аЯрЁБс>ўџ GHўџџџDEFџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџмЅhcр etЛ№†ЭЖ DU``a &a |d|d|dt€h,€hЌwЌwЌwФw.ђwю€hС„Ірxрxіxіxіxјyјyјyч€щ€щ€щ€ZCАѓ‚АЃ„g…XП…1С„|dјy 'іxєъyјyјyС„Ш}hdhdіxрxШ}Ш}Ш}јyаhdіx|dіxч€`­њŸ(QО№d4$f\2a4fbhdhdјyч€Ш}Ш}Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and Sport ( Libraries, Arts and Museums ( Economic and Community Development ( Leisure and INDEX OVERVIEW WHY MUSEUMS? 3 STATUTORY FRAMEWORK 5 CORPORATE FRAMEWORK 5 SERVICE PROFILE 7 THE AIM OF DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY MUSEUM SERVICE 12 COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT 13 ACCESS 17 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 23 THE FUTURE OF THE MUSEUMS SERVICE 26 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 29 PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND MONITORING 31 APPENDIX 1 SUMMARY AND ACTION PLAN APPENDIX 2 COLLECTING POLICY OVERVIEW WHY MUSEUMS? Museums and Galleries hold in trust for the future the material evidence of people and their environment. They provide comparisons which illuminate our experience of the present as well as our understanding of the past. A fuller understanding of our heritage allows us to place our lives in context and gives us a groundbase to plan the shape of our future. Dumfries Museum, founded in the early 19th century and one of the oldest in Britain, formed part of the original movement to create museums for the enlightenment and enjoyment of the community. These early objectives remain fundamental to Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service. In recent years rapid changes in society and the growth of technology have affected many traditional patterns of economic and social life. This has served to reinforce the role of museums in affirming the identity of local communities. The huge growth in the number of museums over the past three decades reflects people’s need to record and celebrate those aspects of their heritage which they regard as important. There are many local examples of communities developing museums to preserve and present what they consider unique about their shared identity. This need appears as fundamental to the human psyche as artistic expression and will not diminish in the coming centuries. Indeed the historical significance of the establishment of the first Scottish Parliament in almost three hundred years is likely to stimulate increased interest in Scotland’s rich and colourful heritage as we enter the new Millenium. The increase in leisure time has created new user groups for museums, as has the overall rise in disposable income and mobility. Visits to museums and galleries are the single most frequent experience of the arts in Scotland. The gross total of 11 million visits per year exceeds attendance at football league matches in a nation where football is the national sport! Museums are able to provide the context and skills for the preservation of the natural and human history of their locality. Museums provide to their users and non-users alike a sense of continuity and pride in the place and traditions of the community which they serve. As the pace of change increases this sense of identity provided by museums becomes more important. Museums are partners in the provision of both formal and informal education by providing important resources for learning. This is reflected in the National Guidelines for 5-14 education which emphasise the role of the child’s direct environment in teaching strategies and recommend the use of local sources such as museum collections. Investment in the museum service has tangible as well as intangible benefits, particularly in Scotland where tourism is such an important industry. Investment in the tourism infrastructure is vital if our nation is to attract visitors who will make a real contribution to the local economy by using local accommodation and services and by making repeat visits. The quality of attractions available is a major factor in attracting visitors to Scotland and encouraging them to extend their stay beyond the traditional high summer season. Museums now play a key role in the tourism industry, which is central to the regional economy of many areas. Museums contribute to the local economy both directly, by creating employment and indirectly by attracting visitors who then become customers of many other local businesses. In the Scottish climate the all-weather facilities provided by museums are of particular importance. Museums are also a factor in the quality of life of the local area and are perceived as raising its attractiveness to potential incoming investment. A Museums Strategy, addressing the future of a museum service over a period of say five years and considering a policy which provides a coherent plan for dealing with collections is an important tool for a Local Authority to assess the adequacy of existing provision and plan for future commitments. Furthermore, most funding bodies including the Scottish Museums Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund require applicants for grant aid to demonstrate that a particular funding application is firmly embedded in the Authority’s own strategy. Without such a strategy, it is impossible for those advising the grant awarding body to feel assured that management have fully addressed all the relevant issues. Unless an Authority can evidence a coherent strategy, it is unlikely to succeed in competitive funding applications. It charts the development and assesses the present position of the museums service. It identifies objectives and priorities for the future and seeks to provide a way forward for the development of museums in Dumfries and Galloway for the years 1998-2003. Here in Dumfries and Galloway the Museums Service faces many challenges. The task of integrating the four former District Services into a single service is not yet complete. Visitor numbers for museum premises are largely static and in some cases decreasing slightly. Community Resources Department of which the Museum Service is part offers the opportunity for strengthening links within a range of compatible customer led services. Links with other Council Services also need to be strengthened. A number of the independent museums which have in the past enjoyed generous Council funding are now struggling to survive in the face of budget cuts by the Council. This Strategy attempts to address these and other issues. Statutory Framework The duties and powers of Dumfries and Galloway Council to make provision for cultural facilities and activities including museums and galleries are set out in section 4(1) of the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982. The Act imposes a duty to ensure adequate provision in this area and gives the Council a range of relevant powers, including an explicit power to contribute financially to organisations which provide or promote cultural activities or facilities, whether such organisations operate inside or outside the area of the local authority concerned. Corporate Framework The corporate aim of the Council to develop the diverse areas of Dumfries and Galloway to their full and sustainable potential to provide a high level of services and quality of life for all its people. The Department for Community Resources brings together a range of cultural and community development issues. Its complementary aim is to improve the quality of life and enhance opportunities and individuals throughout our area. Within that context our Museums Service Aim is to provide enjoyment and increase appreciation of the unique heritage of Dumfries and Galloway through the care of and access to local collections for the widest possible audience in order that we can meet the needs and expectations of local people and visitors alike. Dumfries and Galloway Council has identified four key areas, health, governance, community safety and regeneration where it wishes to play an active role in sustaining the well being of communities and the individuals within them. By identifying these four areas of focused activity museum services are directed towards making a contribution to these objectives for the enhancement of our society and quality of life in Dumfries and Galloway. Health of the Community. By contributing to the quality of people’s lives, museums and galleries have a beneficial effect on individuals which can reduce levels of ill health and promote mental and physical well being. More directly work with people with special needs and reminiscence work with the elderly and out patient groups provide a valuable role in the health of the community. Civic Governance. Our museums are part of a highly decentralised operation whose staff and services form an integral part of the communities they serve. Our commitment to an enabling role is demonstrated through support for and involvement with a wide range of local groups. We are continuing to develop new approaches to customer consultation and are committed to equality of access. Community Safety. Our museums help to engender a pride of place and sense of community to our young people and the development of interests in local and natural history offer attractive alternatives to harmful influences within society. Regeneration. Many of the area’s leading visitor attractions are museums and galleries. Community Resources assists the regeneration of the local economy by operating or supporting through financial or other assistance these museums and through involvement in major events which bring visitors to this area. Also coming to the fore is the issue of Agenda 21, the global plan for sustainable development agreed at the 1992 United Nations Summit. The Museum Service contributes to the development of Agenda 21, through childrens’ workshops, permanent and temporary exhibitions and school loans items and the planting of a garden for wildlife in conjunction with Solway Heritage. The Authority has made direct provision by assuming the running of the 12 museums and galleries of the 4 former districts, Annandale and Eskdale, Nithsdale, Stewartry and Wigtown, and provides financial assistance and access to professional advice and support for local independent museums and galleries. Services include: exhibitions and activities, enquiries and research, services to schools and local community groups, care of extensive and important collections and assistance to independent museums. Service Profile DuMfries and Galloway Museums Annan Historic Resources Centre In 1955 Annan Town Council took over responsibility for a small collection of local history objects and paintings which had been gathered together by Annan Rotary Club. The Annan Museum was on display in Annan Library in Bank Street. The museum collection was moved to Moat House, Bruce Street and administered by an Honorary Curator until 1979 when it was moved to Dumfries Museum for safe-keeping. In 1991 this collection was returned to Annan Council Chambers and stored in the attic and a basement room. In November 1992 a Cultural Services Officer was appointed. In June 1993 the District Council agreed to amend plans for the renovation of the former Library in Bank Street to allow for the creation of a storage and exhibition facility for historic resources as opposed to a full-blown museum with permanent and temporary exhibitions. The Historic Resources Centre was formally opened in February 1995. A programme of temporary exhibitions has been carried out during the summer and autumn months relying on the aid of volunteers. Basic cataloguing of the collections has been undertaken during the winter. The Historic Resources Centre is located on the ground, first and second floors of a listed building originally built in 1906 as the Annan Library. The premises are linked with Victoria Halls complex and share services such as heating, security alarm and an hydraulic lift. Visitor figures in 1997: 2,000. Dumfries Museum Dumfries Museum is one of the oldest museums in Scotland, being founded in 1836. Its collections have been carefully developed over the years and now cover the archaeology, geology, botany, wildlife and history of the region. The core collections are now large and impressive, in certain areas they are of national significance. These collections are a major resource in the research and interpretation of a wide range of local studies. Its Camera Obscura is the oldest of its type in existence and attracts visitors from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. It is the operational base of the professional staff for Dumfries who have considerable subject expertise and local knowledge. Its buildings had reached full capacity by the mid 1970's and in 1981 an extension was built which added an exhibition gallery, storage, laboratory and workshop facilities, a darkroom and office and library space. It also greatly improved accessibility to the building for people with disabilities. Visitor figures in 1997: 16,000. Old Bridge House Museum, dumfries The Old Bridge House, the oldest domestic building in Dumfries town, opened as a museum in 1959. It is built into the structure of Devorgilla's Bridge, one of Dumfries' oldest and most notable landmarks. It is a museum of social history with period room settings and everyday objects from the life of the town over the last two centuries. Visitor figures in 1997: 14,000. Robert Burns Centre, dumfries The Robert Burns Centre which opened in 1986 was developed as the main focus for the southern part of the Burns Heritage Trail. Its purpose is to present the story of Robert Burns and his life in South West Scotland and to direct the visitor to other locations in the area with Burns connections, through an exhibition and audio visual presentation. Another audio visual presentation covers the history of Dumfries. There is also a cafe and a bookshop reflecting Scottish interest and film culture. It has won several national awards. Following discussions with the Scottish Film Council, a regional film theatre was opened in the Centre in 1987. It presents bi- monthly programmes of quality feature films many of which would not otherwise be seen in this area. On average two or three films per week are shown and other film related events such as special seasons, film culture lectures and late night showings are promoted. The concept of a film theatre integrated into museum premises has been much praised and the premises have been visited on numerous occasions by interested groups from other parts of Britain. Visitor figures in 1997: 40,000. Burns House This is the mid 18th century house where Robert Burns spent the last 3 years of his life and where he died in 1796. It is presented as a period house and is furnished as it would have been when Burns and his family were in residence. There is an exhibition of relics of the poet and a bibliographic collection. It is a place of pilgrimage for Burns enthusiasts from all over the world. Visitor figures in 1997: 15,000. Burns Mausoleum Burns Mausoleum where Robert Burns is buried was built by public subscription in 1815. It was restored in 1995/96 and is cared for by Dumfries and Galloway Museums. Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries, is home to a permanent Collection of over 450 works of Scottish Art dating from the 1890’s to the present day. The Arts Centre comprises of a Victorian Villa opened in 1951, to house the Collection and the Studios, opened in 1989. Both buildings present temporary exhibitions of international, national and local contemporary visual art and craft. The Studios also offer meeting rooms, artists’ studio space, a darkroom, craft shop and cafщ/bar facilities. The “Kilncraft Workshops” within the grounds of the Centre offers studio space to Glass and Ceramic makers. Gracefield Arts Centre is run by the Arts section of Community Resources and is registered with the Museums and Galleries Commission. Visitor figures in 1997: 28,000. Sanquhar Tolbooth Sanquhar Museum was founded in 1975 in the 1735 Tolbooth built by William Adam. By the mid 1980's the fabric of the building required substantial refurbishment and in 1987 the museum was closed while the works were carried out supported by European Community finance. The premises re-opened in 1990 with completely new displays and a room for storage. The former cells also were opened for exhibition. Visitor figures in 1997: 5,000. Stewartry Museum, kirkcudbright The Stewartry Museum opened to the public in 1881 as the county museum, moving to its present purpose built building in 1893, and was managed by the Stewartry Museum Association until 1990 when the Association gifted the museum building and its collections to Stewartry District Council, at which time the Museum Service was established. The museum is the operational base, where most of the collections are held either on display or in store, and from which an information service is provided to the public. An advisory service to independent museums and heritage centres is provided and joint exhibitions have been arranged in the past. The museum has recently been upgraded and refurbished, and the permanent exhibition is currently being redisplayed. Visitor figures in 1997: 6,000 Tolbooth ART CENTRE Kirkcudbright The Tolbooth Art Centre opened in 1993, as a conversion of Kirkcudbright’s historic 17th century Tolbooth. It operates as a branch of the Stewartry Museum, and serves primarily as an interpretive centre for Kirkcudbright’s important artistic heritage, as well as running a programme of exhibitions by contemporary artists, both from the region and further afield. Visitor figures in 1997: 11,000 Castle Douglas Art Gallery Castle Douglas Art Gallery is a temporary exhibition venue regularly used by local art/craft groups, individual artists and for exhibitions arranged by the Museum Service. The physical access to the gallery has recently been improved and major refurbishment work was carried out in March 1997. Visitor figures in 1997: 9,000 Stranraer Museum A County Museum was established as part of Stranraer library in 1939 and the first displays were mounted immediately after the War. After local government reorganisation in 1975 Wigtown District Council assumed responsibility for the museum service. The collections, which cover the whole of Wigtownshire, were transferred to the Old Town Hall in Stranraer in 1984 and the use of the whole building for museum purposes was achieved in 1996. A separate building was acquired in 1993 as a dedicated store for the Wigtownshire collection. Public access is currently by appointment only. The building includes an attached area of unutilised ground which could be developed to meet future storage needs. Visitor figures in 1997: 15,000. Castle of St. John, Stranraer This medieval tower house, a Scheduled Ancient monument, opened as a visitor centre in 1990. Interpretative displays look at the changing use of the building over the centuries. Visitor figures in 1997: 5,000. The other museums in Dumfries and Galloway National Museum of SCotland managed Museum of Costume-Shambellie House, New Abbey Historic Scotland managed New Abbey Corn Mill; Sweetheart Abbey; Caerlaverock Castle; Threave Castle; Whithorn Cathedral Priory Museum; Dundrennan Abbey; Glenluce Abbey. National Trust for Scotland Broughton House, Kirkcudbright; Thomas Carlyle’s House, Ecclefechan. Independent Trusts Crichton Royal Museum; Moffat Museum; Museum of Leadmining, Wanlockhead; Post Office Museum, Sanquhar; John Paul Jones Cottage, Arbigland; Ellisland Farm; Dalbeattie Museum; Mill on the Fleet, Gatehouse; Carsphairn Heritage Centre; Newton Stewart Museum; Whithorn Trust; Creetown Heritage Trust. Privately managed Blacksmith’s Shop, Gretna; Eastriggs Heritage Project; Drumlanrig Castle and Cycle Museum; Dumfries Aviation Museum; Henry Duncan’s Savings Bank Museum, Ruthwell; Maxwelton House, Moniaive; James Paterson Museum, Moniaive; Creetown Gem Rock Museum; Sophie’s Puppenstube Museum, Newton Stewart and Motor Museum, Glenluce. Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society and Wigtownshire Antiquarian Society also have a strong interest in the history of the area. THe aim of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service. Museums Service Aim is to provide enjoyment and increase appreciation of the unique heritage of Dumfries and Galloway through the care of and access to local collections for the widest possible audience in order that we can meet the needs and expectations of local people and visitors alike. To achieve this statement the following areas of activity have been determined: To preserve the museums’ collections of objects and archives through systematic storage, active and passive conservation, buildings maintenance and security. To collect material culture relevant to the human and natural history of Dumfries and Galloway, according to the adopted collecting policy. To research the background of objects and to maintain documentation systems to ensure the accessibility of the collection and the information relating to it. To provide a service offering assistance with local studies and the identification of objects. To interpret the collections to educate, entertain and excite the public by the production of permanent and temporary exhibitions, by their application to formal and informal education, and by a variety of promotions, events, publications and community involvement. Also to use the interpretive capacity of the museums on topics of significant interest not represented within the collections. To promote access to the collections by all available means in order to bring the services provided by the museums to the widest possible audience. To provide advice and support to independent museums within Dumfries and Galloway to engender good practice. To maintain Museums and Galleries Commission Registered status for the Council’s directly provided museums and to gain Registration status for the second phase of that scheme and to assist other local museums to reach that standard. To promote joint initiatives and service integration with other sections of Community Resources and other Council Services. To develop our collections and services to meet and reflect our changing society. Collections Management The standard of collections management should be raised to exceed those required by Phase 2 of the Museums and Galleries Commission Registration Scheme. Registration is a minimum standards scheme which measures museum performance against accepted professional standards. Its primary aim is to foster confidence in museums as repositories of our common heritage and as managers of public resources. The Museums Manager has responsibility for museum standards within the directly provided service and provides advice on this matter to local independent museums. In general for our museums more staff time should be devoted to the organisation of the core collections. This would ensure their physical preservation, improve accessibility and generate information which would be useful in all other aspects of the museums' work. Extra time spent by permanent staff on this task would almost certainly be at the expense of other duties and appropriate use should be made of volunteers and grant aided projects. Collections Policy. Museums’ collections are their greatest assets. Following the adoption of various collecting policies our collections now relate mainly to the natural and human history of Dumfries and Galloway. Items are still mostly received by donation although with the greater awareness of the monetary value of objects by the public, a greater number of objects have to be acquired by purchase. The quality and relevance of any potential acquisition is now much more closely considered and this will certainly be to the long term benefit of the collections. Due regard must also be given to conservation and storage requirements in considering a potential acquisition. It is no longer possible to accept artefacts over a certain size into the collections. This must be weighed against the fact that the opportunity of making many acquisitions will not re-occur and will be lost to the area forever if no action is taken. Although there has been targeting on specific areas of the collection such as local silversmithing and works by Kirkcudbright artists, valuable tasks such as oral history recording and the systematic photographic recording of constructions and demolitions have not been attempted. Despite the fact there is no natural sciences specialist on the staff, much work has been done on the natural history collection through the work of expert volunteers. The historical collections of Dumfries and Galloway Museums are discrete and specific to the institutions which collected them. Almost all items have been gifted by donors whose intentions were that their artefacts form part of the collection of a particular museum, which is accountable for their safekeeping. Respecting these intentions has the effect of maintaining credibility and encouraging future donations. This suggests an approach whereby the collections are the responsibility of individual museums but they are held in common by sharing information on an integrated collections database and made accessible throughout Dumfries and Galloway for the purpose of exhibitions. An acquisitions sinking fund has been established which would enable major new purchases to be made which exceed the annual revenue allocation for acquisitions. All possible sources of external funding should be explored including public appeals. The collecting policy should be reviewed every five years. As a general rule where an item is being considered for acquisition by various museums the principal consideration should be into which museums collection does it fit most appropriately in terms of strengths and weaknesses of that collection. A collecting policy is helpful but it cannot be a final arbiter for every acquisition and each decision should be based on professional judgement of the individual case. This will also take into account conflicts of interest with other museums both national and local which will become an increasing problem given their continuing growth in numbers. A revised collecting policy, acceptable to the Museums and Galleries Commission for Phase 2, the latest phase of their Registration Scheme is detailed at Appendix 2. Documentation In 1992 the development of a computer based collections data base was initiated. This task has revolutionised approaches to documentation and is becoming a major tool for collections management, the handling of enquiries and access to the collections. The system has now been implemented throughout the Museums Service. This system should be developed with full multimedia capabilities and public information in revised format transferred in due course onto the Internet. See Para. 7.5 Information Technology. The development of documentation systems and the museums’ collections database has been progressed using fixed term contracts for data conversion and cataloguing. It should be an objective to address this area of service by establishing a permanent post of museums documentation officer. This will promote a higher level of integration of and access to the collections throughout Dumfries and Galloway. Conservation. Until the appointment of a Conservator in the 1980s 'first aid' conservation was generally carried out by existing professional staff on a reactive basis. The conservator is employed as a general conservator and specialised conservation such as paper, textiles, paintings, stonework and waterlogged wood are still agented out.. Even though the collections in Dumfries and Galloway Museums are large and there is an ongoing workload for their conservation, nevertheless time should be spent formulating an overall conservation needs survey and implementing its findings. Advice on environmental monitoring and control and on preventative conservation measures should be made available. There has been a considerable financial investment in equipping museums with environmental recording and monitoring equipment. The renovation of the Annan Historic Resources Centre in 1993/94 included the fitting of automatic monitoring and control equipment for temperature and humidity levels. All museums should undertake environmental monitoring and keep appropriate records. Collections should be surveyed on a routine basis and a action plan implemented. The main priority should continue to be first aid conservation coupled with preventative conservation. The maintenance of the fabric of museum buildings is an important aspect of the conservation of the collection and in the past effort has been devoted to raising the standard of maintenance from previously poor levels. With the exception of the Castle of St. John at Stranraer all the premises are in sound structural condition and their fabric is in good order. Nevertheless the maintenance of that standard is an ongoing task and a planned programme of maintenance should be implemented which would reduce the need for museum staff to be responsible for implementing routine maintenance tasks. Security It is a sad fact that vandalism and theft from museums is increasing and there have been thefts from nearly all of the museums in the area. In the past ten years, security of the museum premises has been a high priority and most buildings now have automatic fire and intruder alarms which also afford protection to staff. Some premises have been the subject of reports by the National Security Adviser of the Museums and Galleries Commission. Staff awareness of security issues is now at a high level and security must continue to have a high priority. The physical and electronic security of all premises should be regularly reviewed with regard to the nature of the collections, the location of the premises and accordingly, the level of the risk. The security of some premises is inadequate and a priority action plan should be implemented. Where it is merited by the value of potential loan material the standard of security should be that required by government indemnity. Free independent advice on premises should be sought from experts such as the National Security Adviser. Security systems should be improved in line with technological advances. Staff training and awareness should be maintained at a high level and the security implications of any proposed staffing readjustments should be considered. Storage