1.0 INTRODUCTION Kildare County Council in association - Kildare.ie

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AUDIT OF MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS IN COUNTY KILDARE 2006 7.11.2 Size of Museum Building According to the survey findings five museum buildings are between 100 - 500 sq. meters in size. Another five are between above 1000 sq. meters in size. Four organizations did not answer or did not know the size of the building. 7.11.2 Visitor Attendance Records Six museum organizations do not keep records of visitor attendance. Eight organizations do keep some form of visitor records with varying degrees of accuracy. For instance, one organization relies on a visitors book which is filled out on a voluntary basis. In all cases where details of visitor attendance has been supplied for the Audit, records show that the numbers visiting museums in Co. Kildare is rising year-on-year. Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park has the greatest visitor attendance figures for the years 2000 to 2005 ranging from 18000 in 2000 to 35,000 in 2005, growing exponentially in the intervening years. Castletown has a consistently healthy visitor attendance of between 10,500 and 11,500 visitors between the years 2003-2005 respectively. Of the seven museum organizations that supplied percentage data on the breakdown of the visitor profile (schools, tourists, families), the following information emerges: - 23.1% of visitors are school groups - 48.8% of visitors are tourists - 30.8% of visitors are families 7.11.3 Funding and Resourcing Capital funding support for the establishment and development of many on the museums or organizations since the mid 1990s has been supplied by two key funding mechanisms in County Kildare. These are KELT (Kildare European Leader Teoranta) who operate the Leader + programme, which is due to expire at the end of this year. For day-to-day funding five museum organizations rely almost entirely upon entrance ticket revenue and revenue generated through facilities such as the café and shop to fund other aspects of the museum. Funding Mechanism No. Public-financed funding 2 Fundraising activities 3 Access charges 9 Benefactor 1 Charitable status 2 Membership 4 Only two of the 15 participating organizations seek grant aid or annual contributions from public bodies such as the Heritage Council, Arts Council, or Local Authority. Imaginative on-going fund-raising activities are practices by only three museum organizations. Fund-raising is a time consuming and demanding means of generating income. The Irish Peatland Conservation Trust has created some very imaginative ways in which to generate CHARLES DUGGAN ARHITECTURAL HERITAGE ADVISOR 38
AUDIT OF MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS IN COUNTY KILDARE 2006 income. Such activities include the project-specific fundraising appeals during the Christmas season, the “share certificates” scheme or “Stamp that Collection“, where voluntary donations of stamps is encouraged. The stamps are recycled and sold, and the proceeds help cover the salary of the education officer. Eight museum organizations engage in some form of marketing and promotional strategies. Examples of such activities include: • Direct mail advertising • Adverts in local newspapers • Adverts on local radio stations • Kildare Faille website • Promotional leaflets at various outlets including other heritage/museum organizations • Assessment of official census records • The organizations own website • Tour company brochures • Magazine advertising 7.12 Care of Collections This aspect of the Audit questionnaire addresses the storage and condition of artifacts. It should be noted that only two museum organizations engage the services of consultant conservators. Within the County the most rigorous conservation programme of conservation and house-keeping is operated by Castletown House. A consultant conservator has undertaken a full condition assessment of all artifacts on display and in storage, which is updated annually. Each artifact has a record sheet on which the condition of the item is recorded and house-keeping instructions are provided. An annual conservation programme targets different artifacts each year. Generally speaking the approach to the care of artifacts can be described as basic housekeeping. The environmental conditions of museum rooms is only controlled and monitored by one organization. One other organization operates a hydro-thermograph in one display cabinet. Only three organizations have a designated storage space for the reserve collection. In each of these three spaces, the environmental conditions are not adequately regulated. In one case, the objects are very carefully stored in stacks and covered with dust sheets that are bound to prevent sliding. It should be noted that most organizations do not require storage space as a reserve collection does not exist. Conversely, the last of storage space will limit the expansion potential for the collections of many of the museum organizations. Seven organizations describe the condition of artifacts in their care as being either good or very good, while only two organizations say reasonable or adequate. It is clear from the survey that there is a general lack of awareness and knowledge of the requirements to stabilize the condition of objects on display and in storage. 7.13 Significant Difficulties Encountered The following difficulties have been identified by the participating organizations. It is noteworthy that the issues affecting these organizations are experienced by all, despite the size and prominence of the organization. The differences occur in the ability of the organization to respond to and counteract the effects of the difficulties encountered. • Generating funding and resources for on-going management, staffing and development of organizations. CHARLES DUGGAN ARHITECTURAL HERITAGE ADVISOR 39
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1.0 INTRODUCTION Kildare County Council in association - Kildare.ie

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