something flexible).
The trustees are investigating CCTV and augmenting our alarm systems, etc, but the biggest issue is that we are unable to have direct invigilation of the gallery space during all of its opening hours; there is always at least one volunteer steward for the building we are in, but they sit on the ground floor and I don't think most would accept the responsibility of (for example) handing out ipods or headsets to individual visitors.
Can anyone give me some quick suggestions and general prices for what sort of options we might consider for in situ listening equipment?
Thanks!
Susan Buhr
Curatorial Assistant
Hampstead Museum at Burgh House
phone: 02074310144
www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk
Please note my usual working days are Wednesday through Friday only.
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