Hull Museums - the story so far Simon Wilson Collections Project Manager simon.wilson@hullcc.uk tel 01482 318732

1. Hull Museums - • the story so far • Simon Wilson • Collections Project Manager • simon.wilson@hullcc.gov.uk • tel 01482 318732

2. background… • 2001 – external consultant report into documentation at Hull found a number of problems and issues: • lack of consistency across the museums • huge amount of information held in paper form only • heavy reliance on staff knowledge of the collections • collections management system purchased but not brought into use due to lack of resources • estimated no of person days needed = 7009 (ie 31.8 years for 1 person) • 2005 – Accreditation Scheme used to secure £1.4m from the City • Council to create dedicated documentation team for 3 years

3. Ferens Art Gallery Maritimeinc 2 vessels Hull & East Riding Guildhall Wilberforce House Streetlife Hands on History

4. documentation project… • 2005 – documentation team of 9 staff in place (Sep) • – documentation plan for Accreditation (Dec) • – start inventory using MS Access (Dec) • – team inherit just over 2000 records in electronic format • 2006 – inventory continues • – KE Emu selected (Jul) after thorough selection process • – data cleaning prior to submission to KE (Dec) • 2007 – inventory 63,000 records imported into CMS (Jan) • – data cleaning continues • – additional staff take team to 16 in total (Apr) • – website goes live (Nov) • 2008 – documentation project draws to close (Oct)

5. 2 stage process… • Stage 1: basic inventory into MS Access • - easy to use, enabled quick start to project • - update procedural manual • - data easy to manipulate/export to chosen system • Stage 2: KE installed and data transferred across • - data cleaned, especially locations and parties • - update procedural manual • - inventory continues directly into KE • - reconciliation with existing documentation (mda cards) • - some data will be re-keyed (eg by volunteers) into Excel and then imported into KE

6. the benefits of this approach… • - with no system in place were no real issues over legacy data • - existing staff all recognise the need to change the way they work • and the need for a single coherent system/strategy/policy • – dedicated team means we can work on all fronts at the same time • – dedicated project manager is a considerable advantage when • dealing with ICT / system developers - single contact point etc • – what we have now is already a significant improvement • - a single system for searching all collections • - creation of person “authorities”

7. the pitfalls of this approach… • – with no system in place curatorial experience of using • collection management systems is from previous posts • – trying to blend different ways of working into a single coherent • system/strategy/policy • – necessary time spent on data cleaning means that some • momentum of the inventory stage has been lost • – documentation team don’t have the object knowledge that the • Keepers have • – trying to make a huge step in a very short period of time

8. lessons learnt … • 1. put more effort into data cleaning at a much earlier stage • (everybody in the team will spend 1 day a week on checking and • cleaning the data rather than last minute panic before we go live!) • 2. foster a culture of shared ownership with existing staff • (created Collections Working Group to discuss KE issues & make • collective decisions - is in the Keeper’s interests to participate) • 3. start with accession register and then build on that • (get basic records about everything …)

9. the next six months… • Batch import of images • – have thousands of images to import • – look to automate the process as much as possible • Object Locator • – gallery plans used across many sites already • – link to current location will be used (hopefully) to turn “virtual” visitors into real ones

11. the next six months… • Natural History • – start documenting this collection • DCF Decorative Arts project • – dedicated mini-site to promote this collection • – looking to develop content for touch-screen / kiosks

12. the next six months… • Website • – collections site designed and launched with 2 levels of use: “narratives” for browsers & database search for researchers • - thousands of images / hundreds of stories about the objects • cross-links between related stories / themes • people, places and events from the city and region with clear and explicit links to items in our collections • links to fact sheets, teachers resource packs & online learning resources • – also keen to investigate quizzes / object feedback forms (moderated) and other methods of interacting with users – inc users creating their own “virtual gallery” of our objects

13. partner(s) wanted… • Museum just installed KE and looking to promote its • collections online, would like to meet similar, with keen • interest in developing new features and sharing costs. • Also looking for a relationship with an institution • experienced in cataloguing natural history collections. • (East Yorks but willing to travel) • Call 01482 318732 or • E-mail simon.wilson@hullcc.gov.uk