Maritime Curators' group

© National Maritime Museum

Meeting
The last Maritime Curators' group meeting was held on November 27 at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

The date and location of the next meeting will be published as soon as it can be confirmed.

Maritime Curators Group
Terms of Reference

Background

The Maritime Curators Group was formed as a result of an initiative by the National Maritime Museum and the Merseyside Maritime Museum, arising from contacts in the International Congress of Maritime Museums.

The Group has been meeting informally twice a year since 1991. It has met at Greenwich, Liverpool, the Science Museum, Hull, Portsmouth, Newcastle, Bristol and the Imperial War Museum. It has discussed modern collecting, disposals, ship preservation, information resources, health and safety and other issues relating to maritime museums and maritime collections.

Mission

To foster a community of interest in maritime collections throughout the United Kingdom.

Aims

1. To represent and promote maritime expertise to the wider museum community;
2. To act as an information network;
3. To resolve and develop issues affecting the maritime heritage;
4. To produce and maintain a maritime curators handbook.

Membership

Membership is open to: (a) working professionals in registered museums or institutions working towards registration; (b) associate members of the International Congress of Maritime Museums;

Other interested individuals may be invited to attend meetings by the convenors and the host museum.

Organisation

From the start, the group has been determinedly non-bureaucratic. The National Maritime Museum and the Merseyside Maritime Museum have acted as convenors maintaining a membership list and providing a postbox service. Host museums have undertaken local arrangements. It is proposed that this should continue, although meeting should be written up and published in the museum press.