Peer Review for Standards Scheme

(Left to right: John Low, Otautau Museum Chairperson; Jim Geddes, Gore Art Gallery and Museum; and Kylie Ngaropo of National Services Te Paerangi).

Yesterday we participated in a peer review of the New Zealand Museum Standards Scheme which is run by National Services Te Paerangi. This is a scheme to help improve the work of museums towards best practice standards.

Our reviewers were Jim Geddes, Director of the Eastern Southland Gallery and Museum, and Kylie Ngaropo, Manager of Iwi Development at National Services Te Paerangi. All peer reviews are conducted as bi-cultural so that we get a balanced perspective. Also present were John Low (Chairperson), Graham Barkman (Display and Publicity Manager), Peter Campbell and Muriel Brown (Trustees), and myself (Collections Manager).

We looked at all five areas of best practice for a museum: Governance, Collections & Taonga, Public Programs, Customer Service, and Relationships with Communities. It took the better part of the day to move through all five modules but in the end a lot of good ideas emerged on how to improve e.g. being prepared for an emergency, creating relationships with the local runaka and other local organisations, as well as a bit more financial and succession planning.

Some things that the reviewers felt were positive were that we refresh our displays every few months so that we don't have the same thing on display all the time, and that we have job descriptions and policies in writing. They said they've seen some museums that have paid staff that don't have those things in place. So we felt really good about that. Often times, being so rural and remote, we don't know how we are doing in comparison with the other local museums around us. So it felt good to get some positive feedback.

The review was a very user-friendly process. It was relaxed and informal with no pressure to comply to the Standards. Just a good honest discussion on how we do things and what could be the next step for us. In a month or so, the review team will produce a report that we can use as a guide and reference for strategic planning as well as to support us in funding applications we might submit.

We'd like to thank Jim and Kylie again for taking a whole day to give their perspective on what we do and how we can improve.

Next month, we head into revising our strategic plan. If you have feedback on the museum - positive or negative - please feel free to email us or leave a comment. Your views can make a difference.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

A Busy Month

The Next Display

The Fairfax display has come to an end, and now we are about to launch a new display featuring Miss Donnan and Miss Shaw (pictured above). This is the first time we're focusing on the lives of specific people so it's new territory for us.

These two women were both born in the late 1800s. Each of them was an only child, both attended Otautau School, and neither of them married. They were friends who lived together for nearly 35 years in a house in Eton Street. Miss Donnan became a school teacher and taught at Otautau School for over 30 years, starting in 1908. Miss Shaw worked for the Wallace County Council for many years. Between them, they became part of the fabric of the community through church, Girl Guides, the Croquet Club, and the Tennis Club.

Miss Donnan was an amateur photographer, and her collection of photographs has found its way to our museum. We have selected a small sample of her photographs to highlight their lives.

Miss Donnan also took photos of her travels throughout New Zealand in the 1920s-40s. Someday, it would be nice to feature these travel photos as they are a snapshot in time of New Zealand.

The Standards Scheme
This month we are also preparing for a visit from Kylie Ngaropo (Te Papa/National Services) and Jim Geddes (Eastern Southland Gallery). They are going to do a peer review of the Standards Scheme with us. Basically, it's a set of best practice museum standards set out by National Services to help museums improve on what they do. We've completed all five modules which allowed us to see where we are and aren't meeting the standards, so the next step is the peer review.

Strategic Plan
This should really help us on our next task - to review our Strategic Plan. We will be doing this in the first week of November so if you have any thoughts, ideas, wishes or feedback, please let us know. What kind of museum do you want us to be? Your input could really make a big difference.

Book Sale Fundraiser
And don't forget that this weekend is the Book Sale! Lots of second-hand books and all at very cheap prices. That's Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 4pm. This is our main fundraiser so we hope to see a big crowd there!

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Scottish Piper

Today, the museum was treated to the timeless sounds of a single bagpiper, straight from Glasgow. John McGlen is visiting our fair town and offered to play for the museum. Unfortunately, I wasn't there and missed the photo opportunity. But I understand he'll be back next Sunday to play again for us.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!