Museums and Mobile – a Huge Opportunity for Digital Visitor Service

Mobile devices represent a significant opportunity for visitor engagement – before, after and during visits. In a major survey done in 2012-2013, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London discovered that almost two thirds of their visitors own a smartphone and bring it with them to the museum, and the majority of survey respondents said they use their phones to “enhance their cultural visits.”

Survey results showed that the use of mobile devices for accessing the V&A website doubled from January 2012 to January 2013, with the “Visit Us” and “What’s On” pages showing the most activity. While it might be easy to think of smartphones as primarily onsite resources, evidence shows that they’re used to support the potential visitors' decision-making process.

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FREE FUN FRIDAYS! (in Massachusetts)

Each Friday this summer, from June 27 through August 29, five to eight museums and cultural venues across the commonwealth of Massachusetts will be open for free, as part of Free Fun Fridays. This is taking place thanks to a grant from The Highland Street Foundation.

Last year, our family went to the Norman Rockwell Museum, thanks to this program. The venue is on the list this year for August 29. Other venues in the 413 area code

Albany Public Library Expands Museum Pass Program

Albany Public Library is proud to offer a newly expanded museum pass program that provides cardholders with free admission to 20 different museums and historic sites in Albany, the greater Capital Region, and beyond.

APL cardholders can visit these participating sites using museum passes borrowed from the library:

Albany Institute of History and Art (Albany, NY)
Arkell Museum (Canajoharie, NY)
Bennington Museum (Bennington, VT)
Berkshire Botanical Garden (Stockbridge, MA)
Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, MA)
Chesterwood National Trust Historic Site (Stockbridge, MA)
Children’s Museum at Saratoga (Saratoga, NY)
Clark Museum (Williamstown, MA)
Crailo State Historic Site (Rensselaer, NY)
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (Amherst, MA)
Hancock Shaker Village (Pittsfield, MA)
Historic Cherry Hill (Albany, NY)
Hyde Collection (Glens Falls, NY)
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art – Mass MOCA (North Adams, MA)
Museum of Innovation and Science – miSci (Schenectady, NY)
Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge, MA)
Old Stone Fort Museum (Schoharie, NY)
Schuyler Mansion (Albany, NY)
Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery (Saratoga, NY)
USS Slater (Albany, NY)

Museum passes may be borrowed for seven days and there are no renewals. The passes must be borrowed, and returned, at the same APL location. All of APL’s seven locations have a selection of museum passes, but availability varies by library. Please note that some of the museums/historic sites participating in the program are not yet open for the season.

For more information about Albany Public Library’s museum pass program, please call the Main Library at 427-4349.

Mapping America's Libraries and Museums

"There’s always that joke that there’s a Starbucks on every corner," says Justin Grimes, a statistician with the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington. "But when you really think about it, there’s a public library wherever you go, whether it’s in New York City or some place in rural Montana. Very few communities are not touched by a public library.”

In fact, libraries serve 96.4 percent of the U.S. population, a reach any fast-food franchise can only dream of.

Grimes built the map during the National Day of Civic Hacking, using the agency's database of public libraries. Each of those dots refers to an individual branch library (and a few bookmobiles), out of a total of 9,000 public library systems.

More HERE.

The Survey of Library & Museum Digitization Projects, 2013 Edition

Primary Research Group, ISBN 978-157440-230-8.

This report, based on detailed data from approximately 80 libraries and museums in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, continental Europe and other countries and regions, looks closely at the collection digitization efforts, covering budgets, costs, fundraising, staffing and manpower, use of consultants, outsourcing, revenue generation, productivity, software, marketing, licensing, cataloging, rights management, content selection, and many other issues in collection-related digitization. Data is broken out separately by many variables including but not limited to size of institution, by type of material digitized (ie text, photographs, audio-video) and separately for libraries and museums and by type of library, ie, public, special and academic.

Just a few of the study’s many findings are that:
• Digitization projects or departments in the sample have a mean annual budget of $105,907 for digitization.
• 37.97% of survey participants have an unfavorable outlook for raising money for digitization from sources outside the main institutional budget.
• Digitization spending will increase somewhat to substantially among 45.45% of institutions focusing their digitization efforts on film, video and audio recordings.
• Special libraries in the sample have a mean of 6.87 employees doing digitization work of some kind and devote nearly 7,300 hours in staff time to this work annually.
• A mean of 19.23% of the physical exhibits staged by survey participants are accompanied by a substantial online exhibit that reproduces a significant portion of or adds to the exhibit in a significant way.
• Organizations or divisions that focus their digitization efforts on text documents have outsourced a mean of 30.7% of their digitization, nearly twice as much as those focusing their efforts on photographs.
• 11.11% of survey participants share an asset management system with other departments or divisions of their institution.

