Umm, I think you mean the NHM, Horniman, Grant Museum and RCS too? Not
necessarily in that order ;)


> The Survey you are thinking of was of London Museums, "Insight: A survey
> of the London museums market" MLA Renaissance London.
> The question on level of interest of subject area gave 82% interest in
> natural history, more than any other subject. Obviously the presence of
> the NHM in London may skew people's perceptions there, but I see no reason
> to let such considerations spoil your use of the data!
>
> In terms of small museums and NH, of the 30-odd museums in the NW with
> relevant collections, less than a third have any specialist staff. I've
> mainly been working on using NH in non-science contexts with those
> museums, so focusing on the social history etc side of them. I find
> non-specialist staff are much more comfortable that way. There'll be a
> Renaissance NW report on this work, New Light on Old Bones, due in March
> 2011. I'm happy to talk in more depth with anyone who wants to.
>
> Cheers,
>
> David
>
> David Craven
> Collections Development Officer: Natural Sciences
> Renaissance North West
>
> Tel: 0161 2752660
> Check out the New Light on Old Bones blog:
> newlightmanchester.wordpress.com<http://www.newlightmanchester.wordpress.com>
>
>
> From: The Natural Science Collections Association discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan Buhr
> Sent: 02 February 2011 14:11
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Natural History in small museums
>
>
> Hello,
> We have a fairly substantial and largely uncatalogued natural history
> collection at the Greenwich Heritage Centre, but none of it has been on
> display since we moved premises 7.5 years ago, and there hasn't been a
> staff member with natural history expertise since the 1970s.  I'm applying
> for a grant to fund an assessment of the collection, dispose of  elements
> which don't fit the museum's aims, collecting policy, or resources, and
> develop programming which does use those elements that are significant to
> the local area.  I'm making my argument on the grounds that lots of older
> small museums have natural history collections but usually just have
> curators from social history/fine art/archaeology backgrounds and that we
> could set an example for other small museums facing this issue.
>
> The help I'm looking for is in the area of research or statistics to back
> up my (basically made up) claims.  I remember a large national survey that
> was published last year showed that the subject area that most people in
> the UK wanted to see in museums was natural history, but I cannot for the
> life of me remember what the survey was called and google is not helping.
> Also my premise that most small museums with natural history collections
> don't have proper staff knowledge is completely based on anecdotal
> assumptions, and I could even be wrong.  Does anyone know of any specific
> research on this?  Just for scale, our organisation has the equivalent of
> 3 full time staff members in collections roles, and 2 of these are
> dedicated to the local studies archive.  I've had a look through the
> archives but can't find any pointers.
>
> Thank you much, in advance!
>
> Susan Buhr
> Collections Manager (Maternity Cover)
> Greenwich Heritage Centre
> Artillery Square
> Royal Arsenal
> London SE18 4DX
> 0208 854 2452
> Please note I am part-time, and my usual days of work are Wed-Fri
>
>
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-- 
Curator
Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy
Rockefeller Building
University College London
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London
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Tel:(+44) 020 3108 2052    (Internal ext. 52052)
Email: [log in to unmask]
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