Overview
The Tayside Museums Learning & Access Partnership is a three-year project funded by the Scottish Executive. It is administered by the Scottish Museums Council through their Regional Development Challenge Fund (RDCF). There are 10 RDCF projects across Scotland aiming to improve partnership working within the museums sector.
Angus Council is the lead partner for the project with staff based in Forfar Library.
The aims of the project are to improve access to the partner’s museums and their collections through the development of resources, services and staff.
Project Partners
- Angus Council (lead partner)
- Dundee City Council
- Perth & Kinross Council
- Discovery Point
- Verdant Works
- Museum of Abernethy
- University of Dundee Collections
- Tayside Medical History Museum
- Montrose Air Station Museum
- Black Watch Regimental Museum
- Dunkeld Cathedral Chapter House
- Blair Atholl Museum of Country Life
- Glenesk Folk Museum
Outcomes
1. Audience Research & Development
To undertake audience research on the partners’ behalf to identify existing audiences and target new audiences for project activity and to obtain comparable data for the partners to use for future service development
- MUSE Surveys
- Public Consultation
2. Tayside Museums Group
To set up, co-ordinate and administer the Tayside Museums Group during project’s lifetime with the hope that the group will become a formally constituted forum.
3. Joint Marketing Campaign
The project will work with the Tayside Museums Group to raise awareness of museums, what they do and have to offer the public
- Production of a joint leaflet
- Cross linking webpages
- Show Scotland Campaign
4. Collections Development
To raise documentation standards of the partner’s museums by sharing best practice across the partnership to improve access to collections.
- Implementation of ICT database ADLiB
- Digitisation of collections
- Documentation Training and Best Practice rollout
- Strategic Documentation
- Introduction of Collection Audits
5. Family Learning Resources
To create and install a range of fun activities to encourage visits by families to the museums. The resources will be paper-based, developed, produced and promoted by project staff.
- Trails
- Quizzes
- Colouring-in sheets
6. Schools Learning Resources
To develop, produce and facilitate resources to encourage schools to visit the museums within the partnership. The resources will be three-fold to allow for sustainability beyond lifetime of the project.
- Teachers packs
- Interactive boxes
- Schools Workshops
7. Events & Activities Programme
The project will plan and deliver a programme of events and activities for Angus Museums to encourage more visitors and set clear guidelines for the future.
- Just Kids events
- Family Fun sessions
- Art activities
Museums Events & Activities 2007 Booklet (PDF 280K)
8. Learning & Access Audit
To undertake a learning and access audit of partners’ sites to assist service development, project activity and knowledge sharing.
- Production of Audit Report for each partner based on:
- EITHER the MLA’s Accreditation Scheme
- OR the four Scottish Museums Council strategies:
-
- A national learning and access strategy for museums and galleries in Scotland
- A national collections development strategy for Scotland’s museums
- A national ICT strategy for Scotland’s museums
- A national workforce development strategy for Scotland’s museums
9. Training Programme
The project will provide free training opportunities for the partners.
- Oral History - A How To Guide
- MDA Documentation Essentials
- Out of the Box: Interpretation Training
10. Skills Exchange Programme
Offering staff the opportunity to visit another museum organisation to gain knowledge, skills and experience of working museum practices.
- Across the Tay: Professional staff visiting NMS
- Across Angus: For front-of-house staff
- Across Tayside: Professionals exchanging within museums in Tayside.
11. Formal Qualifications
To offer all staff from the main partners with the opportunity to undertake a formal qualification such as SVQ’s in Heritage Care or a Professional Qualification
- Level 2 Heritage Care & Visitor Services
- Level 3 Heritage Care & Visitor Services
- Level 4 (G3 Unit) Heritage Care & Visitor Studies
- MA Museum Studies
12. NMS Partnerships
To engage with National Museums Scotland to develop effective partnerships and promote national benchmarks for quality in museum management and services.
- NMS Touring Learning Resource - The Picts
- Across the Tay: Professional staff visiting NMS
- Membership of Scottish Collection Managers Forum
- NMS Knowledge Exchange Workshop Programme 2007-2008 : offered in collaboration with the project
- 17th July - Collections Basics: Introduction to Pest Management, Dundee
- 9th August - Sharing Experience: Using Generic Learning Outcomes in Exhibition Planning, Perth
- 3rd September - Sharing Experience: Introduction to Visitor Studies Evaluation, Forfar
- 1st October - Collection Basics: Care and Management of Domestic Technology, Dundee
For Workshop Information or Booking: http://www.nms.ac.uk/knowledgeexchangeworkshopprogramme.aspx
Contact Details
Tayside Museums Learning & Access Partnership
Forfar Library
50-56 West High Street
Forfar, DD8 1BA
T: 01307 462362
© Angus Council 1998 - 2010