Simple tools to help museums
develop audit, plan for & improve
IT capacity & skills
Nick Poole, Chief Executive, Collections Trust
June 2014
Collections Trust
• We want as many people as possible to discover, use and enjoy collections,
now and in the future
• Since 1977, we have been the professional association for people working in
Collections Management
• 5 strategic aims:
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Connect the public with collections
Develop the collections workforce
Advocate the value and impact of good collections management
Build digital capacity
Be an excellent organisation
Going Digital
• 3 year back-to-basics programme to help UK museums audit, plan for and
improve their IT capacity and skills
• Sits alongside programmes on risk, resilience and collections development
• Delivered through:
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Launch event (Tyne & Wear, November 2014)
Regional Skills Workshops (2014-15)
Free online content and tools (www.collectionstrust.org.uk/digital)
Hard-copy publications
Research & development projects
What does ‘Going Digital’ cover?
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IT Audit
Digital Benchmarks
Digital Strategy
Digitisation
Online promotion
Copyright
Databases
DAM
Evaluation
Skills
• The aim is to provide a comprehensive and authoritative set of support
materials so that people with little or no IT interest/knowledge can manage
the digital needs of their museum
Carrying out a simple IT Audit
• Free IT Audit Checklist & Guideline (published September 2014)
• Helps a museum identify what it has and what it needs
• Identifies the skills needed to manage IT as well as the kit and connections
• Provides a basis for internal or external funding proposals
• Helps the museum plan its future needs
Digital Benchmarks
• Free Digital Benchmarking Tool now available as an Excel interactive
• Intended for use in a training/workshop format
• Provides simple visualisations to understand strengths/weaknesses
• www.collectionslink.org.uk/digitalbenchmarks
Digital Benchmarks
Mid-sized regional museum
STRATEGY
5
4
REVENUE
PEOPLE
3
2
1
ENGAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
0
ANALYTICS
DIGITISATION
CONTENT DELIVERY
Smaller museum
STRATEGY
5
4
REVENUE
PEOPLE
3
2
1
ENGAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
0
ANALYTICS
DIGITISATION
CONTENT DELIVERY
Showing progress
STRATEGY
5
4
REVENUE
PEOPLE
3
2
1
ENGAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
0
ANALYTICS
DIGITISATION
CONTENT DELIVERY
2012
2011
Digitisation
• Free Simple Guide to Digitisation for Museums launches July 2014
• Written by Natasha Hutcheson with the Collections Trust & funded by ACE
• Includes guidance on:
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Deciding what to digitise and why
Choosing & using a digital scanner or camera
Choosing the right image formats for your use
Editing images for preservation and use
Glossary of common digitisation terms
• www.collectionstrust.org.uk/digital/digitisation
Online promotion
• Museums can increase their real & virtual visits by:
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Promoting their events & venues information through Culture 24
Promoting their museums through Museums UK
Promoting their collections through Culture Grid
Promoting their oil paintings through the Public Catalogue Foundation
• In September, we will be launching a free extension to popular Collections
Management Systems, allowing museums to decide who to share their
collections information with and on what terms.
Online promotion
Partners
• This functionality will be rolled out during 2014-15 to customers of:
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Adlib
MODES
KE Emu
Semantika
Monguz
Keepthinking
Axiell
Semantika
Vernon
Gallery Systems
• Can you help us encourage people to use it?
Digital Copyright
• No simple fixes
• Copyright management starts with good documentation
• Re-publishing Copyright: A Practical Guide
• Providing access to simple decision-trees to help choose the right licenses
• Case studies of how different museums are approaching the problem
Databases
• Free Collections Management Software Survey is used by museums all over
the country to procure Collections Management Systems
• SPECTRUM Partners Scheme and SPECTRUM Compliance badging certifies
that a system supports the minimum requirements of the Museum
Accreditation Scheme
• 87% of museums cite SPECTRUM Compliance as their 1st priority when
choosing a new system
• Now working on SPECTRUM 5.0 – incorporating workflows, digital asset
management, risk management and valuation.
Evaluation
• Promoting the free Lets Get Real toolkit from Culture 24 as the best guide to
web metrics and impact evaluation for digital work
• Working with ACE to incorporate ‘digital’ into the Museum Accreditation
guidelines
• Encouragin museums to integrate digital activity into their ongoing planning
and monitoring
Skills
• Collections Management Competency Framework defines a range of digital
skills in a museum
• Launched as a CPD Guide for Collections Management in September 2014
• To be promoted to HE/FE providers and museum employers
Skills
PRACTITIONER
Commitment to
customer focus
Collections Management as a tool
to support effective display &
interpretation
Ethics and social
responsibility
Collections Management
underpinned by professional
values & ethics
Delivering effective
outcomes
Professional practice
competencies (eg.
documentation, environmental
management)
Developing positive
relationships
Managerial and communications
competencies
MANAGER
LEADER
Skills
PRACTITIONER
MANAGER
Commitment to
customer focus
Collections Management as a tool
to support effective display &
interpretation
Ethics and social
responsibility
Collections Management
underpinned by professional
values & ethics
Delivering effective
outcomes
Professional practice
competencies (eg.
documentation, environmental
management)
DIGITAL COMPETENCIES
Developing positive
relationships
Managerial and communications
competencies
DIGITAL COMPETENCIES
DIGITAL COMPETENCIES
LEADER
Collections Management Traineeships
• ACE-funded programme to support up to 20 trainees in developing their skills
& competencies in Collections Management
• Combination of:
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CPD planning
Mentoring
Peer support
Workplace-based learning
Community & networking
• Launch announcement to MDO/Feds/Networks this week
• We really need your help finding candidates!
Timeline
• Call for applicants
Ends July 18
• Applicants invited to ‘meet & greet’ at OpenCulture
June 25/26
• Applicants selected
July 25
• Trainee seminar
End August
• Mid-year review
January 2015
• Traineeship concludes, final workshop
May 2015
Collections Management Traineeships
• Candidates must:
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Be legally entitled to work or volunteer in the UK
Be working or volunteering in the UK museum and heritage sector
Have worked or volunteered in this capacity for no more than 5 years
Have secured the support of their current host or employer
Be positive, enthusiastic and open in their approach
Be willing to commit to active participation in the programme
• Application pack and eligibility criteria
www.collectionslink.org.uk/traineeships
Where next?
• We don’t want anyone to feel like they don’t know where to go for simple, upto-date and authoritative information about auditing, planning for or
improving their use of IT
• Currently out-of-scope, but planned for future development:
– Simple guide to Digital Preservation (hoping to work with the Digital
Preservation Coalition)
– Social Media
– Revenue generation (currently the subject of an NMDC-funded research
project at Collections Trust)
How can people access our help?
• www.collectionstrust.org.uk/digital
• Fortnighly email newsletter
• Collections Management LinkedIn (nearly 8,000 members)
• OpenCulture 2014
• Going Digital launch event in November
• Free regional skills workshops
What can we do to help you?
• We know that MDO are the first port-of-call for many digital enquiries
• Museums are moving at very different speeds, and have very different needs
• We’re aiming for a comprehensive, simple and useful offer
• What can we do for you that would help you in your work supporting IT in
museums?
Contact
@NickPoole1
@CollectionTrust
WC209 Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 5BD
www.collectionstrust.org.uk (incorporating Collections Link)
nick@collectionstrust.org.uk