Minutes of the 108th meeting of the Museum Council –
January 26, 2012, 12:15 – 2:15 PM, meeting room in the National Museum tower
Present: Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, chairman, Helgi Torfason, Halldór B. Runólfsson, Guðný Dóra Gestsdóttir, Rakel Halldórsdóttir, CEO. Jenný Lind Egilsdóttir announced her absence. Guest at the meeting: Sveinbjörg Sveinsdóttir, managing director of Landskerfi Library, introduced the website leitir.is.
1. Issues for discussion and decision:
1.0. The minutes of the 106th and 107th meetings will be signed at the next meeting.
1.1. Director's report:
Removal of works of art from the country in connection with in the activities of embassies. On this occasion, the chairman wrote a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, kindly drawing attention to the provisions of Act No. 105/2001 on the transfer of cultural property from the country and on the return of cultural property to other countries. It was agreed to send a circular on the subject to embassies and also to export companies and the Post Office. Letter from the Bustarfell Museum to the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Museum Council received a copy of the letter from the Bustarfell Museum to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, which discusses the museum's poor financial situation. Committee fees for representatives of interest groups on the museum council. The Board of Trustees has requested that the Remuneration Committee determine committee salaries for 2011 for those members of the Museum Council who are entitled to them. Applications 2012. A number of applications have been received. About half of the applications are defective due to a defect in the electronic application form, but the defect is manifested in the fact that information has been omitted from the applications. Considerable work is required to obtain this information again. It was agreed to hire Þóra Björk Ólafsdóttir on a project-based basis to obtain this information. Reports on grants from the museum fund 2011Most museums have submitted reports on the use of grants from the 2011 museum fund. The reports will be taken into account when allocating funds from the 2012 museum fund. Museum Studies at the University of Iceland – part-time teaching. Ms. Stj. introduced the museum council, museum fund, museum law, and the operational and legal environment of museums in two lessons in the course Professional Work of Museums at the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Iceland in January. Collaboration on a joint website with information about museums. The Museum Council has operated the website sofn.is (also söfn.is, museums.is and safnastarf.is) where a list of museums in the country can be found. The possibility of collaborating with the Museum Book, Íslandsstofa, the Icelandic Association of Museums and Collectors and even more parties on a single joint website covering museum work in the country was discussed. Such a website would contain information about museums from the Museum Book and would be updated in parallel with the Museum Book being updated. The website would be accessible as an app for iPhones and would include the possibility of a news source where museum programs, museum days and other information in the field of museums could be presented. It was agreed to examine the possibility of this collaboration and that if the project were to proceed, the Museum Council would contribute the aforementioned domains to the project (the domains would, however, remain the property of the Museum Council).
1.2. Presentation from leitir.is. Sveinbjörg Sveinsdóttir, Director of the National Library System, introduced the website leitir.is and its possibilities. She discussed, among other things, the possibility of accessing SARPI, a cultural and historical database, through leitir.is. There was general satisfaction with the presentation and this possibility.
1.3. Information about the Breiðafjörður Boat Museum. A letter was received from Ásdís Thoroddsen, a board member of the Breiðafjörður Boat Museum Enthusiasts Association, in which the association's projects are presented.
1.4. Service agreement between the Museum Council and the National Museum of Iceland 2012. A Service Agreement has been signed between the Museum Council and the National Museum of Iceland regarding the Museum Council's lease of facilities and services at the National Museum of Iceland in 2012.
1.5. Transfer of the Museum Council's website management to a new service providerIt was agreed to accept Hugsmiðjan's offer for web management for the museum council. The transfer to a new service provider will take place as soon as possible.
2. Papers for discussion and decision.
2.1. Application by the Sigurjón Ólafsson Art Museum for postponement of the use of a grant from 2011. The report was approved.
2.2. Application by Guðrún Ölda Gísladóttir for permission to export textiles from archaeological excavations for research purposes. It was agreed at a meeting of the Museum Council on 10 November 2011 to use the authority of Act No. 105/2001 and oppose the export of the textiles, cf. expert assessment. In accordance with the law, a formal position was sought from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. No response had been received from the Ministry at the last meeting of the Council. A response has now been received from the Ministry, which supports the Museum Council's decision. Guðrún Ölda has been informed of the outcome.
2.3. Request by the Icelandic Motorcycle Museum for recognition pursuant to Article 4 of the Museums Act. The last meeting of the council discussed the submission of the Icelandic Motorcycle Museum in Akureyri, requesting the Museum Council's recognition that the museum is a recognized museum according to Article 4 of the Museums Act No. 106/2001. This is a new institution and there is not much experience with its operations. It was agreed to request comments from the Akureyri Museum and the Akureyri Town Council on the Motorcycle Museum's operations. A response was received from the Akureyri Museum, which did not take a position on the matter. The Museum Council agreed that since the museum has been operating for less than a year and there is little experience with its operations, it is not possible to assess the operations with regard to the provisions of the Museums Act yet. The museum will be informed of the council's decision.
3. Next meeting and other matters
Other issues:
Spring meetings of the main collections 2012. It was agreed to hold the spring meetings of the main collections 2012 on May 3rd and 4th.
The next meeting, according to the new meeting schedule, was scheduled for Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:15.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 2:15 PM/RH.