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CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales
Museums Current Awareness Service 49
Some of the services offered by CyMAL will be restricted during the National Assembly election campaign. Therefore, this bulletin is being sent before the start of the campaign.
If you want to circulate information to other readers please don’t forget that you can ‘post’ items on the Current Awareness Service yourself. Just send your news, requests or information, as an e-mail to: [log in to unmask]
(If possible, notices should be bilingual and please do not send attachments as they will be rejected.)
CyMAL’s Current Awareness service uses the JISC mail list service. For further information please go to: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=museums-info&X=&Y=
Thank you to everyone who sent information for this bulletin.
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT - CyMAL
Museums Small Grants
The Small Grants scheme for amounts up to £3000 will open on 2 April 2007. Grants are available for unforseen projects such as disaster recovery, or emergency treatment for new acquisitions, and conferences and training opportunities announced after 22nd January. You will have explain why an application was not made in January. Normal conditions of grant apply. These, and application forms can be downloaded from the CyMAL website: http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/museumsarchiveslibraries/cymalL4/grants-0708/?lang=en
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Valuing freedom - Wales marks abolition of the slave trade
The abolition of the slave trade in 1807 was marked in Wales with a special Bicentenary event at St David’s Hall on Sunday 25th March.
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/presreleasearchive/1322979/?lang=en
Funding announced to restore some of Wales's historic buildings
£640,748 will be shared amongst 18 of Wales' most important historic buildings, ranging from a farmhouse, a mausoleum, a statue by one of Wales’s foremost sculptors and a Miners Institute, which was a runner up on the BBC’s “Restoration” TV series.
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/presreleasearchive/220307historicbuildings/?lang=en
Wales stubs it out - smoking ban introduced
Wales will be a cleaner, healthier nation in which to live, work and play from Monday 2nd April 2007 as a total ban on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces comes into force.
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/presreleasearchive/260307smokingban/?lang=en
Guidance and signage
Guidance on the new smoke-free legislation for Wales can be downloaded below. This document sets out what you need to know in order to comply with the new law.
No Smoking signs which meet the requirements set out in regulations will need to be displayed in enclosed public premises and work premises.
Details of how business and organisations should prepare for the new smoke-free legislation which will come into force on 2nd April 2007:
http://www.smokingbanwales.co.uk/english/index.php?nID=21
A strategic action plan relating to the voluntary sector has been published by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Below is an extract from the Executive Summary:
"This document presents a vision for the Assembly Government’s future work with the sector, and shows how it will guide a range of activities and services delivered through the sector to help tackle some of the most deep-rooted problems facing Wales, and to enhance people’s overall quality of life. It needs to be read in the context of 'Making the Connections - Delivering Beyond Boundaries'. It is the Welsh Assembly Government's expectation that public service improvement and delivery of services for citizens - particularly those that are relevant to the most complex scenarios - should be undertaken in a way that is not confined to a specific sector alone. Collaboration across sectoral boundaries is of particular importance. At the same time the Assembly Government is interested in learning and developing its cultural behaviours and processes in a way that takes account of a variety of sectoral interests."
Services who benefit from the contribution of volunteers may be interested in responding to the consultation questions. Please note that the deadline for responding is Wednesday 4 April 2007.
<http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/housingandcommunity/consultation/volschemeactionplan/?lang=en>
DCMS
Transforming culture, media and sport
27 March 2007
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has achieved ‘significant successes’ and has ‘knowledgeable, committed staff and a positive working environment’, according to the departmental capability review published today by the Cabinet Office.
http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Press_notices/archive_2007/dcms046_07.htm
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
'Fridge ratings for Museums' - Government announces plans for new energy ratings for public buildings
Public buildings like museums, galleries, government buildings and town halls must get energy ratings - like consumer friendly fridge ratings - and display them to the public from April 2008, the Government said today.
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=275144&NewsAreaID=2
CARBON TRUST
Assessing the energy use in your building fact sheet
Energy is one of the largest controllable costs in most organisations, because there is usually considerable scope for reducing consumption in buildings. A good way to assess the energy use in your building is by conducting an energy walk-round, this will help you to identify bad practice, inefficient equipment, and poor energy habits.
This fact sheet has key tips, facts and ideas for how, when and why to carry out a walk-round to assess the energy use in your building, identifying the energy and money saving opportunities.
