Minutes of the 74th meeting of the Museum Council, 10 October 2008, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM, Setberg, National Museum of Iceland.
Present: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, chairman, Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Helgi Torfason, Sveinn Kristinsson, AlmaDís Kristinsdóttir and Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
- The minutes of the 73rd meeting were approved and signed.
- Report of the Managing Director. Museum board writingIt was agreed that the names of the Museum Council and Museum Fund will henceforth be written in lowercase letters in accordance with the Ministry of Education's spelling of these names. Article by Anna Þorbjörg Þorgrímsdóttir in the Journal. The article by the Icelandic Museum of Natural History, published in Ritin (1/2008), was discussed. It is a satire on the current state system for funding museum work. It is important that professional assumptions are behind decision-making and the allocation of funds for museum work and heritage conservation. Copyright issues of collections. Erla S. Árnadóttir hrl. is working on the matter. Development of a master's program in museology at the University of Iceland. A working group at the University of Iceland, led by the Vice-Chancellor, is continuing to work on preparing the program. The University of Iceland has advertised for an assistant professor in museology and the application deadline is October 27. Applications to the museum fund for 2009Applications are now being accepted, the application deadline is November 1st. Export License – Kevin P. Smith. The Icelandic Institute of Natural History has authorized Kevin P. Smith to export and study zoological relics from excavations at Gilsárbakki. The Museum Council referred the application for processing to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 105/2001. An idea for a collaboration between the History Center and the Vestmannaeyjar Museum. There are ideas for a collaboration between Vestmannaeyjarbær and the 1627 History Centre regarding the Vestmannaeyjar Regional Museum. It is planned that the History Centre will take over the operation of the regional museum with an operating grant from Vestmannaeyjarbær. The Museum Board will request a further explanation of the nature of the collaboration, as the Vestmannaeyjar Regional Museum has received grants from the museum fund. It is important that the security of the regional museum's collection is ensured. Distribution card for the export and import of cultural property. The Minister of Culture has requested cooperation from the Ministry of Education, the Icelandic UNESCO Committee and the Directorate of Customs on the project. All of these parties were positive regarding cooperation. It is estimated that the costs of design and printing will be paid from the museum fund.
- Managing Director – salary issues/institutional agreement. An institutional agreement has not been concluded for the Museum Council, as the National Audit Office has assessed that such an agreement is not needed for the Council. The Museum Council agreed that the basic classification of salaries for the Managing Director would be in accordance with the basic classification of salaries for department heads according to the institutional agreement of the National Museum of Iceland.
- New bills to the Museums Act and the Cultural Heritage Act. New bills to the Museums Act, the Cultural Heritage Act and the Act on the Return of Cultural Property to Other Countries were discussed. Comments from the National Museum of Iceland, the Association of Icelandic Museums and Collectors and the Association of Icelandic Museum Scholars were discussed. The Museums Council drafted the Council's comments on the bills, which will be approved by email and subsequently sent to the Ministry of Education. The Council considers it important that the Museums Council maintains its independence and that the role of the main museums is clarified. The Council also considers it important that copyright issues in the field of museum work are addressed in the Museums Act.
- Museum service and storage facilities. The paper was postponed until the next meeting.
- Letter from Jesse Byock. The Museum Council received a letter from Jesse Byock requesting permission to export artifacts from an archaeological excavation at Hrísbrú. The Museum Council referred the request to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, as the artifacts in question were zoological, in accordance with Act No. 105/2001. The Institute of Natural History has granted permission for export. The Museum Council has previously granted Jesse Byock a permit for the temporary export of cultural property, but that permit expired on September 1, 2008. However, Byock still has in his possession 6 glass beads and human bone fragments from archaeological excavations. The Museum Council pointed out to him (according to the Council's letter dated September 16, 2008) the importance of applying for a new permit to keep these artifacts in his possession. No response has yet been received. It was agreed to send a repeat of the same content.
- Letter from the Ministry of Education regarding the letter from the World Jewish Restitution Organization. The Museum Council received a letter from the Ministry of Education referring to a letter from the World Jewish Restitution Organization. The organization's letter asks whether it is possible to find works of art or other cultural values in Icelandic cultural institutions that were looted by the Nazis or their allies in the years 1933-1945. The Ministry requested that the Museum Council inform museums that receive support from the Museum Fund of the letter's contents and that they examine their collections. The Museum Council has sent out letters on this subject and most of the museums have responded. There are no cultural values of this nature in their collections.
- Next meeting and other matters. The next meeting of the Museum Board will be on Thursday, November 20th, in accordance with the meeting schedule.
Other issues:
Copyright issues in museums. The importance of getting copyright issues in the field of museum work on a successful track was discussed. As it stands today, copyright prevents the normal use of visual material from museums for educational purposes and significantly limits the possibilities of teachers and museum educators to communicate Icelandic art and cultural history to students and the public.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 17:00/RH