Reserve collections are not a static repository of material considered unworthy of exhibition. They perform an important role in the interpretative and educational functions of any museum. In order to fulfil this role reserve collections must be well organised and easily accessible. There is an immediate need for a storage area specifically designed for large objects. Generally storage facilities are inadequate and this curtails acquisition and makes important reserve collections difficult to access, preventing their full potential from being realised. Social history collections require particular attention. The Museum service is recognised as being approved for the receipt of excavation material from Historic Scotland funded archaeological excavations and the Treasure Trove Advisory Panel. This will place increasing demands on storage space for low grade material. Appropriate storage facilities for this material should be investigated. The Archive and Historic Records Collections of Dumfries and Galloway Council is vested in the Department for Community Resources through its Libraries, Information and Archives section. Museums at Dumfries, Annan, Kirkcudbright and Stranraer hold collections of archives which are an integral part of the Council’s collections. A policy has been adopted by the Council to ensure consistency of care and access for its archives and historic records. ACcess Interpretation and Presentation. The museums service has an excellent record of producing interesting and varied programmes of temporary exhibitions and has a full time Exhibitions Officer. In particular the response to decreasing touring exhibition ‘product’ in Scotland has been to embark on an ambitious series of high quality temporary exhibitions produced in-house. These have served to raise and maintain the museums’ public profile. The implications of a commitment to large scale in-house temporary exhibitions are considerable for the museums service and its ability to carry out other functions. The exhibition of core collections should be regularly reviewed in order to present new perspectives. This should be approached in a way which generates public interest, and being less ephemeral than temporary exhibitions, has greater long term benefits to the museum. Interpretation covers all methods by which information and appreciation is communicated to the museum user. In its simplest form it is the text which explains the object, but this communication can take place in a wide variety of ways. The interpretation of the collections held by Dumfries and Galloway Museums relies heavily on this text based approach and this is only realistic given the resources available. To increase and improve the experience of the museum user by association, interaction and activity should be the theoretical aim of all progressive museum services. This can be approached in two principal ways. Firstly by a high level of expenditure on gallery technology; this includes audio-visual installations; static and kinetic models; reconstructions and working replicas; and computer catalogues and other information which can be accessed by the visitor. Many recent developments elsewhere have relied heavily on these techniques, sometimes with mixed success. Secondly, by increasing the level of person-to-person contact between the museum establishment and the user, with a concomitant increase in expenditure on staffing. This approach includes activities and events in which the museum user can participate; museum guides rather than attendants, sometimes using historical personae; and enquiry desks in the galleries. The best aspects of these approaches will be maximised within available resources. The core exhibitions in each museum should be upgraded. The quality of museum visits should be improved by original and inventive interpretation. The work undertaken for large scale temporary exhibitions is rewarded by their educational value and increased public awareness of the museums service but they are essentially ephemeral events and the amount of staff time devoted to them should be carefully assessed. At least one major in-house temporary exhibition per year should be produced with the aim of touring such exhibitions round the main Council museums. This would draw upon resources from throughout the Museums Service and the Department for Community Resources. Wherever possible these major in house productions should be designed with a view to touring in other locations in Dumfries and Galloway and beyond. Other more modest temporary exhibitions and events can create added interest in museum collections and cater for local community interests. There should also be a commitment to buy-in touring exhibitions in a co-ordinated manner to reduce total costs. Archaeology should develop into areas such as assistance with site interpretation and strong links should be formed between museums as the principal local resource for archaeological collections and research materials and any regionally based archaeological interpretation projects, such as Archaeosight. Links with the Department of Environment and Infrastructure Ranger Service and the Agenda 21 Team should be improved with regard to the natural environment. Programmes of exhibitions and other access projects which integrate the resources of the Department for Community Resources including museums libraries, galleries, arts promotions, entertainments and community development should be developed. Physical and Intellectual Access In recent years considerable attention has been given to maximising physical access to museum premises for people with mobility difficulties. This has limitations due to the particular nature of historical buildings. The Tolbooth Art Centre won the STB’s “Tourism for All” award in 1993 for its facilities for the disabled. Particular exhibition projects have addressed the needs of visitors with sensory disabilities. The auditorium at the Robert Burns Centre is fitted with an induction loop hearing system. We recognise the needs of people with learning or communication disabilities alongside those of people with other disabilities. The Museum Service will continue to conduct access audit exercises, which embrace the buildings, the collections, the services and the publicity materials. All museums staff should be made aware of the needs of people with disabilities through disability awareness training. This will include help and advice for front of house staff in making visitors with disabilities welcome and in assisting them if problems arise, encouraging curatorial staff to be aware of the needs of people with disabilities when planning exhibitions or updating existing displays and to include people with disabilities in activities and events. Efforts should be made to improve links between museums staff and organisations for people with disabilities. When issues of physical and intellectual access are considered in the planning of new projects advice will be sought and best practice adopted. The possibility of increasing access by upgrading premises should be considered and potential external funding for this should be investigated. The requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act should be implemented within the statutory timetable. Adequate car and coach parking is an essential element to the success of museum premises in Dumfries and Galloway. Changes in local parking restrictions should be carefully monitored for their impact on all museum visitors and visitor car and coach parking areas to serve particular museums should be developed. Customer Focus Museums need to keep pace with changing public perceptions and interests and a programme of consultation involving customers and non customers will be undertaken. The purpose is to extend local awareness of museums leading to increased visitor numbers. Education and Outreach It has been argued that the most important function of museums is to educate. Education is a process which happens by a variety of methods, some informal, and continues throughout life. Museums also have an important part to play in the formal and informal education system. This is increasing in the light of changes in the new curriculum which emphasise the child's environment in the learning process. There has been a long established relationship between Dumfries and Galloway Museums and schools in the area. School classes use all museums for class visits; there is a school loans collection consisting of boxed sets of objects with accompanying illustrations and teaching notes; and museum staff regularly assist class teachers in preparing project work. This work is carried out by a full time officer based in Wigtownshire who also provides outreach workshops for schools, offers in service training for teachers and liaises with other staff on the delivery of educational services. The introduction of the 5-14 National Guidelines which emphasise the child’s environment in the learning process and formally encourage investigative learning and the use of wide ranging primary information sources have confirmed museums as an invaluable resource for delivery of this curriculum. At secondary level there is also a strong contribution by museums, especially in assisting students with Standard Grade investigations. This has greatly increased demands on museum services and the potential for involvement in primary and secondary education is only restricted by the staff time required to respond to this new level of interest. At present outwith Wigtownshire, museums continue to meet the demands of local schools for educational services within their existing staff resources and this necessarily limits the extent to which this can be accomplished. In Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale this has been addressed to some extent by partnership with an independent museum educator. Realistically, however, it will not be possible to equalise the level of service in this area of activity between the East and West of the region without the appointment of another Museums Education Officer. It is proposed to seek Heritage Lottery Fund support to extend the educational service offered. Education is a life-long process and therefore everything that a visitor to a museum receives is educational. There are many ways in which museums should promote and capitalise upon this process. These include facilities for individual researchers and interactive workshops. The most obvious contribution presently made to continuing education is by giving lectures and talks. Most professional staff are involved in this activity and the rewards to the museums service in terms of goodwill and local profile are great. Some work has also been done with local newspapers, radio and television. Informal education opportunities include: holiday and club activities for children and families, workshops for community groups and people with special needs, oral history projects and reminiscence work with the elderly and out patient groups; landscape and townscape surveys; village or parish history groups . The benefit of this type of work is twofold as the museum can use the voluntary efforts of the participants to build up its historical resources, and the museum service is seen as being involved with and owned by the community. The participants themselves receive enjoyment and education in their heritage. Outreach activities are often the only way to deliver museum services to certain groups within society and have been particularly successful in involving women, the elderly and other people who are not traditionally museum users. Partnerships with local schools, the Education Department and other agencies should be developed, a review of educational services and a plan for museums education prepared. The Education Department has offered to make available a member of the Education Support Service to assist with this purpose. Cost effective projects involving the community should be devised to deliver the educational potential of our museums. The Museum Service welcomes the development of the Crichton College of the University of Glasgow and will seek to develop partnerships with the new enterprise. Information Technology Developments in Information Technology offer exciting opportunities for access to museum collections. The award winning World of Robert Burns CD ROM released in 1996 involved collaboration between the Education Department, a software developer and the Museum Service. We will seek to collaborate with similar projects in the future and has recently contributed to the National Museums of Scotland educational CD ROM project on Scottish life. The Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network (SCRAN) which is a Ѓ14 million project to provide a multimedia database of Scotland’s heritage invites contributions from local museums and Dumfries and Galloway Museums is presently producing several projects. This will ultimately lead to considerably improved public access to collections through CD ROM, Internet and future developments in communication media. The Museum Service already features on Internet sites providing information on the many museums and galleries in Dumfries and Galloway and it is intended that this information will be maintained and extended in the future in order to maximise the use of this medium. Research and Publication At present public enquiries, by letter, telephone and in person are dealt with by museum staff as they arise. An enquiry may relate to the collection, to local or family history or to a wide range of related topics. They can take up considerable amounts of time. Exhibition work also requires considerable research, the benefits of which tend to reach a much wider range of people than other forms of research. Most members of curatorial staff have relevant research interests but these are generally pursued outwith working hours. The database project is already proving to be a useful tool in dealing with enquiries and in assisting collections based research. In the long term it will enable the publication of lists of recent finds and acquisitions, source lists, catalogues to sections of the collection and bibliographies on local topics. Once these finding aids are prepared the time required to deal with individual enquiries will decrease. For many years the Museums Service has produced a range of publications from postcards and information leaflets to museum guides and books on local topics. These make the museum collections accessible to a wider audience and will be continued. Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society have for many years made a major contribution to research into local topics through the publication of their Transactions. The Museums Service has and will continue to support and participate in the important work of this organisation. Local history and heritage societies also play valuable roles in their own communities and appropriate support will also be offered to these groups. Marketing The following main elements have been identified in the marketing of museums in Dumfries and Galloway: Production and effective distribution of attractive posters and leaflets, (visitor surveys elsewhere consistently show posters and leaflets as the major source of information, used by almost half of museum visitors to find out about the attraction). Operators of local tourism businesses, particularly accommodation establishments, should be made fully aware of, and enthused about, what the museums have to offer. This ensures that they recommend them to their guests as places they must visit when staying in Dumfries and Galloway. Pricing the charged component of the service at levels which reflect the quality of the product as well as a need to maximise revenue. Providing a product which will in itself generate maximum repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations. Taking advantage of opportunities for publicity through PR, editorial coverage, where these can be obtained cost-effectively. Participating in joint marketing wherever this is cost-effective, both generally through membership of Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board and where there are specific opportunities of marketing jointly with other related attractions or accommodation establishments. Ensuring that signposting makes museums “visible” to every visitor travelling in the vicinity, and encourages them to visit. Visitor signing to all premises should be upgraded and special exhibitions and events should be promoted by the use of hanging banners. Adequate parking is becoming an increasingly important consideration for a successful attraction. From visitor surveys carried out at museums in recent years it can be seen that the largest user group (approximately 30%) come from Dumfries and Galloway with most visitors from outwith the area coming from the central belt of Scotland and the North of England. The largest percentage of visitors from outwith the UK were from North America. Visitors come from a wide range of socio-economic groupings with the results being fairly equally distributed. A typical visitor profile would be a family, on a day trip or a weeks holiday to the area generally coming from Glasgow, Edinburgh or Cumbria. Often this is a return visit, both to the area and the museum. In marketing, the promotional budget should be more closely targeted on reaching those visitors who are already on holiday in the area. Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board is responsible for the role of marketing the area nationally and, through the Scottish Tourist Board, internationally. This is an expensive task and the museums feature as a significant part of the attractions available. Our principal role is to market to tourists and locals within our area. Joint ventures with Community Resources marketing unit should be developed and updated market research undertaken. Recently, however, the cost of advertising in Tourist Board promotional literature has risen substantially. Grading and accreditation schemes are a useful tool in marketing premises as well as providing a benchmark for standards of customer care. The Scottish Tourist Board’s Visitor Attraction Grading Scheme is a recognised quality assurance scheme in this respect and the Museum service has adopted this for its premises. Resource Management Human Resources The curatorial staff of the Museum Service have a wide range of professional skills and experience and there is also a considerable skills base in within the permanently employed front of house staff. The past few years have seen an increase in the amount of training being undertaken by all staff. Courses have been attended on museum specialisms, management, safety matters, computer programmes and on developmental subjects such as stress management, assertiveness, disability awareness and customer care, most notably Welcome Host. and Scotland’s Best. All staff who have attended such courses have found them of great worth and subject to financial constraints it is proposed to continue this level of training. There is a high reliance on seasonal staff for attendant duties and there are issues of continuity and training where staff are in post for only a few months. Considerable energies are spent on ensuring a high level of competence among temporary staff. Over the years enormous use has been made of volunteers either as individuals or as part of friends organisations and it is envisaged that this will continue on a level appropriate to the supervision that can be given. Financial Planning and Income Generation The operating budget for museums and galleries in Dumfries and Galloway for 1998-9 is Ѓ650,830. The average annual expenditure per head of population is Ѓ4.40. The average expenditure per head of population for Local Authorities in Scotland is Ѓ5.83. In recent years for some museums there has been a considerable increase in income generation through shop sales and commissions on art gallery contemporary exhibition sales and in others there is the potential for further development of the range of material on offer to the public in our sales areas. Ways must be sought of increasing the Museum Service’s earned income through a higher rate of spend per visitor. This could include original museum merchandise, guides and activity sheets, increased retail space and improved marketing. The following factors affecting museums and galleries provision in Dumfries and Galloway should be considered. Museum services are provided by a range of small and diverse facilities, rather than a single large establishment. This prevents many economies of scale. The majority of museum premises are important historic buildings with particular requirements in terms of maintenance. Many local authorities and external funders are recognising that there is an economic case for investment in the arts, culture and heritage. There is an increasing appreciation that the quality of the civic infrastructure helps to attract new investment and encourages the retention of skilled and experienced workforces. This has implications for the Council in terms of the existing museums provision and should be explored further in discussions with the Local Enterprise Company, the Area Tourist Board and training providers. Sources of external funding are becoming increasingly important for the development of local museums. Potential sources of funding include the Heritage Lottery Fund, European Regional Development Fund Objective 5B, Leader II, , Scottish Museums Council, National Fund For Acquisitions, National Arts Collection Fund, Dumfries and Galloway Enterprise and the Millennium Fund. The latter is particularly relevant to Scottish museums due to its support for the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network (SCRAN) which is a Ѓ14 million project to provide a multimedia database of Scotland’s heritage. Examples of funding to date include Stranraer Museum and Castle Douglas Art Gallery, (National Lottery), Burns House, Robert Burns Centre Tolbooth Art Centre, Ellisland, Wanlockhead (ERDF), three database projects (SCRAN). The maximum external funding should be sought for Museum services and projects. The Heritage Lottery Fund is of particular importance and we closely monitor the objectives of that fund. Very few of the funders, however, provide grants for core activities and schemes are generally project based and invariably require matching funding. In any climate of local authority cuts the matching of grants on offer can prove to be a most difficult hurdle. Any forward programme developed from this strategy document should be costed in terms of resource implications. The Museum Service welcomes the application of the principles of Best Value in local government services and intends to demonstrate Best Value through its part in the preparation of a service plan, the monitoring of performance indicators, benchmarking and customer consultation. The Museums Service will be the subject of a Service Review as part of the Council’s approach to Best Value. This Review is scheduled to commence in August 1999 with a final report due in March 2000 and will include the development of performance measures and activity based costing. Charging Charging is an emotive issue and free entry to public museums is regarded by many as a matter of principle. In Scotland under the terms of section 32 of the 1887 Public Libraries Consolidation Act local authorities are not allowed to charge admission to the collections of public museums and galleries. Recent Counsel’s Opinion sought by the Scottish Museums Council expressed the view that this Act remains in force and is unaffected by subsequent local authority legislation. The Scottish Office has also recently indicated that this Act must be adhered to. This corresponds to the 1985 COSLA Policy guide-line that free access should be allowed to the core collections of the Public Museums in Scotland. It is generally accepted that councils may charge for special exhibitions. In a survey conducted by the Accounts Commission for Scotland in late 1997 over 65% of councils stated that their primary policy is to maintain free access to museums. Nevertheless charges have recently been introduced by Borders Council and Aberdeen City Council. Also the National Museum has also introduced charges. All premises affected have experienced reductions in attendances of approximately 50%. Borders have recently indicated that there is little evidence that fees help their financial situation and have now reintroduced free admission to locals for museums in Hawick and Jedburgh. Such local entry schemes, apart from being burdensome to administer, are considered to be contrary to European legislation. Where charges have been introduced, it has been found that income from donations and retailing reduces considerably. Such sums are often substantial. The picture for Dumfries and Galloway Museums is mixed with various elements of the service being charged. There are charges for the Castle of St John, Stranraer, Stewartry Museum, the Tolbooth at Kirkcudbright, the audio visuals at the Robert Burns Centre, the Camera Obscura at Dumfries Museum, whilst the other premises are free. Generally the Council would appear to be complying with the accepted interpretation of the law with the possible exception of admission to Stewartry Museum. Given the experience of other authorities it is proposed that the status quo should remain which would ensure free access to the core collections relating to our history. The Scottish Office has recently announced increased funding for the National Museums for the express purpose of enabling the phasing out of admission charges. A consistent approach recognising the financial pressures on local authority operated museums is needed if we are to avoid a situation where thriving national museums contrast with under-funded, deteriorating, local museums throughout Scotland. ‘A National Strategy for Scotland’s Museums’, the Consultation Document issued by the Scottish Museums Council is an attempt to address this issue. The Future of the Museums Service Museums serve the past, the present and the future. They will survive into the new millennium as experience shows that they fulfil a basic need in society to preserve and celebrate our common history. New technologies offer innovative and exciting ways of presenting the wealth of our heritage to an ever wider audience. Museums will enthusiastically exploit the full range of new and still to be discovered information and communications technology to unlock the potential of the historic collections which they hold in trust for the future. It should never be forgotten, however, that museums’ principal asset in terms of fascination and wonderment are the objects of a previous age. Technology is not a substitute for the experience of seeing an object or work of art, but can provide information which will enhance that experience. It is generally recognised that the most effective interpretation is that delivered on a person to person basis. The challenge for museums will be to marry the best elements of these approaches. Generally over the past 20 years there has been an explosive growth in the leisure industry in the UK with many new facilities opening and attracting a share in this market. With increased affluence shopping has become a dominant leisure pursuit. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of museums and standards of exhibition have increased considerably. The number of heritage attractions such as interpretation centres and visitor experiences has also mushroomed. The result is that museums now have many competitors for peoples’ leisure time and have tended to be perceived as commercial enterprises with their strong educational role given less prominence. Museums have reacted to this competition by increasing the quality of experience for visitors through more imaginative exhibitions and developing additional visitor facilities, particularly retailing and catering. Another thread has been the growth of independent museums, usually founded through the enthusiasm of small groups of people. In recent years it has proved possible for these and older museums to receive funding from a variety of sources for capital works. Most recently the National Lottery has proved to be a ready source of funds. Historical collections important to an area’s heritage are invaluable to present and future generations but their care and maintenance is an expensive task and there are very few museums in the UK which do not require revenue support. The difficulty for museums is that sources of revenue support funding are relatively limited, indeed local authorities are the only source of regular support for regional museums. In any time of financial restraint this places great pressure on those authorities. This is likely to be a continuing problem for the 21st century unless it is addressed by extending the remit of the National Heritage Lottery Fund to supporting running costs. A possible alternative to the care of museum collections if local authority funding continues to contract would be the establishment of a museums trust. Such a trust would be a financial and management arrangement as the collections and probably the premises would remain the property of the Council. Like several other aspects of the Councils service there is a potential to save Non-Domestic Rates. Although there are many examples of small local museum trusts in this and other areas whose continued problems of survival are well known, the establishment of trusts or companies to attempt to safeguard the collections, historic buildings and services which are presently the responsibility of Dumfries and Galloway Council would be an untried step for collections of such importance in Scotland. At present there would appear to be only limited benefits to this course of action but the matter should be kept under review. It is also worthy of note that many small independent museum trusts have their local authority as the recipient of their collection in the event of the winding up of the trust. At present in Dumfries and Galloway there is a mixed economy of directly provided and independent museums. This has occurred in an unprogrammed manner across the region. The local authority can exercise little control in the growth of the independent sector if particular groups and individuals are determined