Minutes of the 98th meeting of the Museum Council –
October 28, 2010, 12:00 – 14:00, National Museum of Iceland
Present: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, chairman, Halldór B. Runólfsson, Helgi Torfason, Eiríkur Jörundsson, Jenný Lind Egilsdóttir, Ágústa Kristófersdóttir (executive director of the museum council).
1. Issues for discussion and decision:
1.0. Minutes of the 97th meeting approved and signed.
1.1. Report of the Managing Director: Museum Council field trip: This time the tour was around the Capital Region. Special emphasis was placed on visiting museums that have recently received new premises for their activities. The visits were informative and clearly demonstrated the ambition that the staff puts into their work. Museum staff travel school: The travel school was held in Stykkishólmur, and there was a good turnout of museum staff from all over the country. The Managing Director of the Museum Council presented the first results of a coordinated museum visitor survey. Applications for museum funds: The consultation process has gone well, but some technical problems have arisen. The Hornafjörður Cultural Centre and the Hvoli Regional Museum requested a deadline for such matters, and it was granted until November 20, and museums under the auspices of the City of Reykjavík will also be given a deadline of November 20 to submit their plans for 2011. The Hnjótur Museum: Developments regarding the aviation relics at Hnjótur are being monitored and a representative of the National Museum together with the acting director of the museum board is scheduled to travel west and inspect the situation. Arrangements for the next 6 months: Rakel Halldórsdóttir will return from maternity leave on November 1 and will be in a 50% position for the next 6 months and will simultaneously exercise her right to parental leave. Ágústa Kristófersdóttir will replace her as 50%.
1.2. Changes to the legal environment for museums – Discussion of joint comments from the Museums Council, FÍSOS, ICOM, ICOMOS, the National Museum and the House Preservation Committee that were sent to the Minister of Education and Culture on October 22nd.
1.3. Financial status of the Museum Board: A review of expenses since the beginning of the year was called for. The situation is good. Decided to assign the executive director to advertise travel and continuing education grants as approved at the 95th meeting and to renew computer equipment in the office.
1.4. Copyright issues: the Acting Director submitted a memorandum on possible solutions to copyright issues regarding the publication of thumbnails of artworks in museum databases on the World Wide Web. The Acting Director, together with Halldór Björn Runólfsson, has been instructed to examine the matter further.
1.5. The 2011 Collection Book: A draft agreement with the Guðrún Publishing House was presented. It provides for the purchase of copies of the 2011 Collection Book, provided that certain conditions are met.
1.6. Budget Bill 2011: Review of donations to museums in the 2011 budget bill and comparison of figures with previous years. Donations to the museum fund increase slightly, which is welcome, but it is clear that other donations to museums are decreasing significantly.
2. Papers for discussion and decision.
2.1. Message from the Museum Book. The Museum Board agreed to purchase 300 copies of the book for general distribution.
2.2. Presentation from the ASÍ Art Museum, which made comments on grants awarded from the museum fund. Kristín Guðnadóttir, curator of the ASÍ Art Museum, came to the meeting. Discussion of comments on grant awards. Approved to review the allocation of a project grant that was dropped from the museum's 2010 application due to technical difficulties. Approved to review the implementation of applications for project grants.
3. The next meeting was scheduled for the end of November. Ágústa Kristófersdóttir