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/publications/publicationdetail?productid=CTL003
FEDERATION OF MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES IN WALES
Museums Strategy for Wales - Conference Session
17th May 2007
Mark Taylor, Director of the Museums Association has agreed to give the keynote speech, giving a UK wide context, to start the afternoon museum session. Other speakers to be announced but there will be plenty of time for discussion. This will be the first opportunity for Federation members to contribute towards the development of a Museum Strategy which is being developed by CyMAL. Federation members £10, Non-members £60.
http://www.mdaf.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/wmf/diary_1.htm
Heritage Lottery Fund - Museums And Galleries Collections Development Initiative
The Federation welcomes this new initiative, which is in response to the active debate, initiated by the Museums Association, on collecting and collections. As collections are core to a museum’s role and function, high profile funding initiatives such as this highlights and refocuses attention on an aspect of museum work that has been suppressed in the rush to provide more visible services over the last few years. http://www.mdaf.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/wmf/news_5.htm
MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION
Retirement fellowships to boost collections knowledge
The Museums Association, funded by The Monument Trust, has launched a £150,000 programme of fellowships for retired or soon-to-retire museum professionals, aimed at capturing their unrecorded collections-related knowledge…
http://www.museumsassociation.org/monument&_IXSESSION_=vF7c7ulef3L&_IXPOS_=manews1.1
MA takes on research into workforce entry
The Museums Association is taking on research by its deputy director, Maurice Davies, into the difficulties around securing an entry-level job in museums, and will be setting up a forum and developing an action plan over the next year…
http://www.museumsassociation.org/13591&_IXSESSION_=vF7c7ulef3L&_IXPOS_=manews1.2
MP online archive now open to all MA members
Museum Practice magazine is now part of MA membership, and with this new benefit members can now access the MP online archive, containing over 900 pages of practical advice from experts in the sector…
http://www.museumsassociation.org/13592&_IXSESSION_=vF7c7ulef3L&_IXPOS_=manews1.3
Read the full transcript of the MJ roundtable debate
Museums Journal brought together eight leading figures in the sector and asked them to discuss what museums are for. The results of their thinking are enlightening, entertaining, and, in places, surprising...
http://www.museumsassociation.org/purpose&_IXSESSION_=vF7c7ulef3L&_IXPOS_=manews1.4
ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MUSEUMS
AIM BULLETIN LATEST April Issue 2007 - AIM’s 30th Anniversary
The AIM Bulletin is the main communication channel for the UKs 1000+ independent museums and heritage organisations - half the total provision for the British Isles - which have been in the forefront of the museum movement for nearly 30 years.
In this issue:
AIM celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and the annual conference will be hosted by Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust, Shropshire, a leading independent museum, on 21-23 June 2007.
A new grant scheme to help AIM members is to be launched at the 30th Anniversary Conference.
AIM has welcomed MLA’s (Museums, Libraries & Archives Council’s) recognition of the importance of local government to independent museums in its discussion paper on the Local Government White Paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities.
The director of Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, Suffolk, Diane Perkins, gives her Ten Tips for Survival for museums engaged in major capital projects.
http://www.aim-museums.co.uk/aim-bulletin/bulletin-digest.htm
CHARITIES AND VOLUNTEERS
WCVA
WCVA is the voice of the voluntary sector in Wales. We represent and campaign for voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities.
http://www.wcva.org.uk/about/index.cfm?display_sitedeptid=2
WCVA Criminal Records Unit - criminal records checks for the voluntary sector within Wales
CRU is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and offers a fully bilingual service, which is FREE of administrative charge, for all voluntary organisations within Wales.
http://www.wcva.org.uk/all/dsp_text.cfm?0=0?display_sitedeptid=11&display_sitetextid=115
Information Sheets
WCVA produces information sheets on a variety of topics, all are available to download from this section.
http://www.wcva.org.uk/all/dsp_pub_infosheet.cfm?0=0&display_sitetextid=119
National Hubs - Improving support for the voluntary and community sector
This website is your portal to the free support, information and services the hubs can offer your charity, to help you achieve more.
The hubs have a dynamic and evolving programme, so you will probably want to stay in touch. Sign up below to be the first to hear about new services and get the most benefit from our ongoing work.
www.hubs.org.uk
Voluntary sector grants guide
This guide provides information on all Welsh Assembly Government voluntary sector grants.
http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/housingandcommunity/grants/voluntary/?lang=en
Finding volunteers
The following websites offer ‘dating’ services to match volunteers to organisations:
WCVA http://www.volunteering-wales.net/index.html
do-it.org.uk was launched in 2001 with the first, and still the only, national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK.
Retired Executives Action Clearing House
REACH matches the skills of experienced people to the needs of voluntary organisations.
We recruit and support people with managerial, technical and professional expertise and place them in part-time, unpaid roles in voluntary organisations that need their help. We place people in organisations near where they live, anywhere in the UK. There are no age limits and there is no charge for the service. http://www.reach-online.org.uk/
National Association of Decorative and Fine Art Societies
Heritage Volunteering
NADFAS Heritage Volunteers help to conserve our heritage both in Britain and in parts of Europe.
