The Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales has received an award of £40,000 from CyMAL to purchase eight digitisation kits. The sets include a lap top with Office 2000, memory stick, Photoshop and Soundforge, a high specification scanner and digital camera, copystand, lighting unit, tripods, light box and additional lenses and peripherals.

We have already distributed some equipment, but we would like to hear from further projects. We are interested in museums across Wales who would like to carry out any kind of ‘DIGITISATION PROJECT’. This could be recording a collection, collection in private hands, buildings in a community, events and activities, the disappearance of an industry or landscape. All projects will be considered but particular consideration will be given to those that improve communication between museums and their communities. All projects should meet some or all of the aims and objectives of the Federation.

A. To promote the highest professional standards of work and public service in museums and art galleries in Wales.

1. To promote the highest standards of collection care and public service.

2. To encourage joint working throughout the museum, libraries and archives sectors.

3. To ensure the proper care of objects and collections of national importance.

4. To advocate the establishment of museums where no suitable provision exists.

5. To work in partnership with any relevant organisations.

6. To offer professional comment on staffing within museums.

7. To support and promote diversity of museum provision.

8. To provide information on Welsh museum issues.

B. To advance the education and training of those working in and supporting museums and art galleries in Wales:

9. To support continuous professional development.

C. To encourage public education through promotion and maintenance of high quality museum and art gallery lifelong learning services. To promote museums as places for inspiration, learning and enjoyment.

Training in the use of the equipment will be provided, and will be supported by CyMAL. In order to be considered your museum should be a current member of the Federation. If you are not a member of the Federation and would like to be considered then please contact Chris Wilson, Membership Secretary at Chris.J.Wilson@rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk to organise your membership, or fill in the form here.

In order to administer the scheme we would like to establish eight ‘DIGI-HUBS’ - host museums who in addition to carrying out their own project, will care for the equipment and administer its loan to other museums in their region who also want to carry out DIGITISATION PROJECTS. We are looking for a partnership approach and a group application with a lead museum would be ideal. The host museums should already have or be willing to develop strong links with other cultural organizations, particularly other museums, libraries and archives. They should also be carrying out a high quality digitization project of their own. Ideally we would like the DIGI-HUBS to have a remit for a geographical area to ensure as many museums as possible can access the equipment.

The Federation will monitor the scheme via a yearly progress report, provided by the DIGI-HUBS and those museums borrowing the equipment for their own projects. We will review the scheme after two years.

If you would like to carry out your own project or become a ‘DIGI-HUB’ then please send an outline of your project, indicating how it will improve communication between museums and their communities and how it fits into the aims and objectives of the Federation.

This outline should be sent to Rachael Rogers, Secretary of The Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, c/o Abergavenny Museum, Castle Street, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 5EE by Friday 26th August 2005. All proposals will be considered at the next committee meeting and successful applicants will be notified by the end of September 2005.

Downloadable version in Word or as a PDF file.

© 2007 The Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales