Scottish Emigration Museum
The Way Forward
This project aims to provide the global community with access to a unique, authoritative
and inspirational online collection of Scots migration-related resources in partnership with
key Diaspora partner countries.
Project Summary
Emigration has enriched cultures and communities around the world. It has been a
feature of Scottish society since the first notions of Scottish identity. As a nation,
Scotland has both benefitted and suffered from emigration and the topic often
provokes a heated debate. The interest is not just educational or academic; it is the
story of Scotland’s people, their journeys and experiences of success and failure. It is
a remarkable story with an intensely personal resonance.
The proposed Scottish Emigration Museum will be a unique virtual resource that
draws from a range of materials held in museums, libraries, archives and communities
in Scotland and other key Diaspora linked countries including America, Canada, New
Zealand and Australia. It will go beyond the dry facts and engage users on an
emotional level, offering a passionate account of the emigration experience. In doing
so, it will draw on a broad spectrum of materials including records, objects,
collections, oral histories and archived images to paint a lively and full picture, in a
way that has never been done before.
As well as telling the story of the everyday emigration experience, this resource will
look at the impact of emigration and immigration at a community level, as well as
focussing on a number of famous Scottish emigrants and their lasting legacy in
societies throughout the world.
The website will be launched during the 2009 Year of Home Coming which will see
many people return to Scotland to discover more about their ancestral roots and
culture. As a cultural resource, the Scottish Emigration Museum will provide a fitting
and enduring legacy for the Home Coming celebrations.
Project History
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Over the past few years, Museums Galleries Scotland have been working closely with
National Archives of Scotland, National Library of Scotland and National Museums
Scotland on the preliminary development stages of the project. An investment of
£8,000 from Highland and Islands Enterprise allowed for an initial project framework
to be developed for the delivery of the Scottish Emigration Museum. The project
advisory group has been extended to include the Scottish Library & Information
Council and the Scottish Council on Archives.
Scottish Emigration Museum Development Meeting
Ellis Island (April 3rd 2007)
The first international engagement Scottish Emigration Museum meeting was held on
the 3rd of April 2007 at the historic Ellis Island Centre in New York. The meeting was
attended by lead representatives from U.S. cultural organisations including New York
Public Libraries, the Smithsonian Institute, National Archives and Records
Administration and the New York Historical Society. Representing Scotland with
Museums Galleries Scotland were National Library of Scotland, National Archives of
Scotland and the John Paul Jones Birth Place Museum.
The event was titled ‘Journeys from Scotland to America’ and discussion topics
included: potential website content; contributors; and audiences for the project. The
meeting revealed considerable enthusiasm for the project and a unanimous desire to
keep momentum going through further development. The day concluded that a project
development manager should be appointed to guide the project towards realisation.
Appointment of Project Development Manager
Encouraged by the overwhelming success of the International Engagement Meeting in
New York, Museums Galleries Scotland, National Library of Scotland and National
Archives of Scotland pulled their resources to appoint a project development manger
(on an initial one year contract). The recruitment drive started in the New Year and
David Taylor joined Museums Galleries Scotland on March 10th 2008.
Mapping and Scoping Study of Scottish Collections
Catriona Baird has been commissioned as a consultant to undertake this scoping
project. This ambitious study will involve museums, libraries and archives at national,
regional and local levels. Through survey questionnaires and focus group sessions, a
definitive overview of emigration related materials in Scotland will be produced to
guide the further development of the project.
Carl Watt (Chair of SEM Project)
Head of External Relations
Museums Galleries Scotland
Papermill Wynd
McDonald Road
Edinburgh
EH7 4QL
Tel: 0131 550 4116
Email: carlw@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk
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