Conservation and preservation of our heritage are tremendous burdens on the limited resources of museums, National Trust properties, historic houses, libraries and gardens. Volunteers help them in non-specialist but vital ways by caring for collections, recording documents, guiding and stewarding. Heritage Volunteers help to keep them accessible for all.
Museum Curators - Are you looking for enthusiastic, disciplined and committed volunteers to help with collection care, documentation, stewarding or guiding? We may be able to help you. Contact our Volunteering Department for more information. [log in to unmask] http://www.nadfas.org.uk/default.asp?section=173
TimeBank is a national charity inspiring and connecting a new generation of people to volunteer in their communities, and enabling charitable organisations and businesses to develop innovative and effective volunteer recruitment programmes.
http://www.timebank.org.uk/about/index.php
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Workplace Health Connect is a government funded service providing confidential, practical and free advice to small businesses on workplace health and safety, management of sickness absence and return to work issues. By calling our Adviceline we can:
http://www.workplacehealthconnect.co.uk/
TRAINING AND EVENTS
The Museums & Heritage Show is the UK's leading trade exhibition for the world of museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions. Now in its 15th year it is firmly established as a 'must do' event for anyone working in this sector.
The Show exists to help suppliers and operators by providing real solutions, ideas and inspiration. Together with the Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence these events provide an unparalleled opportunity for the entire industry.
Make sure 9 & 10 May 2007 is highlighted in your diary!
http://www.museumsandheritage.com/
Developing Approaches to Participatory Consultation
Accredited Training from Participation Cymru
Need to consult with local communities?
Want to learn new participatory consultation skills?
Keen to support local groups with their projects?
Participation Cymru, in conjunction with Communities First Support Network (CFSN),
is running a 5-day accredited training course on Developing Approaches to Participatory Consultation. This course is designed for community and development workers and community activists who work to promote greater participation in communities. This course is aimed at people who are bringing together/leading teams of people undertaking participatory based work.
What does it cost?
The fee for the course is £325. Bursaries to cover the course fees are available for those funded by Communities First or working directly with Communities First groups.
For more information:
Please contact Lucy Evans or Vikki Evans
Telephone: 029 20431703 or 02920 431723
e-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> or [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Artful: SPRING WORKSHOPS
The following full day‘s practical workshops for Arts Fundraisers are now taking bookings.
Essentials of Corporate Fundraising, Friday 27 April. Holiday Inn Oxford Circus, London
Essentials of Fundraising, Friday, 11 May. Holiday Inn Oxford Circus, London
Essentials of Fundraising from Individuals, Friday 18 May. Holiday Inn Oxford Circus, London
For further information and booking details visit our training section today! http://www.artfulfundraising.com/training-courses/index.htm
AWARDS
The Association for Industrial Archaeology, in conjunction with Dorothea Restorations Ltd, offers an annual award of £500 and a handsome plaque to the project considered the best of that year's entries. The Award's purpose is to support and encourage voluntary conservation work on sites and artefacts of industrial, agricultural, and domestic importance.
http://www.industrial-archaeology.org.uk/aadoro.htm
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust offers Fellowships to British Citizens resident in the UK and from all walks of life to acquire knowledge and experience abroad*.
COLLECTIONS
Cultural Property Advice is a comprehensive on-line advisory service to help you to collect, buy and sell art, antiques and antiquities legitimately and with confidence. It provides a reliable, accurate and practical source of information and guidance on cultural property including: exporting and importing cultural objects; current legislation; news on stolen and illicitly traded objects; and lots of checklists and factsheets to support what you are doing.
http://www.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk/about
ACCESS
MUSEUM EDUCATION MONITOR (MEM), the e-newsletter, is now compiling a list of ongoing research and evaluation projects on questions related to museum/gallery/historic site education and interpretation for our upcoming April 2007 issue. Projects by students, academics, practitioners (paid and volunteer) are equally welcome.
If you wish to share your research or evaluation with others around the world, please send an e-mail to [log in to unmask] that includes:
- name of project
- research or evaluation question(s) [no more than 50 words, please]
- how the data will be presented [report, article, dissertation, program, training event, workshop, curriculum, plan for change, etc.]
- principal researcher(s)/ evaluator(s)
- site(s) where research is being conducted
- time span
- contact information
- key words to describe the project [no more than 4 or 5, please]
Deadline for this issue is *Friday April 13, 2007*
NEWS - UK
New UK Database: UK Statute Law
For the first time an official, authoritative online database of revised UK primary legislation is available free of charge to the public, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has announced.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=5443
NEWS - WALES
Pontypool Museum
Completion of the renovation project and creation of a new, viewable storage facility were marked by a visit from HRH The Earl of Wessex on 21 March.
http://www.pontypoolmuseum.org.uk/index.htm
The Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog) has now opened a new section of line from its old terminus at Pen-y-Mount to a new loop at Traeth Mawr.