to form museums. It can, however, influence development through access to professional advice and by encouraging best practice by making Museum Registration mandatory for organisations obtaining support funding. It is probably fair to say that there is over provision in the independent sector and that the local authority should be stringent in future when considering the feasibility, sustainability and ongoing support of museum projects. The establishment of a museum collection must involve a long term commitment both financially and in terms of continuity of the care and management of collections and premises. It may be that in some cases the aspirations of local groups and individuals can be best met by alternative methods such as publications, temporary exhibitions, videos, town trails etc. The emphasis should be on sustainability and self help. The value of local heritage in terms of community aspirations is recognised and it may be appropriate to deliver support for this through Community Development workers. For the directly provided service a review of the suitability of museum premises needs to be considered. The future of the Historic Resource Centre at Annan and Wigtown Museum should be reviewed. The premises in Bank Street, Annan have not proved very suitable for museum purposes with limited display space, above ground level storage and remote office accommodation. The future of Bridge House, one of the finest buildings on the High Street is presently under discussion and its possible use as premises will be considered. Wigtown Museum, formerly sited in Wigtown County Buildings was closed in 1997 and work should be undertaken to determine if there is local demand for a museum within the town, whether there are suitable premises and whether the project is viable. There may be scope for a museum aspect to the Wigtown County Buildings Project, possibly linked to the Wigtown Book Town Initiative. The premises for Stewartry Museum should be reviewed and the possibility of extending them considered. The establishment of a new town centre museum or heritage centre for Dumfries should also be considered. Museum and gallery services for the town are generally off regular tourist paths and increasingly restricted parking for tourists and visitors on the Whitesands in particular has led to problems of accessibility. The cost of running the service on five separate sites must be weighed against the historical importance of the buildings involved particularly the Observatory, the Old Bridge House and Burns House where there is an expectation that the buildings should be preserved for some form of relevant public use. The problem of delivering arts from the site at Gracefield is described in the Arts Strategy. Similarly there are limitations at the Observatory site in terms of exhibition, storage and study space. Presently a study is underway for a possible Dumfries Cultural Centre of which a museum element may be a component. It is considered that an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund might be appropriate and may prove the way forward for the delivery of museum services for the next century. Professional staff have always been willing to provide advice and encouragement to other museums in the area. It has been the policy of the museum service to promote good working practices in small independent museums in Dumfries and Galloway and the service is a valuable one in terms of increasing both standards and goodwill. Requests for specialist advice from any member of museum staff are always considered in terms of their impact on our own resources and level of service and this should continue to be taken into account. It is the purpose of the Museums and Galleries Commission Registration Scheme to raise professional standards in the nation's museums and many national funding bodies have agreed to use Registration as the benchmark in deciding whether to give grant aid to an organisation. There is an increasing recognition of the need for investment in improving the quality of existing visitor attractions such as existing museums rather than creating new ones in an already crowded market. It is largely the Council’s own museums which contain the primary resource for the history of Dumfries and Galloway and it is these collections that should be given priority amongst those existing museums. It should be the policy of Dumfries and Galloway Council to provide funding for only registered museums or those museums which are seeking to achieve registration within a given timescale. Pastoral advice and support for existing independent museums and new initiatives should be given where the project is shown to have an historical significance, tourism potential or community development benefits to warrant such support. The maintenance and improvement of existing visitor attractions should be a higher priority than the creation of new facilities in terms of future funding support from the Council. Independent museums seeking assistance must provide meaningful performance information to allow the Council more objective decision making with regard to existing and future support and consider participating in the Scottish Tourist Board’s Visitor Attraction Grading Scheme. Where an independent museum is in receipt of substantial Council funding an appropriate Service Level Agreement will be implemented detailing targets and how they will be monitored. Meetings with the independent museums will be arranged with an initial remit to progress this strategy. The establishment of a Museums Forum for Dumfries and Galloway will be progressed. Strategic Objectives The aim of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service as outlined in Section 4 can be achieved by setting these strategic objectives and delivered by the action plan which follows in Appendix 1. Objective 1 Dumfries and Galloway Museum Service will aim to ensure the highest level of collections management within its own and other museum facilities within Dumfries and Galloway. Objective 2 Dumfries and Galloway Museum Service will aim to increase access to its own and other museum facilities within Dumfries and Galloway. Objective 3 Dumfries and Galloway Museum Service will aim to develop the museums within Dumfries and Galloway concentrating on the existing provision. Objective 4 Dumfries and Galloway Museum Service will aim to maximise its income from its services whilst retaining its commitment to free access to core collections and maximising external funding museum services and projects. Performance measures and monitoring The museums' delivery of service will be monitored and reviewed at appropriate periods as part of the Best Value process. The Statutory Performance Indicator for museums is percentage of museums directly provided by or funded by the Council under the MGC Registration Scheme. Other museums performance indicators that can provide useful information subject to appropriate qualification are: Collections Management Collections: number of objects acquired, expenditure on acquisitions including sponsorship, monitoring of searches of the collection. Conservation and Security: number of objects and documents conserved, extent of environmental recording systems, number of building maintenance items, number of security call-outs. Documentation: number of objects documented. Access Interpretation: number of exhibitions and other gallery events. Education: number of school visits, use of schools loan boxes and resource material. Public Services and Research: number of enquiries answered, publications produced. Marketing: visitor numbers, visitor studies, leaflet and poster distribution. Human Resources: monitor of training courses attended, induction training programme. Advice to outside bodies: number of organisations receiving advice. APPENDIX 1 Summary and Action Plan MEASUREAIM19992000200120022003PERFORMANCE MEASURECollections Management-General principlesCollection should be undertaken only according to the agreed collection policy which has been designed to safeguard the existing collections for the future and to preserve and develop them into a resource which reflects the human and natural history of Dumfries and Galloway. Aim 5.2.1 To preserve the museums’ collections of objects and archives through systematic storage, active and passive conservation, buildings maintenance and security. Aim 5.2.2 To collect material culture relevant to the human and natural history of Dumfries and Galloway, according to the adopted collecting policy. Aim 5.2.3 To research the background of objects and to maintain documentation systems to ensure the accessibility of the collection and the information relating to it. To provide a service offering assistance with local studies and the identification of objects.  Collections Management-ObjectivesAn acquisitions fund should be established. This should not be subject to year to year budgeting, and any unspent funds should be carried over into the following financial period. Aim 5.2.2XN/AA basic unified collections database should be completed by 2002, and data on aspects of the collection made available in simplified form to the public. Aim 5.2.3 XXXXX11.1.3 Documentation: number of objects documentedA permanent position of Documentation Officer should be established to promote a higher level of integration of and access to collections throughout the Service.Aim 5.2.3 XN/AA large object store should be identified. This should meet the security and environmental requirements of the collection, and external funding support should be identified to achieve this. Aim 5.2.1XN/AConservation needs surveys for the collections should be carried out, a priority action list formulated and a programme of remedial action implemented.Aim 5.2.1XXX11.1.2 Conservation and Security: number of objects and documents conserved, extent of environmental recording systems, number of building maintenance items, number of security call-outs.Regular environmental monitoring and record keeping should be undertaken.Aim 5.2.1XXXXX11.1.2 Each museum building should have a disaster plan in place to safeguard the collections in the event of emergencies. Aim 5.2.1XN/AA programme of planned building maintenance should be implemented. The starting point for this is an annual inspection of museum service properties.Aim 5.2.1X11.1.2There should be a review of security and the results prioritised and implemented. Aim 5.2.1XXX11.1.2Access-General PrinciplesA strong emphasis should be given to making the service relevant and welcoming to users and potential users. This emphasis should be central to the service’s image and external communications. Aim 5.2.4 To interpret the collections to educate, entertain and excite the public by the production of permanent and temporary exhibitions, by their application to formal and informal education, and by a variety of promotions, events, publications and community involvement. Also to use the interpretive capacity of the museums on topics of significant interest not represented within the collections. Aim 5.2.5 To provide access to the collections by all available means in order to encourage the use of services provided by the museums to the widest possible audience. Educational work should be given a much higher priority. Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5Research on collections based local subjects should be undertaken and made accessible to the public. Research by interested individuals from the community should be encouraged. Aim 5.2.3 Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5The Service should aim to maintain a high public profile, through its marketing and particularly through the regional media, as a means of presenting the range of its functions and services to the community. Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5Access-ObjectivesThere should be a review of museum premises and an audit undertaken of core exhibitions in order to establish priorities within a programme of improvements. Aim 5.2.4 XXXN/AThere should be a review of museum premises with regard to physical access and sensory disability provision in order to initiate a programme of improvements. Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5XN/ARegular surveys of users and non users should be undertaken and appropriate integrated marketing and other action taken wherever possible. Users should be involved in setting objectives. Aim 5.2.5X11.2.4 Marketing: visitor numbers, visitor studies, leaflet and poster distribution. There should be a co-ordinated programme of temporary exhibitions and events integrating the Department’s resources developed through a touring exhibitions working party. Relevant non local exhibitions should be hired as appropriate. Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5XXXXX11.2.1 Interpretation: number of exhibitions and other gallery events.Partnerships with local schools, the Education Department and other agencies should be developed and cost effective projects involving young people and community groups should be devised. A review of educational services should be undertaken and a plan prepared. External funding should be sought for a further Museums Education Officer post. Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5X11.2.2 Education: number of school visits, use of schools loan boxes and resource material. An ongoing publications programme should be developed including books, booklets, cards, postcards and other reproductions.Aim 5.2.4 Aim 5.2.5XXXXX11.2.3 Public Services and Research: number of enquiries answered, publications produced. Marketing and publicity material with a corporate identity should be produced.Aim 5.2.5X11.2.4 Marketing: visitor numbers, visitor studies, leaflet and poster distribution. The opportunities provided by the Internet for the development of the service should be examined and appropriate programmes devised.Aim 5.2.5XXXXXN/A Resource Management-General PrinciplesThe Council’s own collections are the primary resource for the human and natural history of Dumfries and Galloway and their care and interpretation should remain the main priority. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4The existing resources of the museum service in relation to staffing and budgets should be reviewed, integrated and maximised in order to provide the best possible service. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4Partnerships with other sections of the Department, other Departments of the Council and other agencies especially the independent sector should be formed for joint projects for the delivery of the service. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4The Council’s policy on Health and Safety must be observed. Aim 5.2.1 Offers of voluntary assistance should be accepted whenever appropriate. Voluntary work should be deemed an additional benefit. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.3 Aim 5.2.4Income generation through retailing should be maximised through improved retail/display areas, extending the range of items on sale including Museums Service ‘branded’ product, in Museum advertising and other activities. