All,
This seemed too good an item not to pass along....
-- jack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jack Robertson || Foundation Librarian
Jefferson Library || Thomas Jefferson Foundation
PO Box 316 Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 984-7545 || http://www.monticello.org/library
-----Original Message-----
From: H-Museum (Marra) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 12:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ANN: A Manifesto for Museums
From: "Emily Adams" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Museums - Investing for the 21st Centurey
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 17:31:22 +0000
----------------------------------------------------
Museums - Investing for the 21st Century
Yesterday museums across the United Kingdom joined together to publish 'A
Manifesto for Museums', calling for a five-year programme of investment to
sustain their current success and build for the future.
The Manifesto was launched on 9 March alongside a set of new reports by the
NMDC (National Museums Directors' Conference), the Museums, Libraries and
Archives Council (MLA) and GLLAM (The Group for Large Local Authority
Museums) which demonstrate the contribution museums make to society and
underline the case for increased government funding.
A total of GBP115 million per annum is needed for museums: GBP35 million to
fully fund the "Renaissance in the Regions" programme for regional museums,
GBP50 million to enable national museums to carry out their core activities
and programme of modernisation, an additional investment of GBP15 million to
fund a series of innovative joint initiatives and GBP15 million for
acquisitions.
Britain's museums are the envy of the world. They are custodians of over 170
million objects, one of the most important places of education after schools
and universities, they are cornerstones of community cohesion and local and
personal identity, are vital to national and international tourism, are key
players in urban regeneration, and act as catalysts for individual
creativity and inspiration. The 100 million visitors per year to 2,500
museums across the country create a cultural economy worth more
than GBP3 billion.
The potential for England's regional museums is already beginning to be
realised through Renaissance in the Regions. This groundbreaking national
programme is, for the first time, steering new central government investment
into regional museums. Phase one of Renaissance is transforming museums in
the North East, South West and West Midlands. The improvements in museum
provision in those three regions have been startling: visits by school
children are up 28 per cent, museums have doubled their work with community
groups, and nearly GBP7 million has been spent improving museum collections
in those regions. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the national
development body for the sector, has already laid the foundations for a
similar transformation across six other regions, and is working with
government to secure the additional GBP35 million per annum required to roll
out this project nationwide.
National museums, too, are calling for additional investment in order to
ensure that they maintain their international status and meet the challenges
of the new century. The extra demands placed on the nationals, and the
cumulative effect of under funding, has meant that the national museums have
reached a critical stage. Without substantial investment, major UK
institutions will lose expertise and fall behind their equivalent
institutions in the United States and Europe. And critically, they will be
unable to fulfil their potential for partnership arising out of the
Renaissance framework that is building centres of excellence right across
England.
The key facts are:
* There are more than 2,500 museums and galleries in the UK outnumbering
universities and colleges by eight to one.
* UK museums receive more than 100 million visits each year, more than all
the country's live sporting events combined.
* Parents view museums as the most important places for educating their
children after schools and libraries.
* 85% of parents believe visits to museums should be part of the National
Curriculum.
* 4 out of the top 5 tourist attractions in the UK are museums.
* 85% of overseas visitors cite museums and galleries as among the prime
reason from coming to the UK.
* Using Treasury formula, the economic impact of the UK's national museums
is in the region of GBP2 billion and of the whole museum sector the estimate
is GBP3 billion.
* National museums are responsible for over a million educational sessions
per year and expect to host and inspire 1.72
million this year.
* The very first term of Renaissance funding (autumn term 2003) has seen a
28% increase in school children visiting museums in the Phase One regions.
* There has already been a 52% increase in the number of children engaged in
outreach activities run by Renaissance museums.
* 45% of the teachers visiting those Phase One regions are doing so for the
first time.
* 73% of the teachers believe that their pupils are learning new subject
specific facts thanks to their museum visit, and 94% of teachers attending a
museum activity see it directly linking to the National Curriculum.
* The vast majority (72%) of teachers using museums in Phase One regions
were very satisfied with the provision made for them by the museums
* Museums in the Phase One regions have been particularly effective in
working with schools located in areas of high levels of deprivation. Nearly
30% of school visits were from schools located in wards which have been
classified as being amongst the 10% most deprived wards in England, and 46%
of the visits were made by schools located in wards which fell into the 20%
most deprived wards in England.
* The most recent MORI GB Omnibus Survey [February 2004] reported that 82%
of respondents felt it was important that their local town or city has a
museum or art gallery.
The Manifesto for Museums can be downloaded from the National Museum
Directors' Conference website at: www.nationalmuseums.org.uk
Other web links:
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council - www.mla.gov.uk
Association of Independent Museums www.museums.org.uk/aim
Museums Association - www.museumsassociation.org
Press Enquiries: Erica Bolton/Jane Quinn 020 7221 5000
Emily Adams
Research & Communication Manager
National Museum Directors' Conference
Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road
London
SE1 6HZ
Tel: 020 7416 5208
Fax: 020 7416 5485
Email: [log in to unmask]
The National Museum Directors' Conference represents the leaders of the UK's
national collections, including the national museums and galleries in
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the three national libraries
and The National Archives. For more information please visit our website -
www.nationalmuseums.org.uk
--
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