The 165 page study is available directly from Primary Research Group or from major book distributors such as Baker & Taylor, Midwest Library Services and Amazon, and through eBook distributors such as MyiLibrary and Overdrive. A PDF version of the study is currently available from Primary Research Group and a print version can be ordered as well. For a table of contents and sample pages, or to place an order, view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com or call us at 212-736-2316.

NEW YORK PLAN FOR LSTA FEDERAL FUNDS EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2012

Bernard A. Margolis, Assistant Commissioner for Libraries and State Librarian, is pleased to announce that the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has approved New York State’s Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) 2012-2017 Five-Year Plan. The new LSTA plan took effect on October 1, 2012.

Susan Hildreth, Director of IMLS, labeled the Plan “an excellent framework for the future” and stated that the Plan “demonstrates a commitment to embrace new service opportunities as changing information delivery services, platforms, and information policies create new challenges in providing critical materials that are the foundation for all other services.”

Each of the four goals within the new LSTA Five-Year Plan is closely linked to the recommendations in “Creating the Future: A 2020 Vision and Plan for Library Service in New York State; Recommendations of the New York State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries to the New York State Board of Regents” and to one or more of the priorities of the federal Library Services and Technology Act.

State Librarian Margolis expressed his thanks and appreciation to the many individuals and groups involved in developing the new plan. In particular, he thanked the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries LSTA Committee (Jill Hurst-Wahl, Sara Kelly Johns, Bridget Quinn-Carey and Chairperson Louise Sherby) for their leadership. He also thanked the State Library staff and other Office of Cultural Education staff who led the plan development effort, gathering suggestions and feedback from New York’s library, education and cultural communities.

The LSTA Five Year Plan, which is required by IMLS, describes potential activities that will be implemented using the federal LSTA funds provided annually to the New York State Library by IMLS and has four major goals:
1) All New Yorkers will have improved access to library resources that advance and enhance their personal, educational and working lives;
2) The New York State Library, library systems and libraries will deliver new and improved library programs that anticipate and meet New Yorkers' constantly changing needs for library services;
3) New Yorkers of all ages will perceive libraries as community learning spaces offering high-quality lifelong learning, literacy, and knowledge creation;
4) All New Yorkers will benefit from statewide programs and services of the New York State Library that effectively leverage private and public funding through collaboration and partnerships and maximize value in order to achieve goals one, two and three.

For more information on the federal LSTA program and its importance to New York State’s libraries and all New Yorkers, please visit the New York State Library’s website. Questions about New York State’s LSTA program may be directed to Mary Linda Todd, LSTA Coordinator, Division of Library Development, New York State Library at mtodd@mail.nysed.gov .

Emergency Regents amendment on collections management

FROM: David Palmquist, Head, Museum Chartering
SUBJ: Emergency Regents amendment on collections management

Dear Colleague:

The Board of Regents will consider an emergency amendment to Regents Rule §3.27 on collections management policies at its December meeting.
The Cultural Education Committee will meet to discuss and act on the proposed regulation on Monday, December 15, from 2:45 to 4:15 PM, in Room 146, Education Building, Albany. The meeting is open to the public but there is no provision for public comments.

If approved in December, the emergency rule would become effective on
December 19, 2008, and would remain in effect for 90 days. We
anticipate presenting the amendment for adoption as a permanent rule at the March 2009 Regents meeting.

I invite your comments and am prepared to answer your questions.

The full text of the proposed amendment and attachments is on the Regents web page at www.regents.nysed.gov

Click on "Materials for the December 2008 Meeting of the Board of Regents" then "Cultural Education" and then "Emergency Amendment of Regents Rule 3.27 Relating to Museum Collections Management Policies" and select either HTML or Word format.
***
TO:Cultural Education Committee
FROM: Jeffrey W. Cannell

Issue for Discussion

Should the Regents adopt an emergency amendment of §3.27 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, relating to museum collections management policies?

Reason for Consideration

Implementation of Regents policy.

Proposed Handling

The proposed amendment is before the Cultural Education Committee for discussion and recommendation to the Full Board for emergency action in December.