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4Funding from external sources should be maximised including funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, SCRAN, Groundbase (LEADER 11) and other EU sources, and local sources including Solway Heritage and Common Good Funds. Private sector sponsorship should be explored.Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4Management advice and support to independent museums should be provided with a view to encouraging self help. Curatorial advice will also be provided to encourage good practice and as part of the MGC Registration scheme. Aim 5.2.6 To provide advice and support to independent museums within Dumfries and Galloway to engender good practice. Aim 5.2.7 To maintain MGC Commission Registered status for the Council’s directly provided museums and to gain Registration status for the second phase of the scheme and to assist other local museums to reach that standard. Funding support should only be provided for MGC registered museums or those seeking registration. Aim 5.2.6 Aim 5.2.7The improvement of existing heritage attractions should be prioritised over new developments. Aim 5.2.6 Aim 5.2.7 Resource Management -ObjectivesAs part of the Employee Development Scheme a staff training needs analysis should be prepared and implemented. A monitor of the time and expenditure relating to training should be kept. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4X11.2.5 Human Resources: monitor of training courses attended, induction training programme. Existing curatorial support staff in conservation, education and exhibition should develop a region wide role within the service. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4XXXN/AA schedule of Risk Assessment and the preparation of Operational Plans for all museum premises and practices should be undertaken within the departmental timetable. Aim 5.2.1N/AAn audit of accommodation needs should be undertaken. Aim 5.2.1XXN/AAn integrated budget should be produced. Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4XXN/AWhere there is a significant level of support to independent museums, Service Level Agreements should be prepared and monitored. Aim 5.2.6 Aim 5.2.7XXXXX11.2.6 Advice to outside bodies: number of organisations receiving adviceMeaningful data for service delivery by museums should be collected and examined. for comparison year by year. Such figures will assist in identifying trends and adapting service delivery to meet these.Aim 5.2.1 Aim 5.2.4XXXXXN/A  Appendix 2 Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service Collecting and Disposal Policy 1.0 Introduction 1.1 This is Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service Policy Statement regulating the acquisition of items for the Collections of its Museums. The adoption and implementation of such a policy by Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service is a requirement of the Museums & Galleries Commission’s Registration Scheme. 1.2 This represents the aims and plans of Dumfries and Galloway Council at the time of its adoption in 1998, and as such will be subject to revision as the Museum Service develops. It is, as a result, intended that this policy should be reconsidered in 2003 and a revised statement brought before the Dumfries and Galloway Council for its agreement. The Museums & Galleries Commission will be notified of any changes to The Acquisition and Disposal Policy. 1.3 This Policy Statement supersedes all previous and existing practices and policies, formal or informal, relating to the acquisition of items for the collections of the Museums Service. 1.4 The existing collections and the criteria governing future collecting policy including the subjects or themes for collecting are defined in the document Collecting Policy Appendix. 2.0 General Rules for Collecting 2.1 Dumfries and Galloway Council accepts the general principle that it is their responsibility to ensure to the best of their ability that all of the collections in their care are adequately housed, conserved and documented. 2.2 Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service will not acquire, whether by purchase, gift, bequest or exchange, any item, unless the Museums Manager acting on Dumfries and Galloway Council’s behalf is satisfied that valid title to the item in question can be acquiredHouse in, or exported from, its country of origin including the United Kingdom, or any intermediate country in which it may have been legally owned, and not in violation of that country’s laws. 2.3 Where an item is offered as a gift in good faith and the prospective donor is uncertain of the identity of the legal owner/s and Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service is unable to find this out as a result of its own reasonable efforts, the Museums Manager shall be permitted to accept the item, provided a permanent and detailed note of the circumstances and known facts is made at the time of acceptance. 2.4 So far as biological and geological material is concerned, the museum will not acquire by any direct or indirect means any specimen that has been collected, sold or otherwise transferred in contravention of any national or international wildlife protection or natural history conservation law or treaty of the United Kingdom or any other country, except with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority (eg a British court in the case of a specimen seized from a third party under the Protection of Birds Act). 2.5 Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service accepts the legal principle of bona vacantia, under which the discovery of antiquities is a matter for report to the Procurator Fiscal. Archaeological material will therefore not be acquired by any means other than allocation to the Museum Service by the Treasure Trove Panel or Finds Disposal Panel, unless the Museums Manager acting on Dumfries and Galloway Council’s behalf is reasonably satisfied that the items in question are either of material to which the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer does not make claim or were not found in Scotland. 2.6 No excavated or archaeological material will be purchased unless the Museums Manager acting on Dumfries and Galloway Council’s behalf can be reasonably certain that the circumstances of excavation or recovery did not involve recent unauthorised destruction of, or damage to, ancient monuments, known archaeological sites or places of special scientific or historic interest, or failure to disclose finds to the owner or occupier of the land where found, or to any proper authority. 3.0 Collecting Procedures 3.1 The Museums Manager, as Dumfries and Galloway Council’s senior museum professional, will normally have delegated authority and responsibility for the acceptance or rejection of potential gifts or bequests to the Museum Service, for soliciting gifts of material for the collections within the terms of this policy, and for making recommendations and taking action on the purchase of material in accordance with this Policy and within Dumfries and Galloway Council’s normal standing orders. 3.2 Where the acquisition of any item would result in significant financial implications in respect of storage, conservation or display, the matter will be referred to Dumfries and Galloway Council for decision. 3.3 Items offered to Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service as gifts or bequests will not normally be accepted if they are subject to any restrictive covenant or special conditions, such as that they be displayed in a particular way. In exceptional circumstances, if the Museums Manager feels that the item(s) in question are of over-riding importance, Dumfries and Galloway Council may be asked to approve the acquisition of a specific item to which conditions are attached. A general exception to this rule will be deemed to exist in respect of restrictive covenants or conditions intended only to assure the permanent protection of the item concerned in Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service collections, such as restrictions placed upon any legal powers of disposal that Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service may have; under such circumstances, the Museums Manager may reasonably recommend that Dumfries and Galloway Council accept the gift or bequest in question. 3.4 The acceptance of items, on loan, normally for a finite period for display or specific study, may be authorised by the Museums Manager acting on Dumfries and Galloway Council’s behalf. In exceptional cases, a privately owned item of major importance that falls within the scope of this Policy may be accepted on a finite long loan, whether or not it is required for immediate display or study. No item will be received on “permanent loan”, a term which has no legal status. The period of all loans will normally be agreed in writing between the Museums Manager and the owner of the item at the time of deposit. Where the term of a loan has expired, it may be renewed or extended for further finite periods, at the discretion of both the owner and the Museums Manager. 4.0 Collecting Area 4.1 The Collecting Area for Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service will be the area of Dumfries and Galloway. 4.2 The period of time to which the collection relates will be up to the present day. 4.3 Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service acknowledge that other museums in the area have traditionally collected within the area now claimed. Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service will work with those museums to ensure that material is preserved in the place most appropriate, given the nature of the items and their provenance. 4.4 Items made in, at some point used within, or otherwise provenanced to the Museum Service’s Collecting Area, may be acquired, regardless of their location at the time of acquisition. Where this involves the collection of items from a place within the geographical sphere of influence of another museum, a principle of open actions and good communications will apply. 4.5 In an emergency, and to ensure the preservation locally and in public ownership of important material, the Museums Manager is exceptionally authorised to collect material from outside the Museum Service’s stated collecting area, relating to areas not yet covered by any museum service. Such material is acquired on the understanding that it may be transferred to other museums at a future time. 4.6 Where the Museum Service seeks to collect the work of “local” artists, or to acquire “local” views, the area defined at 4.1 and 4.2 above will normally be used as the basis for decisions. Reference to acquisitions not covered by the policy. Acquisitions outside the current stated policy should be made in very exceptional circumstances, and then only after proper consideration by the governing body of the museum itself, having regard to the interests of other museums. 5.0 Disposal 5.1 One of the basic functions of museums is preservation; items acquired by a museum are generally considered to be inalienable once they have been incorporated into the collections. There is a strong presumption against the subsequent disposal of items from museum collections, other than in very specific circumstances. This Policy Statement covers the circumstances in which disposals may take place, and the procedures to be followed. 6.0 General Principle 6.1 Dumfries and Galloway Council hereby confirms its acceptance of the principle that the collections of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service are held in trust for future generations. Only under exceptional circumstances will the disposal of any specimen from the Collections be permissible. 7.0 Reasons for Disposal 7.1 To remove from the collections any item which is too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any further use for the purposes of the museum. 7.2 To improve the curatorial care of the collections by the disposal of duplicate or unprovenanced material of low intrinsic relevance to the collecting policy. 7.3 To transfer to the ownership of another registered museum any item which, by reasons of changes in public, social or educational need, administrative responsibility, development priorities, or the establishment of a new registered museum, the Museums Manager advises Dumfries and Galloway Council would be more appropriately placed elsewhere. 7.4 In those cases where the museum is legally free to dispose of an item (if this is in doubt, advice will be sought) it is agreed that any decision to sell or otherwise dispose of material from the collections will be taken only after due consideration. Decisions to dispose of items will not be made with the principal aim of generating funds. Once a decision to dispose of an item has been taken, priority will be given to retaining the item within the public domain and with this in view it will be offered first, by exchange, gift or sale to registered museums before disposal to other interested individuals or organisations is considered. 8.0 Authority for Disposal 8.1 No museum item may be disposed of without the specific authority of Dumfries and Galloway Council, through the acceptance of a minute of its Libraries, Arts and Museums Committee. Such a decision may be the responsibility of the members of Dumfries and Galloway Council, acting on the advice of their Museums Manager and not of the Museums Manager or any person acting alone. 8.2 If the disposal of a quantity of similar material is proposed, Dumfries and Galloway Council may, however, give the Museums Manager delegated authority to act in the specific, once a general principle has been approved. 8.3 Where recommendations concerning the disposal of museum items are to be made, it is understood that there will need to be certain preliminary investigations before a report can usefully be brought before Dumfries and Galloway Council. This may include such matters as obtaining valuations, seeking the views of donors, and contacts with other registered museums which may be interested in accepting transfers. Within the terms of this policy, it is understood that the Museums Manager, has authority to act in this way, without prejudice to Dumfries and Galloway Council’s eventual decision. 9.0 Disposal of Purchases, Gifts & Bequests 9.1 Where it is the intention to dispose of an item which was acquired by purchase, the Museums Manager will take all reasonable steps to discover whether the original purchase was assisted by a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the National Acquisitions Fund, the Local Museums Purchase Fund, the National Art Collections Fund or other identifiable funding source. Where it is known or discovered that such a grant was made, the body concerned or its successors will be notified of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service’s intentions so that any relevant conditions attached to the original grant may be fulfilled, such as that the value of the grant or a proportion of any money raised by sale, should be surrendered. 