Minutes of the 61st meeting of the Museum Council, September 11, 2007, 11:30 a.m. \u2013 1:00 p.m.,
\nNational Museum of Iceland, Su\u00f0urgata, 101 Reykjav\u00edk<\/p>\n
Present were: Margr\u00e9t Hallgr\u00edmsd\u00f3ttir, Halld\u00f3r Bj\u00f6rn Run\u00f3lfsson, Helgi Torfason, Karl R\u00fanar \u00de\u00f3rsson, Steinunn \u00d3sk Kolbeinsd\u00f3ttir, Anna \u00deorbj\u00f6rg \u00deorgr\u00edmsd\u00f3ttir<\/p>\n
1. Minutes of the 59th meeting and the 60th meeting approved and signed.<\/p>\n
2. Director's report<\/u>. Employment contract<\/u> Acting CEO introduced. Meeting of the Nordic Committee on Museum Affairs in Oslo in May<\/u>. At the request of the Museums Council, the acting director attended the meeting. The aim of the meeting was to find a way forward for cooperation between the Nordic institutions that deal with museum affairs in each country. No conclusions have been presented, but a Finnish project that contributes to increasing staff awareness of museum work and increasing the quality of museum operations and helping museums prioritize their activities attracted particular attention. Also noteworthy was the emphasis that ABM-utvikling in Norway placed on the importance of a strong publication series under the institution, which was used both to educate the museum workers themselves and as a tool to increase the authorities' understanding of museum work. Temporary export of cultural relics Two applications for the export of cultural relics were received by the Museums Council this summer.<\/u>: Application by Dr. Gu\u00f0r\u00fan Sveinbjarnard\u00f3ttir, project manager of the Reykholt Research Project, for the temporary export of glass fragments for research purposes. Application by the National Gallery of Iceland for the temporary export of Svavar Gu\u00f0nason's painting, \u00cdslandslag, in connection with the installation of the exhibition Cobra-Reykjav\u00edk in Denmark and Norway. Both applications had been approved. Museum Council website<\/u>: Presentation of the project safnastarf.is which is almost complete. The final cost of the design and construction of the website was presented and the Museum Council's proposed editorial policy for safnastarf.is was presented. The report The Educational Role of Museums<\/u>. The report, which is the final product of a consultation project initiated by the Museum Council, is now ready. It will be made available in pdf format on the Museum Council's website soon. Sigr\u00fan Kristj\u00e1nsd\u00f3ttir, Director of Museum Education at the National Museum, has done a lot of work in connection with the report and, together with the Director, proposes that the Museum Council's publishing policy be reviewed in its entirety, including consideration of a uniform appearance for reports and editorial policy. The discussion will be taken up in connection with the Museum Council's working meeting on October 9th. Icelandic Museum Day<\/u>. The results of a survey among museum staff were presented. 34 responses were received from museum representatives. 88% respondents believe that attendance is "much better" or "better" than on a normal Sunday and almost 83% that attendance is "much better" or "better" than on a normal weekend. Almost 80% respondents say that museum staff are generally satisfied with the museum day.<\/p>\n
3. The Museum Council's annual accounts for 2006<\/u> Last year's annual accounts were signed by all the main representatives and the CEO present in two copies. The annual accounts will be sent to the National Audit Office when all the main representatives have signed the accounts.<\/p>\n
4. Committee salary<\/u>. In accordance with the decision of the Museum Council at its 60th meeting, the Minister of Culture submitted draft letters to the Remuneration Committee requesting an explanation of why committee salaries for representatives of interest groups were reduced. It was also agreed to request information from the Minister of Culture on the Ministry's payments to similar committees. It was decided that the Minister of Culture would speak with Eir\u00edk \u00deorl\u00e1ksson and Svein Kristinsson before letters were sent to the above-mentioned parties. <\/p>\n
5. Museum Council field trip<\/u>. The Museum Council's field trip, which according to the meeting schedule was to be held on 26-27 October, will be postponed. It was decided to hold a full-day working meeting on 9 October where the activities and role of the Museum Council will be discussed on a broad basis. The 62nd meeting of the Museum Council will be held on the same day at 11:30-13:00.<\/p>\n
6. Museum Studies at the University - Declaration of Intent<\/u>. In accordance with the decision of the Museum Council at its 60th meeting, the Working Group on the Development of Master's Studies submitted a brief statement of intent on the Museum Council's continued support for the group's plans to establish an MA program in museology at the University of Iceland. The statement states that the Museum Council considers increased education for museum workers to be a major interest of Icelandic museums and an important prerequisite for strengthening professional museum work in the country. The Museum Council also declares its continued willingness to promote that the country's museums and their staff take an active part in teaching and mentoring students, accept students for internships, and that museum databases can be used for research on museums and museum work. The Museum Council approved the statement of intent.<\/p>\n