Meeting Minutes - UKMCS
Meeting at the National Maritime Museum 10 September 2001

Chair: Roy Clare

Attendees: Matthew Tanner, Jim Tildesley, Martyn Heighton, David Penn, Bill Ferris, Richard Holdsworth, Bob McWilliam, Tony Tibbles, Graham Mottram, Dr Margarette Lincoln, Stephen Riley, Julia Green, Charles Payton.

Apologies: Dr David Fleming, Mike Stammers, Campbell McMurray, Dr Lindsay Sharp, Stephen Dyer.

Updates

1. Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting

Approved. No matters raised.

2. Update on UKMCS website [M. Lincoln]

ML - Since the last meeting a website prototype had been developed for MCG feedback. Members of the Directors' Group had nearly all submitted collections policies, mission statements and images/text. NMM had recently made new 'online' and Web Designer appointments and so taken the opportunity to further improve the UKMCS website. A new design is due 1 October, feedback by members welcomed before 19 October. Feedback was also welcomed on the UKMCS website update paper tabled at the meeting. In particular, contact names would be needed for a register of expertise (for professional, inter-museum use only and not to be broadcast for public information). The list of expertise would help to progress maritime curatorship.

BF - requested that the website include the telephone number and address of each museum (often omitted by sites expecting email correspondence only).

There was some discussion about the audience for the website. Originally it had been scoped as for maritime museums only with certain areas (eg collections policies) password-protected for the Directors' Group alone. At the meeting it was agreed that instead, the UKMCS website should be open to the public and that more sections would be password-protected for UKMCS members, with perhaps some sections open only to the Directors' Group (tbc).

GM - suggested that the public UKMCS website should be given a catchier title with UKMCS reserved for a strap-line. The introductory text about the UKMCS should also be re-worded for wider public consumption, emphasising the good progress already made.

It was agreed that the UKMCS website should be linked to the National Historic Ships Committee (NHSC) and National Register of Historic Ships (NRHS) and to other important sources of maritime information.

MT - pointed out that smaller museums do not yet have email or Internet access. It was agreed that the MCG would need to continue to communicate with such members by traditional means. MCG has email addresses for c. 50% of its membership and would need to continue to work towards a definitive postal mailing list.

DP - asked what the smaller museums would gain by contributing information about themselves to the UKMCS website. It was agreed that they would immediately have a further means of promoting their existence as part of the UKMCS community. Images on the website would gain more publicity for the key objects in individual collections.

ML - reminded members of the costs of maintaining a huge website and the need to draw a line.

It was agreed that the website would attract new members over time. It could be linked to others' lists of maritime museums (e.g. that maintained by Janet West), and would help to encourage institutions to uncover these treasures in a cooperative way.

DP - argued that investigation is required to map the UK maritime collections. There is a need to contact organisations that may not consider themselves as maritime in scope. Though is may not be in our powers to contact all, we might short list and write to such organizations, informing them that we are searching for maritime collections, and asking if they have got any.

MH - mentioned Unity Mapping, a conceptual approach incorporating archives and pointed out that this was a good time to take action.

RH - agreed that local authorities do not always identity collections as maritime, and that we would need a range of contacts within local committees to draw the information out.

BF - suggested looking at PR roots - placing a notification in journals, then launching a search.

ML - Suggested that at the MCG meeting in November members might discuss how best to contact such groups.

SR - suggested that the website would help to launch the UKMCS and help to promote its aims. This would inform any 'fishing expedition' to find out more about regional maritime collections.

RC - Agreed. After the November meeting, he hoped that MCG would return with a strategy for regional coverage and for progressing any mapping of the UK maritime collections.

MT agreed to report back after the November MCG meeting.

CP - informed the meeting of France's experience of finding maritime collections by organizing a sea competition which unearthed collections that few had known about.

3. MCG report on progress [M. Tanner]

MT - explained that the MCG was positive about the work of the Directors' Group and looked forward to progress which would lead to two-way benefits.

ML - Advised she had met with a government consultant regarding 'the full disclosure policy' and possible funding for retrospective cataloguing. If UKMCS continued to present a united front and to make progress in partnership, it might be a candidate for such cataloguing projects.

4. UKMCS membership/geographical coverage

ML - pointed out that the Directors' Group has represents Scotland but not Ireland or Wales and therefore could not claim to UK-wide coverage.

SR - mentioned that Michael McCaughan of Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland is keen to get involved and that he had been sent an information pack.

RC - hoped that at the MCG November meeting we would see a clear regional network emerging.

GM - agreed that as yet we had not identified the lead museums in all regions. The role of a lead museum would be discussed at the next meeting.

Discussion

5. NMM Collections and Conservation update [J. Green]

JG - outlined NMM's approach to collections storage and conservation, still at the concept stage. One option for a conservation store the Old Royal Naval College Stable Block. The Old Smithery at Chatham might house a joint display/open store of ship models. The archives would need a site close to the NMM.

6. Discussion - reserve store

RC invited views on a jointly used reserve store for large objects. This would free up shelf space in various institutions for eventual transfer of collections, if that proved appropriate. An accessible ship model store at Chatham might prove attractive to NMSI (with c. 1,800 models) and the IWM (with c. 600). Closed stores did not send out a good political message.

BF - agreed that a Chatham site for ship models would be cost effective and appropriate and might meet with DCMS approval (since they owned the site).

DP - advised that the IWM would look to buying into such a project at a later stage as it had other pressing priorities at present.

JT - suggested there are three or four models in Scotland that he would be happy to see displayed in England and saw value in such exchanges.

TT - asked who would be expected to be responsible for conservation in such a ship model store.

BF - acknowledged that ongoing costs would need to be covered in any business plan.

RC - mentioned other possibilities, e.g. at Wroughton and Duxford. The storage solution could be multi-layered.

RH - added that the UKCMS was a useful vehicle to justify looking at collections and duplications with a view to disposal

GM - noted that potential disposals in a maritime context might make valuable additions to different collections. The group agreed that any disposals policy would take the proper route (advertisements etc) to ensure that no criticism could accrue to the process retrospectively.

7. Overlapping subjects

To be discussed at next meeting - members to take away information and bring thoughts on topic to next meeting.

Concluding remarks

8. Loans

ML - explained that NMM was in the final stages of approving a new Loans Policy. This would be 'published' on the UKMCS website with helpful suggestions for UKMCS members eager to take objects on loan.

9. AOB

MH - Odyssey project (naval ship went down) raises issues of strategic importance and how museums can act to encourage good practice?

RC - mentioned the NMMC which Greenwich was strongly supporting..

SR - explained that 120 boats from the NMM collection were on their way to NMM Cornwall at Falmouth, on programme to open June 2002. The boats are being prepared now and there would be a rotating cycle of boats on display. The new building on the Falmouth waterfront is stunning. Andy Wyke, a professional boatbuilder, has been appointed as Boat Store Manager to look after collection at Falmouth.

BF - said that this, his first UKMCS meeting, had been positive and enjoyable.

RC - undertook to keep the Duke of York informed about the good progress of UKMCS and future plans for its promotion.

10. Date and purpose of next meeting

Tuesday 12 February 2001 11.00 am to 2.15 pm.

Suggested agenda: (1) Review issues discussed at this meeting and focus on areas where UKMCS might achieve high profile gains and 'quick wins' (2) disposals (3) role of Lead Museums (4) Brian Lavery's paper on overlapping subjects.

MEETING CLOSE: 2.15 pm