9.2 Items given or bequeathed will not normally be disposed of without prior consultation with the original donors or their families within the first generation, and wherever possible their approval should be obtained to the course of action proposed. This is, however, a matter of courtesy rather than a legal requirement. The Museums Manager shall be entitled to waive this requirement where all reasonable efforts to trace a donor have failed, and additionally where no details of the donor exist. 9.3 In appropriate circumstances, having taken account of the procedure set out in paragraphs 4.1 - 5.1 and 6.1 - 6.7 of this Policy, the Museums Manager may recommend the return of an item to its original donor. 10.0 Disposal Procedure 10.1 Where a museum item is no longer required by Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service, and approval has been given by Dumfries and Galloway Council to its disposal, it shall be offered first to other registered museums, wherever possible as a gift, but otherwise by loan, exchange or sale. 10.2 Where it is intended that an item should be sold, an independent valuation should be sought: the Scottish Museums Council will normally advise on obtaining this but cannot give valuations. Dumfries and Galloway Council will accept this as the maximum price for the sale of a museum item to a registered museum, for a period of six months. It will, however, be open to Dumfries and Galloway Council to authorise a sale to a registered museum at a reduced or nominal price in order to keep an item in public ownership. If sale to an individual, or an organisation other than a museum, does become necessary, the item would then normally be offered at a price no less than valuation. 10.3 In the first instances, the Museums Manager shall seek to identify a specific registered museum with whom an arrangement acceptable to both parties can be made. If this proves impossible, the intended disposal shall be made known to the museum community at large. This will be by means of an announcement sent to the offices of each Area Museum Council and placed in the monthly publication of the Museums Association and other professional journals if appropriate. 10.4 The announcement must indicate the nature and number of the museum items involved, and the basis on which a transfer would be made. A period of at least two months must be allowed between the appearance of the announcement and the implementation of any decision. 10.5 If, as a result of such an announcement, more than one museum responds, care must be taken to avoid a situation where museums are competing with each other in ignorance. In such cases, and particularly if the transfer is to be by sale, it will usually be appropriate for the parties concerned to be informed of each other’s interest, and time allowed for open discussion before a transfer is finalised. 10.6 If, after two months, no registered museum has declared an interest in acquiring the museum item on the basis offered by Dumfries and Galloway Council it may then be offered for sale to other interested organisations, to private individuals, or by auction. This may also be done if a registered museum which has previously expressed an intention to purchase is unable to complete such a purchase within a reasonable period, normally six months. 10.7 Where a museum item is to be disposed of by gift, if after six months no registered museum can be found which is willing to accept responsibility for the item, it may be given to any appropriate organisation or individual willing to receive it. First priority should be given to organisations in the public domain. 10.8 If the disposal of a museum item by all other means has proved to be impossible and disposal is regarded as absolutely essential, in exceptional cases Dumfries and Galloway Council may be asked to authorise its destruction. 11.0 Disposal by Destruction 11.1 The destruction of a museum item will only be acceptable if its retention in the Collections would not be appropriate and no alternative public or private home can be found for it. Museum items which have become in some way seriously damaged, or have deteriorated beyond the point of further usefulness for the Collections, may also from time to time need to be formally de-accessioned. In such circumstances, Dumfries and Galloway Council acting on the advice of the Museums Manager, may authorise the destruction of an item. This must be carried out in a discreet, confidential and permanent fashion. 12.0 Procedure Following Disposal 12.1 Full records and photographs will be kept of all disposals from Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service. Where items have been disposed of, this shall be recorded in the appropriate register. 12.2 Where a museum item is transferred to another registered museum, all the associated documentation must accompany the item or follow within a period of one month. Where appropriate, this will include any photographic records. Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service will retain on file copies of key sections of the documentation, for future reference. 12.3 Any money received by Dumfries and Galloway Council as the result of the sale of a museum item will normally be placed in the Purchase Fund and used for the acquisition of further items. The prior approval of the Museums & Galleries Commission will be sought on any occasion when an alternative use, such as improvements to the care of collections, is proposed. 13.0 Where a museum holds or intends to acquire archives, including photographs and printed ephemera, its governing body should be guided by the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums in the United Kingdom. Such museums should also aim to meet the standards outlined in the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts’ Standards for Record Repositories (1990). Model Definitions 1. Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service is defined as those premises, staff and collections of original material which may from time to time be under the control of the Museums Manager. At the time of adoption of this policy, this principally encompasses the Annan Historic Resources Centre, Nithsdale Museums, Stewartry Museums and Wigtownshire Museums although certain collections, normally held in other premises, are generally recognised as being the responsibility of the museum. The term “Museum Service” is used in a functional sense, and may at all times be taken to subsume the terms “Gallery”, “Art Gallery”, “Heritage Centre” or otherwise as appropriate. 2. “Collections” are defined as: “any item entered in the Accession Registers of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service, whether as gift, or purchase, together with any item not entered in the Accession Registers, but in the possession of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service at 1st April 1996, which was donated or purchased with the intention that it should become part of the Collections.” “Valid title” is defined as valid legal ownership. 3. The Museums Manager is defined as being the professional officer responsible to Dumfries and Galloway Council for the operation of the Museum Service according to proper professional standards. The Museums Manager will have the Diploma of the Museums Association, or such other equivalent qualifications and substantial relevant experience as may be determined to be acceptable by the Museums & Galleries Commission. Collecting Policy Appendix The Collection. The prime objective is to collect, document, preserve and conserve, research and communicate to the general public, to students and scholars, original evidence of the natural and human history of South West Scotland. The existing collections reflect that this has been the policy of Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service museums for several years. In general artefacts which require considerable conservation or cause severe problems for display or storage will not be collected. Those areas where problems are likely to occur are highlighted in the specific sections. Archaeology. The existing collections comprise objects from the Mesolithic to the mediaeval period. The Mesolithic collection covers many coastal and river sites of the region and comprises patinated cores, blades, microliths and waste material including oyster shells. There are also finds of chert and pitchstone. The Neolithic collection comprises many polished stone axes, (the majority of these Group VI from Langdale), pottery and flint including saws, discoid knives, arrowheads and a knobbed quartzite ball, rare for the area. For the Bronze Age there is a large collection of urns from various important urnfields and other smaller sites. There are also many bronze axes and palstaves, spear heads, rapiers and items of worked flint. The collection of stone axe hammers is one of the finest in Scotland. The Iron Age is represented by spindle whorls, stone rubbers, slag vitrefaction, log boats, ard beam, timbers from crannog sites, shale and melon beads, a fish club and shoulder yoke, carved stone beads and pottery. The Romans built a network of roads, forts and temporary camps in the area. There are examples of pottery, iron and glassware, ballista balls and slingshot from Burnswark and inscribed stones from Birrens. The Early Christian period is represented by finds from the excavations at Whithorn, Ardwall Island and finds from Hoddom. The Museum Service holds the major collection of inscribed stone for South West Scotland. The mediaeval period is represented by tripod pots, ewers, coinage, pottery, structural and carved timber, including type series pottery from Whithorn. There are some Paleolithic and other items which are non local and which are used for comparative and educational purposes. The Museum Service will continue to collect items which complement and enhance its existing archaeology collections. Archives. The archives held by Museums consist mainly of the records of the former Royal Burghs (now except Dumfries) and comprise loose documents, maps and plans, bound records and books. There is also a collection of ephemera on local topics. The Museum Service will continue to collect items which complement and enhance its existing collections in cooperation with the Archives section of the Libraries, Archives and Information Service. Applied and Decorative Art. The collections include book illustration, local horology, silversmithing, ceramics, civic and ceremonial items in all materials, furniture before 1900 including fine vernacular furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries, and firearms, most of which have been made locally or have local associations. Items relate to friendly societies, co-operatives, occupational associations including trades incorporations, social and recreational societies, local government including the patrimony of the Royal Burghs of the area, including civic weights and measures, the commemoration of national events including the Jacobite Rebellions and religion. The collection of Dumfries silver which has been built up within the last twenty years is now quite comprehensive in its makers and marks. The Museum Service will continue to collect items which complement and enhance its existing collections which are essentially local in their nature. The Museum Service will develop its collection of Jessie M King book illustration and ceramics. The collection of contemporary craft work will also be considered where the artist/maker has established a national reputation for their products and skills. Ethnography. The Museum Service has a collection of far eastern ethnography collected by a local family. There is also a certain amount of material transferred from the Royal Museum of Scotland some thirty years ago for educational purposes. There are other smaller collections of ethnographic material. The Museum Service will not seek to add to this type of material. Fine Art. The collection covers oil paintings, watercolours, prints, drawings and sculptures, including a portrait bust by Epstein. These are mostly of local scenes or individuals and often by local artists. Joseph Watson, Costen Aitken, and the Faed family are represented. There is a fine collection of paintings of the Kirkcudbright school. There are also a number of fine paintings and sculptures by artists of international standing. Only items of local topography, portraiture, or strong local association which complement existing collections will continue to be collected. The work of contemporary artists will be considered for collection, where an artist has achieved a national reputation for the quality and significance of their work. Costume. There is a small but important collection of local costume, accessories and textiles. In the main this comprises 19th and early 20th century clothing, occupational costume and uniforms, needlework and banners. There are also products of local textile industries including examples of Sanquhar knitting and Ayrshire Whitework. Shambellie House run by the Royal Museum of Scotland as a museum devoted to costume is situated in New Abbey to the south of Dumfries. Items of local association only will be collected. The collection of Sanquhar Knitting, Ayrshire embroidery and products of local textile industries will be improved. Geology. There is a sizeable collection of rocks, minerals and fossils collected mostly in South West Scotland. The collection ranges from the Ordovician of some 600 million years ago, through Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian to the Upper Triassic of some 170 million years ago. The structural rocks of the area are well represented - schists, hornfels, gneisses, granites, porphyrite, sandstones, brecchia and Dumfries Basin iron nodule sandstone. The area's wide range of minerals are well represented, jasper, amethyst, agate, calcite, barytes, pitchblende etc. including fluorescent minerals and metal bearing minerals from Lowther Hills area. Fossils range from graptolites of the Ordovician / Silurian to Carboniferous corals, tree trunks and nautiloids from sites such as Closeburn, Kelhead, Canonbie, Arbigland and Kirkconnel. The Permo Trias is represented by red sandstone with ripple marks, raindrops, wormtracks and amphibian and primitive reptile tracks, several of which are type specimens. There is also a fine collection of post glacial bone material mainly wild ox (aurochs) and red deer. The Museum Service will seek to extend the geographical range of its geology collections to material from Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire. Apart from individual specimens the Museum Service will only accept collections which are already identified, are well packed and in a good state of preservation. Natural History. The Natural History collection consists of mounted animals, birds, birds eggs, fish, butterflies, moths and a collection of herbarium specimens. The Museum Service will only add to this within the framework of current legislation. Older specimens, unless they are in first rate condition, will not be collected. Unless there is a member of curatorial staff with a specialism in the field of natural history working within the museum service this aspect of collecting will be restricted to items for educational or exhibition purposes. Birds eggs will not be collected