The extension is about three-quarters of a mile long, and was built entirely by volunteers working at weekends and in their spare time. It runs through an area which was reclaimed from the sea in the 19th century, and is surrounded by panoramic views of old sea cliffs and the mountains of Snowdonia.
http://www.whr.co.uk/news/article.php?date=2007-03-29&name=ExtOpen
Great Little Trains of Wales - Discount Card Launched
The 9 Great Little Trains of Wales (GLTW) launched their new Discount Card at the Talyllyn Railways Wharf Station, on Wednesday 28th March 2007.
Costing £10, the card will be available to purchase from the GLTW website www.greatlittletrainsofwales.co.uk <http://www.greatlittletrainsofwales.co.uk/> Or by post to:
http://www.heritagerailways.com/cgi-bin/nx3.cgi
GLANIAD
See thousands of fascinating images from the Welsh settlements in Patagonia on Culturenet Cymru’s latest website, Glaniad.
Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, co-ordinated by CyMAL: Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales, and created by Culturenet Cymru, Glaniad (www.glaniad.com) is a trilingual website (Welsh, English and Spanish) website that contains over 2,000 digital images including descriptions.
The content of Glaniad is divided into themes, each of which studies an aspect of life in the Welsh settlements in Patagonia. In addition to a wide variety of letters, photographs and artefacts, the website contains a timeline and potted histories which present a period, event or theme in the settlements’ history.
NEWS - SCOTLAND
SMC Response to Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill and Guidance Consultation
March 29, 2007
SMC has submitted a response to the Scottish Executive’s Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill and Guidance Consultation, for the consultation deadline of 31st March 2007. The response was informed by SMC members’ comments, from our consultation day held on 1st March.
Please click on the following link to view
the SMC Response to Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill and Guidance Consultation
http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/
It's a Live Show. Show Scotland 07 events details announced
March 27, 2007
The eagerly awaited Show Scotland 07 website will ‘go live’ on Tuesday, 27 March, showcasing a packed programme of events taking place this May in museums and galleries across Scotland.
http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/
NEWS - ENGLAND
Mystery spinster leaves art worth £5m to stunned gallery
By ANDREW LEVY
It is a stunning collection from the golden age of British watercolour painting.
The 51 canvasses - worth an estimated £5million - include works by Turner, Constable and Gainsborough.
The recent history of the paintings, which date from the period 1750 to 1850, came to light yesterday after they arrived at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, which was the beneficiary of much of Miss Scharf's estate.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/text/print.html?in_article_id=444897&in_page_id=1770
Futuristic extension to London's Tate Modern approved
A futuristic glass extension to London's Tate Modern art gallery has been given the go-ahead, the museum announced Wednesday.
The 215-million-pound project, a complex arrangement of glass boxes stacked in a pyramid shape, will extend the gallery's space by 60 percent.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/28032007/323/futuristic-extension-london-s-tate-modern-approved.html
NEWS - WORLDWIDE
World's oldest camera to go on auction in Vienna
A discovery in a dusty attic may change the history of commercial photography. Westlicht, a private photo gallery and auction house in Vienna, plans to auction off on May 26 what is most likely the world's oldest commercially manufactured camera.
http://www.hindustantimes.in/news/181_1958199,00050003.htm
Don't sink the boat
Khufu's funerary barge at Giza may undergo a long-overdue professional overhaul based on a new conservation and condition report, says Jill Kamil
Ever since its discovery in 1954, the magnificent 4,600-year-old wooden funerary barge of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid, has been kept in poorly managed conditions. Its progressive deterioration has been calamitous. At long last, however, the responsibility of preparing a condition and conservation report on the vessel has been handed to Hani Hanna, chair of the International Conference on Heritage of the Naqada and Qus region, Egypt 2007.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/he1.htm
Current Awareness Service
Inclusion of third party information in the Museums Current Awareness Service does not constitute an endorsement by CyMAL. CyMAL takes no responsibility for the quality of third party events, products or services featured in this Newsletter. Whilst every care is taken to provide accurate information, neither CyMAL nor the editor undertakes any liability for any error or omission.
If you know anyone who would like to be added to the circulation list, or would like a ‘hard copy’ of the main mailing, or if you don’t have access to the internet and need prints from the sites listed - please contact Carol Whittaker. People who currently receive hard copies will continue to do so.
Welsh and English versions of the bulletin will remain separate in response to requests from readers.
Carol Whittaker AMA
Museums Development Adviser
CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales
Welsh Assembly Government
01970 610 238 [log in to unmask]
Any of the statements or comments made above should be regarded as personal and not necessarily those of the National Assembly for Wales, any constituent part or connected body.