Pitt Rivers Museum - University of Oxford

planned for the front of the OUMNH, made it necessary to reconsider initial plans for maps
and signs at the entrance to the Pitt Rivers. The signage project will now progress in two
phases, the first dealing with the new extension and its south entrance. The second phase,
tackling directional signage on the street and through the OUMNH and the Pitt Rivers
entrances, as well as the full Museum gallery plan, will be completed later in 2008, once the
knock-on effects of the HLF-funded restoration of the Museum’s entrance have been fully
worked out.
Marketing
The Museum received extensive publicity through the press over the reporting year. Museum
events continued to be listed on a wide range of local and national websites as well as in the
local press. Free advertising using the web has increased as more people use the internet to
seek out information on cultural activities and attractions. We also continued to use e-
marketing to promote events, and for the first time sent e-invites for a Museum event and a
private view.
Front-of-House
There were considerable staff changes to front-of-house, reception, and the museum shop
during the year. Derek Stacey was appointed deputy head attendant and has been assisting
Brian Winkfield in the daily running of front-of-house. In addition, after many years’ service
on the shop, Shirley Careford moved to take on the role of Museum receptionist, including
such administrative tasks as managing school and lecture bookings.
On 1 May, the Museum’s opening hours were extended by an additional twelve hours a
week, so that the Museum is now open to the public from to 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. from
Tuesdays to Sundays (and on Bank Holiday Mondays) and from 12.00 to 4.30 p.m. on
Mondays. Staff also worked very hard to ensure that the lower gallery—which had been
closed during the construction of the new extension—was reopened for Easter 2007. The
Museum’s attendants have an enviable reputation for presenting an especially friendly and
helpful public face: they continue to attract laudatory comments in the Museum’s visitors’
book and have done an excellent job at explaining to visitors the closures that construction of
the new extension made necessary.
Education Services
There were a number of additions and changes to the Museum’s education service during the
year. The service continued to be led by Andy McLellan, assisted by Isabelle Carré and
Menaka Rambukwella, but in January Becca McVean returned from maternity leave, whilst
in May Menaka left to take up a post at Manchester Museum (to be replaced early in the next
reporting year by Melody Vaughan). The section’s ‘core’ staff draws on the support of a
number of cross-museum posts, also funded through the Renaissance programme: Flora Bain
(assisted by Lorna Stevenson) harnessed the efforts of the hundreds of volunteers on whose
help we draw, Susan Birch continued to develop community projects, while Adrian Brooks
developed art resources and workshops for secondary schools. In addition, the volunteer
guiding service continued to deliver programmes for primary schools. Here we would
especially like to thank Jean Flemming, Frances Martyn, Rosemary Lee, Alan Lacey, Linda
Teasdale, Margaret Dyke, Anne Phythian-Adams, and Sukey Christiansen for generously
giving the time that makes this possible.
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