The Museums Council is, according to the Museums Act, tasked with supervising accredited museums that operate in accordance with the Museums Council's terms and conditions for the operation of accredited museums. Recently, preparations have been underway for the first phase of this inspection, and 8 museums in the Reykjavík area will be visited in November and December.
A curator working on behalf of the Museum Council will review the museum's housing, museum facilities, preservation of artifacts and security issues in the museum's storage facilities and exhibition spaces. A special form is being prepared for this and will be available on the Museum Council's website from October 1. The arrangement will also be presented at the museum's mobile school in Höfn this September.
The main factors that will be considered during the inspection are:
- Housing condition.
- Measurable factors such as humidity, temperature, and light intensity.
- Pest control.
- Arrangement of artifacts in storage and exhibition spaces – including a preservation register.
- Procedures for finishing and handling artifacts.
Museums are notified of a planned inspection visit at least two months in advance.
The museums send the following documents to the Museums Council office before the visit:
- Copies of drawings of the entire museum premises, both storage and exhibition spaces. (pdf)
- A copy of the latest security system audit. A copy of the results of temperature, humidity and light measurements for the last 6 months.
A suitable date will be found in consultation with the museum in question as it gets closer.
At the same time, the information that the museum submits to the museum board in the annual report will be reviewed and, if necessary, further information will be sought from the museum.
Further information about the monitoring can be found at here and at the council office safnarad@safnarad.is.
The criteria used by the Museum Council for monitoring can be seen here and in Handbook on the preservation of museum collections.