Minutes of the 18th meeting of the Board of the Museum, at Lyngás 7, 210 Garðabær,
May 20, 2003, at 12:00.
Present were: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, Jón Gunnar Ottósson, Ólafur Kvaran, Jónína A. Sanders, Sigrún Ásta Jónsdóttir, Ragnheiður Þórarinsdóttir, Rakel Halldórsdóttir.
Gísli Sverrir Árnason was unable to attend this meeting due to a lack of air transportation.
1. Signing the minutes of the 16th meeting and approval of the minutes of the 17th meeting.
The minutes of the 16th meeting were signed. Minor wording changes were made to the minutes of the 17th meeting, and they will be signed at the next meeting.
2. Staff report. Trip to the Reykjanesbær Folk Museum
RH, a staff member of the museum board, gave a brief report on his trip to the Reykjanesbær Folk Museum, but was very surprised by how disorganized the storage conditions at the museum are. There was some discussion about storage facilities at museums; there appears to be a great need for good storage facilities to be established in many places. Ideas were raised for the museum council to conduct an analysis of conditions at museums, and MH came up with the idea for an inspection sheet for a staff member to take with them on visits to museums. A strategy would then be developed based on the results of this analysis, and museums would also be granted recognition by the Museum Board in accordance with the quality of their operations. ÓK emphasized the necessity for the Ministry of Education to set guidelines on this matter, i.e., regarding the willingness for implementation and what the standard should be for the quality of museum operations. The difficulty of convincing policymakers of the importance of good storage facilities for museums was discussed, but this is primarily because this part of the operation is so invisible. JGO pointed out that the National Museum of Iceland has conducted an assessment of its storage facilities, but that report has been with the Ministry of the Environment for four years. The status of the Folk Museums was also discussed, as their position has weakened in recent years with the emergence of innovative and forward-looking venues and exhibitions. The folk museums have been "left out" of this development, and the museum council would need to set some guidelines regarding what it considers desirable for the development of the folk museums. An example of successful development and collaboration between a folk museum and other museums/exhibitions is in Skagafjörður, with the Byggðasafnið in Glaumbær and other museum activities there. There are also examples where new exhibition and museum activities have indirectly caused the Folk Museum to be left behind, as can be seen, for example, in Strandasýsla with the Folk Museum at Reykir. ÓK reiterated that it was important for the Ministry of Education to set the guidelines regarding the optimal direction for the Folk Museums.
3. Statement of the National Monuments Officers of the Nordic Countries.
A declaration was presented, signed by the national heritage directors of all Nordic countries at their meeting in Ribe, Denmark, on May 9, 2003. There, the Nordic national heritage directors agreed to do their utmost to prevent their countries from participating in the distribution of cultural heritage looted from Iraqi museums. The declaration reads as follows:
Pronunciation
Ribe, May 9, 2003
The Nordic national conservators, meeting in Ribe, Denmark from May 1-11, 2003, express concern for the special situation of cultural heritage in Iraq and unanimously adopt the following statement, with reference to international conventions:
Iraq's cultural heritage, archives, libraries, and museums have been subjected to vandalism and looting.
We urge museums in the Nordic countries, antique shops, antique dealers, and auction houses to be vigilant about objects that may come into circulation and not to contribute to their further sale.
We urge that everything possible be done to prevent our countries from becoming transit routes for the illegal trade in cultural assets – and, in this case, specifically in relation to Iraq.
Steen Hvass, Denmark
Henrik Lilius, Finland
Margret Hallgrimsdottir, Iceland
Nils Marstein, Norway
Inger Liliequist, Sweden
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4. Title of the staff member of the board of trustees
RH left the meeting while the matter was being discussed. The collection council agreed that a staff member would draft a job description, and that a job title for the position would be decided afterward.
5. Design of museums/essential services with regard to accessibility for all – draft
RH presented a draft of guidelines on essential services regarding public access to museums. RH has contacted stakeholders from minority groups with special interests to be considered in this context (people with disabilities, the blind, the elderly, children, immigrants). Comments and additional suggestions were requested from the museum council members, and it was agreed that a staff member would finalize the guidelines, which will be approved in their entirety at a later date.
6. Proposal for the Board of Trustees' Achievement Awards.
RH briefly presented the idea, which is to encourage curators to excel in their respective fields, as these awards are intended as individual honors, a recognition for a curator who has excelled in their field in an effective, measurable, and demonstrable way. SÁJ expressed the opinion of Jóhann Ásmundsson that an award of this nature was not appropriate for the Museum Council. Two things would come into play: on the one hand, the board would have to maintain its neutrality towards museums, and on the other hand, the Icelandic Museum Awards are already given out on the initiative of the Icelandic National Committee of ICOM and the Association of Icelandic Museums and Museum Professionals. JGO also expressed his doubts about the Museum Council awarding such a prize. It was agreed to postpone discussion of this idea until later, or until the Museum Council has developed clearer ideas about the desirable progress of museum affairs in Iceland.
7. Proposal for a museum board attendance survey.
RH presented the idea that the museum council would collect attendance figures from museums, conduct a statistical analysis of them, and publish the results on its website. The National Statistical Office of Iceland was pointed out, as it collects this type of information in some way. The minister will look into it, but the aim of the museum council's attendance survey is to make museums aware of the importance of targeted data collection on attendance, visitor characteristics, and the potential to use this information, for example, to identify new target groups. It was agreed that a staff member would begin to implement the idea.
8. Announcement regarding grant applications for 2004
The announcement for the 2004 grants was approved with a minor amendment. It was agreed that the announcement would be published in Fréttablaðið and on the Ministry of Education's website, in addition to the media outlets listed in the explanatory note.
9. Field Trip Out to the Country
The museum board approved that the board take a day trip to Reykjanes in September. A staff member will choose a suitable date and organize the trip.
10. Report to the Board of Trustees:
No submissions were received for this meeting.
Other: Finalization of allocation rules.
The allocation rules were finalized, but difficulties had arisen regarding the formal processing of the rules at the Ministry of Education. Minor changes were made to the regulations before they were signed. Two council members still have to sign the regulations: Gísli Sverrir Árnason and Jóhann Ásmundsson.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM/RH.