Annual Report 2008-2009 - National Gallery of Canada

Bell Audioguide Program
The Gallery met its target of producing three audioguides in
support of the special exhibitions. Audioguides were made
available to visitors for the 1930s exhibition and winter Bernini
exhibition in Ottawa, and the Real Life exhibition shown at
Shawinigan Space. New stops were added to the permanent
collection audioguides. Verbal description stops were offered
for the 1930s exhibition. Overall, use of audioguides exceeded
expectations by 11%. A total of 31,108 units was rented out for
either the special exhibition or the Gallery collection. The
audioguide program was made possible with the generous
support of Bell.
Audioguide Usage Projected Actual
2008–09 2008–09
Number rented for visits to
the permanent collection 5,700 5,344
Number rented for visits to
special exhibitions 22,340 25,764
Total 28,040 31,108
Note: Includes Shawinigan Space
Virtual Program
All websites were updated regularly with new content and
functionality. With a view to better serve schools, and thanks
to the generous support of the RBC Foundation, the Gallery
developed a mini-site featuring its new school program, with
program descriptions and curriculum links, frequently asked
questions, visit information, and an online reservation form.
In the fiscal year, four exhibition and event promotional
sites were launched as planned.
The Gallery’s intranet was redesigned and relaunched. The
first phase of the project included surveying staff to better
understand their needs and preferences. The new knowledge
guided the structure of the site. The second phase of the project
to develop a trading post and to redesign the forms will be
completed next fiscal year depending on resources.
A new Gallery Channels section was launched in December
2008. The section will enable the visitor to access all new podcasts
added on CyberMuse. Users will now be able to download
content from the site to portable players, or view and listen to
audio/visual content online. The Youth Careers section, consistently
popular, has been completely redesigned with new
content and functionality.
Work began on a new Researchers sub-site based on the
Veronese and Petrobelli Altarpiece. The development of the
sub-site was generously funded by the Distinguished Patrons
of the Foundation and will be launched in time for the opening
of the exhibition in May 2009.
The website Drawing with Light was the winner of the
2007 Grand Prix Web’Art of Virtual Exhibition Award presented
by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The Gallery
won a second international award for its online interactive
children’s game – Eye Spies.
More records are now available to the public on CyberMuse.
Out of a total of 68,751 records representing 7,907 artists, 18,208
(26.5%) are illustrated with digital images.
The Gallery’s websites continue to surpass projections by
almost 25%. New targets will be developed in the next year to
better reflect current usage.
Virtual Attendance Projected Actual
2008–09 2008–09
User Sessions
NGC and CMCP 935,000 1,345,442
CyberMuse 1,100,000 1,590,925
Total 2,035,000 2,936,367
Web Hits
NGC and CMCP 5,910,000 20,177,688
CyberMuse 24,000,000 47,041,226
Total 29,910,000 67,218,914
48 Key Expected Results