Procedural History

The proposed amendment has been recommended by the State Education Department and State Museum management to protect collections held by museums and historical societies in financial difficulty.

Background Information

Regents Rule §3.27 provides standards for chartered museums and historical societies. Sections 3.27 and 3.30 were first promulgated effective March 1971, and the Regents added a collections management policy requirement effective July 1998. The March 2006 amendment greatly expanded the standards by providing increased oversight for collections and resources held in the public trust.

In the current financial downturn, museums face deficits that threaten to cancel programs, cut hours and close doors. A large deficit could threaten a museum’s existence and send the trustees to court for bankruptcy protection or other disposition, which could result in a court-directed sale of all or part of a museum's collection to satisfy the museum's outstanding debt.

We believe current Regents Rules on collections are inflexible if a museum faced a sudden, unexpected and critical financial reversal. We don’t want a major museum to close, and don’t want to lose collections held in the public trust to debt.

The emergency provisions would apply to chartered museums and historical societies authorized to own and hold collections under Rule §3.27, and would:

●Enumerate the specific criteria under which an institution may deaccession an item or material in its collection.

●Allow the Regents to grant an exception to allow deaccession of an item or material deemed part of the museum’s collection, by sale or transfer to another museum or historical society in New York, and allow proceeds from deaccessioning to be used to pay outstanding debt, provided the institution demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Regents that the sale or transfer is necessary to pay outstanding debt that would otherwise threaten the ability of the institution to continue to operate and carry out its mission.

●Remove the option allowing an institution to designate a structure as a collections item; but keep intact any such designation made by vote of a board of trustees prior to November 15, 2008.

●Specify that no proceeds from deaccessioning may be used for capital expenses, except to preserve, protect or care for an historic building previously designated as part of the institution’s collection, as above.

We will ask constituents to comment on the proposed amendment through a mailing with cover memo, announcements on web sites, and copies sent to listservs and electronic mailing lists.

The proposed amendment is being presented for adoption as an emergency action. A Statement of Facts and Circumstances Which Necessitate Emergency Action is attached.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Board of Regents take the following
action:

VOTED: That paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) and paragraphs (6) and (7) of subdivision (c) of section 3.27 of the Rules of the Board of Regents be amended, as submitted, effective December 19, 2008, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to protect the public’s interest in collections held by a museum or historical society in financial distress by immediately establishing procedures to permit the institution, with the approval of the Board of Regents, to sell or transfer items or material in its collections to another museum or historical society for purposes of obtaining funds to pay outstanding debt, and thereby provide an alternative to the institution's bankruptcy or dissolution, and the possible loss or liquidation of a collection because of debt.

Timetable for Implementation

If approved in December, the emergency rule would become effective on
December 19, 2008 and would remain in effect for 90 days. It is
anticipated that the proposed amendment would be presented for adoption as a permanent rule at the March 2009 Regents meeting.

5 Museums, 5 Libraries Receive Nation's Highest Honor

Institutions from eight states, including New York, plus Puerto Rico, were awarded a 2008 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

First Lady Laura Bush awarded these museums and libraries at a White House ceremony on October 7. Each year, the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in coordination with the White House, presents the National Medal to 10 museums and libraries "in recognition of their extraordinary civic, educational, economic, environmental, and social contributions."

MUSEUMS IN AMERICA

Rockefeller College Tuesday Policy Lunch Series

October 21
12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Levitt Room, Milne Hall, Downtown Campus, University at Albany

MUSEUMS IN AMERICA: REALITIES AND CHALLENGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Christine Miles, Director of the Albany Institute of History & Art


Christine Miles has served as director of the Albany Institute of History & Art since 1986. The museum collects, preserves, and interprets the art, culture, and history of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley region in a global context from the 17th century to the present.

Miles has focused on making the museum, one of the oldest in the country, a broadly accessible cultural and educational resource. She oversaw a massive three-year construction and renovation project that expanded and upgraded facilities. In just the last 10 years, the Albany Institute has featured more than 150 exhibitions and offered thousands of education programs.

Miles previously worked at a number of museums in New York City and Washington, DC, including: South StreetSeaport Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Octagon of the American Institute of Architects Foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Boston University and a master’s degree in American culture and museum studies from George Washington University. She is also a graduate of the Getty Foundation’s Museum Management Institute at the University of California at Berkeley.