The Case for Collections Management

January 30th, 2012 | Posted by admin in OpenCulture 2012 - (0 Comments)

Times of economic and political hardship have a powerful way of focussing the mind. Since the first impact of the credit crunch in 2008, organisations everywhere have had to look to their core business, to simplify their operation and to get creative in finding new ways of adding value to people’s lives.

In this kind of environment, managers have to make a simple calculation – things which contribute to the bottom-line of the organisation and enable it to make the most of new opportunities come to the fore. Things which do not are ‘restructured’, reduced or removed entirely.

Museums, libraries and archives depend on a seamless cooperation between front and back-of-house. None of the rich online or offline experiences they create is possible without effective stewardship of the collections. Stewardship of the collections has no purpose if it is not driven by delivery. (more…)

Get your PYLOM Support Materials here!

January 30th, 2012 | Posted by admin in Find a Library - (0 Comments)

We’re really excited about ‘Put Your Library on the Map’, kicking off this weekend with a media campaign and carrying on around the English regions over the next few weeks.

To help get the message out to your library users, we have provided a Participant’s Pack and some images for you to download and use. We would love it if you could print out the ‘Put Your Library on the Map’ poster and put it up in your entrance/on the front gate/at the desk. (more…)

PSI Directive and Museums, Archives & Libraries

January 26th, 2012 | Posted by admin in IPR - (0 Comments)

Commissioner Neelie Kroes sets out the EC Open Data Strategy

The Collections Trust has published a new Briefing Paper looking at the implications of the changes to the Public Sector Information Directive (2003) proposed by the European Commission.

Among the proposals is an amendment which would remove the current exemption for museums, archives and libraries. This proposal has raised some concerns for cultural institutions, particularly where they are engaged in or planning Public/Private Partnerships or commercial arrangements for the licensing and use of their content. (more…)

Contribute to EU Digitisation Policy

January 25th, 2012 | Posted by admin in EU Projects - (0 Comments)

The Collections Trust has announced ENUMERATE, a 3-year programme funded by the European Commission to assess the extent to which European Member States are digitising their cultural heritage and making it available online. (more…)

Communicating through Objects and Collections

January 23rd, 2012 | Posted by nickpoole in Collections Management | Europe - (0 Comments)

In August 2011, for 3 days, London was overtaken by a series of spontaneous riots. As disaffected children and young people took to the streets, looting shops and damaging property, the television news sent pictures of burning buildings and angry mobs around the world.

In the aftermath of the riots, people of all ages and faiths came together in angry condemnation of the senselessness of the riots and with a renewed spirit of unity and community. When things like this happen, society needs to understand them, to learn from them and ultimately learn how to avoid them in the future. (more…)