but advice will be given on appropriate disposal. Numismatics. The Numismatics collection covers coins, medals and tokens, including a comprehensive collection of local church tokens, coinage of antiquity and Scottish mediaeval coinage. Most items have local associations including coins from local excavations. The assemblage of early mediaeval coins from the Whithorn excavations is of international importance. The development of the numismatic collection shall be restricted to items of local connection. In the main this will comprise tokens and medals, hoard finds and items from excavations. Personalia There is a small but important collection of items related to Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns, some of which are held on loan from Dumfries Burns Club. The Museum Service will continue to collect manuscripts written by the poet or items associated with his life in the area. Burns memorabilia, commonly called Burnsiana, will be collected if it is of considerable interest or antiquity. There is a particular need to collect the original furniture of Burns House or appropriate contemporary pieces. There is some Personalia relating to Thomas Carlyle, JM Barrie, Robert the Bruce, John Paul Jones, James Hogg and some other known local people. There is a need to strengthen these collections. Photographs. The Museum Service has a large and important collection of local photographs, many of them original, including magic lantern slides and glass plate negatives. There is also a good postcard collection. The Library, Information and Archives Service, Dumfries, has a complementary collection of photographs, generally copies. Items of regional interest will continue to be collected. Photographs of local individuals will only be collected if they are identified unless they are of interest because of their costume or activity. Social History. The museum collection includes architectural details from local buildings, examples of traditional crafts, including tiling, clogging, saddlery, timber conversion, woodworking and basket making. Also represented are textile equipment, hornware, all aspects of agricultural work as reflected in handtools and smaller items of machinery; domestic items, mainly pre 1900 particularly laundry items, glass and stoneware, all of local origins. There are also examples of items associated with trapping, fishing and poaching, small relics of local manufacturing industries, mining and quarrying, heating and lighting, forgery, scientific instruments notably gramophones, cameras and astronomical instruments, including a Camera Obscura. Transport is represented by small relics of shipping, road and rail travel including significant examples of early bicycles. There is a collection of small items representing all the trades and professions once practiced locally, notably those of doctors, dentists and medical surgeons, tailors and dressmakers. Other topics include a small but rare collection of artefacts relating to local 17th century witchcraft and items on crime and punishment, religion and military history. Recreation, in particular curling is also represented. Again artefacts of local interest will continue to be collected with the proviso that large items will not be collected unless they can be adequately accommodated.  The Code was drawn up by the Standing Conference on Archives and Museums on behalf of the Association of Independent Museums, the Museums Association and the Society of Archivists, and published by the MGC in 1990. A free copy is available on request from the MGC. A Museums Strategy for Dumfries and Galloway PAGE 38  MUSEUMS STRATEGY 1999-2004 Libraries, Arts and Museums  Community Resources Єƒ.ЅШAІЦЇЦЈTЉTЊŒ  Ћ Єƒ.ЅШAІ§Ї§Ј ЉnЊŒ  Ћ љЁ™ Єƒ.ЅШAІЇЈ Љ ЊŒ  Ћ …д€€€€€€€€€.........)()()#ЁЂЄТAЅƒ.І Ї ЈЉЊŒ))Ћ %Ё–™Єƒ.ЅШAІ Ї Ј Љ ЊŒ))Ћ )Ё™œТТЄ….ЅТAІ Ї Ј Љ ЊŒ))Ћ !ЁЄƒ.ЅТAІЇЈ Љ ЊŒ))Ћ cha.@:—Я sшш  єЦ  ИЋ  ИЋ џџџЦC ЬИЋИЋ(ЋИ@?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџј0?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјў?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџљџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџ_їў>?У№xџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџoў‡јџјќџсјр?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџяџџџљјxџўўџ‡сјўџџ?Яќјј?џјјјџРx`€сРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџхџРџŸџчџ‡Ч№|?џ€ќџƒрјќџџ?Чјјё№џу№ќ№ќ? у0ј7†УрпџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџсџЧр?џУрј|?рx|'џџУј~yёј_џŸсёў№ўсАќУУ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№ј~џсџУ№џџЧ№ј~ с<~3џўУјљёјџŸсёџ№ўсјў‡Усјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџёќ>п‡џРџу№ŸџџЯјxсќ>џўСјџсќџŸ№ёџ№џёј~‡Усќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџѓўџ‡џТс№џ€џЯјxёќ>џўРјџСќ?џџс№џј‡№ју№ќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџѓўџУџЧ?‡рјџЯјx‡‡№ўџўРјџƒќ?џџСјџј‡Ч№ќ?Рсјў?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџћќ>џУџУЧ№xџџ№|?‡‡ƒ№ўџў€|8?‡ќ?џџƒјќ?‡Ујў?Рqќ~?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџј?СџЧЯЧ№8џџрќ?‡ЧУјўџў†<?~џџќ>>Ујџ‡Р0ў>џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?рџЧчУ№Яјуўџјџџџџёќ?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќСТЧС№x№џќџј?џџќ?Пџќ>Чџџџџџ№џџџџџљў?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџпџџџџџџџџџџџќ?Ÿџџџџў?‡џџќ?уџџџџЯџјў?џџџџ§ўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўчџџџџџџџџџџџџџќ?ŸџџџџџŸЧџџќ?ѓџџџџџџј~?џџџџџўџџџџџџ‡џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџЧџџџџџџќџџџџџџќ?ŸџџџџџџЧџџќ?ёџџџџџџќ ?џџџџџќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџЧџџџџџџјџџџџџџќ?џџџџџџУџџ№<рџџџџџџў?џџџџџќџџџџџџ‡џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ‡џџџџџџјџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџ№ Рџџџџџџзџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџјџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџУџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№їџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџсџџџџџџџўџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџљџџџџџџў?џџџџџќџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџў?џџџџџџџш_џџџџџџџрџџџџџџ€ёџџџџџџјџџџџџўџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџ€сџџџџџџ№џџџџџџ€џџџџџџ№?сџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџўџџџџџџўџџџџџџсџсџџџџџџр?Уџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?ёџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќРџџџџџџќсџџџџџџѓџџџџџџџРсџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?љџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўјџџџџџјрџџџџџќјџџџџџџѓџџџџџџџРџљџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?јџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќў?џџџџџ№?№?џџџџџјјџџџџџџѓџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?§џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџ?џџџџџ№?№џџџџџјќџџџџџџѓўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?§џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџџџр№џџџџџјќџџџџџџѓўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџрјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓР9џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓ€yџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџѓёџџџџџџџљџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџђљџџџџџџ€џљџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџРјџџџџџјќџџџџџџ№љџџџџџџ€џёџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џ?џџџџџр№џџџџџјќџџџџџџ№љџџџџџџРџёџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џ?џџџџџр?№џџџџџјќџџџџџџ№љџџџџџџРџсџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјў?џџџџџ№?№?џџџџџјќџџџџџџрљџџџџџџрСџџџџџџ€џџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјќ?џџџџџ№?рџџџџџјќџџџџџџрёџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќј?џџџџџјрџџџџџџјќџџџџџРёџџџџџџјџџџџџќџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџў№?џџџџџќСџџџџџџрј?џџџџџ€?€џџџџџўџџџџџќ?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџџџџџџџџРрџџџџџ€€џџџџџџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€?џџџџџџРџџџџџџРрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№Пџџџџџџќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџїПџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр?џџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€јџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџў?џџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџЧџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџуџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџЧџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџёџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџуџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџёџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџСџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџў?џџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџј?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќ?џџџќ?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ‡џџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџƒџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџяџџџџџџџџџџџŸџпџџ€ўџџ€џџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќ?џƒџ№џЧџўџџџџџџџŸџЧџџ€ќџџРџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџў?џџџџџџџРџƒџ№џƒџќ?џƒџўџџџУџџ€ќџџР?џџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџџџ€?џ№џ€џјџџў?џџЧџсџџ€ќџџРџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€?џџџџџрџџџџџџўџ№€?јџџќџџСџрџџР~џРџџрџћџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџќСџ№€?јџ?ќџџСџрџџР>?џР‡џџрќџџџџџџџўџџџџŸџяџџљџџџў?џўџўџџџџў?џџџџџјРџ№€јџќџџРџр?џРќџРЧџџрќџџџџрџў?џ?џџЧџчџџјџџќџќџјџџџџќџџџџџјрџ№РCј€‡ќсџџРр?џРџЧџРуџџрўџџџРќ?џџџУџуџџќ?џџўџјјџџџќєџџџџџ№ €р№УРсј€сќ№џџР?рџРџуѓџРёџџрџџџџРќџџџСџёџџќџџўџ№?ќџџџјџ‡џџџџџрџј №ёРјќŸ€јќќџР?№џРџђљџРxџџрџ€џџџ€ќџ‡џ‡џрџ№џџќџџўџ№ўџџџџјџуџџџџџрџў №ќР~xЯ€|ќў?џР№џРџјџџР|џџрџРџџџ€ќџƒџџр?№џўџџўџ№џџЧџџџјџљџџџџџРџџ€јў`|ї€ќў?џр‡№cџРќџџР~џрџр ?џџ€јџџСџ№ј?џўџџўрџџуџџџјџџќџџџџџРџџР?јџќџ€ќџџрч№3џрџќџџР?џрџ№џрџџ€јџСџСџ№јџџџџџ?рѓџпџсџџџќџџќџџџџ€џџ№?јџ?ќџРќџџрc№yџрќџџРџрџ№џўџџ€xјРџРџ№јџџџџџџрљџџџСџџџџџџў?џџџџ€џџ№?јџ€ўџР?ќџџрё№8џрўџџ€Ÿџрџ№џџƒџџ€ќ|?рџрџјќџџџџџџрќџџџСџџџџџџўџџџџ€?џџј?ќџР?ўџР?ќџ‡џрx№<џ№џџџ€Яџрџ№џџрџџ€ў<џрџрјќџџџџџ€џрџџџџ€џџџџЯџёўџџџџ€?џџјќџР?ўџр?ўџƒџр|№>?№џџџ€Чџрџ№џџјџ€ўџрџрќќџџџџџ€џр?џџџџџџџџчџјџџџџ€џџјќџР?ўџр?ўџУџр|0??№џџџ€џуџрџјџџќ?џРџ џ№№?ќўџџ€џџџРџ№?џџџўџџџџёџќџџџџ€џџјўџр?џџр?ўџСџр~0?ј?џ€џџ€џѓџрџјџџўџРџŒџ№№?ќўџџ€џџџРџ№?џџџјџџџџјџўџџџ€џџјўџр?џџрџџСџр~?ј?џ€џџ€џёџрџјџџџџРџŒџ№№?ўўџџРџџџРџ№?џџџ№џџџџќџџ€џџџџџќўџрџџ№џџрџр?ќ?џ€џџџ№џрџјџџџЧџРџЦџ№?ј?ўџџџРџџџР№џџџРџџџџў?џРџџџџџџќџџрџџ№џџрџр?Чўџ€џџ№џрџјџџџсџРџтџј?јўџџџРџџРјџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџќџ‡џ№џ€џ№џ‡џрџр€?УўџРџџјрџќџџџ№џРџтџј?јўџџџРџџр?јџўџџџџџЧџќџџџџџџќџƒџ№џ€џјџƒџрр€?сџџРўџјрџќџџџјџР№џјјџџџџрџџр?јџќџџџџџсџџџџџ€џџџќџУџ№џ€јџУџрџРР?сџџРўџј?рџќџџџјрџ№џјјџџџџр?џџ№?ќџјџџџџџ№џ№џџ€џџџќџуџ№џРјџСџрРР?сџЧџР?ўџј?рџќџџџќ?рјџјјџџџџр?џџ№?ќџјџџџџџР?џџ№џџџ€џџџќџёџјџРјџёџрРР?рџуџР?ќџ№?рџќџџџќрјџјќџџџџ№џџ№?ќџјџџџџџџ€џџџџџџ€џџџўџјџјџРќџјџрРР?рџѓџР?ќџ№?рџўџџџќрќџќјџџРџџ№џџ№ў№№џџџџџџџџџџџџџёџќџќџјџР?ќџјџр?€р?№јџРјџ№?рџўџџџў№?ќџќќџџРџџ№џџјџќ№џџџџџўџџџџџ€џјџў№џр?ќџќр€џР№ќРрџр?рџўџџџџ№?ўџќќџџрџјџџјџў?ј?џџџџџў?џџџџџРџќџџјџр?ўџџР>Р?рў€№џР?рџўџџџџ№?џџќќџџрџјџџјџ‡џј?џџџџџќџџџџџРџўџџƒјџрўџџ€~џ€р?џјџР?рџўџџџџ№?џџќќџџрџј|?ќџУџќ?џџџџџјЯџџџџџРџџџџРџ№ўџџР?џ€РџРќџР?рџџџџџџ№џџќќџџрџј>ќџуџўџџџџџјџџџџџџрџџ€џџ№џ№џџџрџрр?џрўџр?рџџџџџџјџ€џќќџ№?џјќџсџ‡џўџџџјџџџџџџџрџџрџџјџ№џџџјСџ№џ№џ№ўџ№рџџџџџџјџ€ќќќџ№?џјўџјџџ‡ў?џџџўџџџџџџџрџќџџќџјџџџќсџјџјџќџџјџрџџџџџџƒјџРў|ќ?џ№?џрўџјџџРјџџџўџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџўџјџ€џџўџћџ§џќџџџ?џПџќџрџџџџџџјџРџ<јџ№р€рџў<џ№џџџџџџџџџџџј?џџџџџџџ€џјџ€џџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџрџџ€џџџџјџРˆx„ќ№РрџџџјџџџџЧџџџџџџџј?џџџџџџџњџјџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ€џџџќџрРРўј№№џџРџўџџџџчџџџџџџџќ?џџџџџџџџџџќџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ€џџџўџ№ррџ|јјџџрџџџџџџљџџџџџџџќџџџџџџџџџџќџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ€џџџўџ№?№€№џ€~џќџџ№џџ€џџџџќџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџќџР?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџРџџџџƒџќ?јРјџР?џџўџџќџџјџџџџў?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџр?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџРџџўџУџў?ќрќџрНПџџџџ‡џџџŸџџџџџџџџџџяџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџР?џџўџуџџ?ў№џџќџџџџџџяџџџџџџџџџџџџџџƒџџџџџЧџџўџџџџџџџўџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџР?џџќџѓџџПџŸ§џЯџќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџР|џџџџџуџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџр?џџќџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџёџџџ?џџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџр?џџјџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџџљџџџЯџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџр?џџјџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџ?џџџџџџџџџџџџџў?џџџџќџџЧџџџџџџџ€јџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџрџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€?џџџџўџџуџџџџџџџ€јџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџр?џџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџЧџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџёџџџџџџџРќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџрџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџƒџџџџџџчџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџџРџџ№џџџџџџџРќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџсџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџ№џџџџџџР?ќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ№џўџџџџџџџџџџџџџСџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№№џџџџџџР?ўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ№џќџџџџџџџџџџџџџсџџїџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџџџџр?ўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ№џ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџѓџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ№џРџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџљџџџр?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџјќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџќџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџј№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџјџџј?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџџџџјџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџќ?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџўџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџРџџў?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџ€џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџр?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџр>џџџ?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџЧџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџјџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџў?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџќџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ€?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџ`џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№?џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџŸџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ—џџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџрџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