[BCMA] NEWS RELEASE: Spring workshops for museums and volunteers

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*March 16, 2017*



*BC Museums Association Takes To The Road With Hands-On Learning
Opportunities*

*Spring workshops focus on storage and re-organization, de-accessioning and
visitor-focused programming*



*VICTORIA, BC – *The BC Museums Association (BCMA) is visiting communities
across the province with hands-on learning opportunities that will give
museum staff and volunteers practical skills to help them better manage
their collections and attract more visitors.

Spring cleaning for museums? Absolutely! BCMA is pleased to partner with
the Canadian Conservation Institute to bring the RE-ORG storage management
program to *Parksville (March 16). *In the three days before this
conference, RE-ORG: Canada West participants, including Haida Gwaii Museum,
Greater Vernon Museum and Archives and Qualicum Beach Museum, have worked
together to reorganize a storage room at the Parksville Museum as a way to
put their learning into action and provide support to the Parksville
Museum.



As museum collections grow, storage space can become limited causing a
strain on staff time and resources. Luc Demarais will visit *Abbotsford
(March 19)* and *Quesnel (April 30)* to help small museums lay the
groundwork for collection clean-up and de-accessioning. Luc will discuss
issues such as policy, inventory and the ethics of disposal to make sure
organizations are set up for success before they start on the long road to
de-accessioning.



Building new audiences and converting occasional visitors into returning
visitors and members is key for the ongoing success and survival of
community museums. Kim Gough and Pamela Morris will be in *Dawson Creek
(May 25)* to help participants use the Design Thinking process to create
new programs with visitors, instead of for them. This process is scalable
for different types and sizes of organizations, and uses empathy, ideation
and experimentation to arrive at innovative solutions that visitors want.



“BCMA helps museum staff and volunteers gain practical skills in the
business of running a museum,” says BCMA Executive Director Erica Mattson.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the best, and participants
will return to their organizations with new ideas and knowledge.”



Collections management and storage are critical issues for B.C.’s museum
sector. In Canada, it is estimated that the 37% of storage facilities were
inadequate and that 93% of storage areas would be full within 10 years
(source: Collections Survey 2008/2009
<http://www.camdo.ca/depot/1/Collections_surveySondage_Oct2010.pdf> by the
Canadian Art Museum Directors' Conference (CAMDO)).



Full workshop descriptions and registration information are available at
http://museumsassn.bc.ca/professional-development/upcoming-events/regional-workshops/



*We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Province of
British Columbia and the support of the Sikh Heritage Museum, the Quesnel &
District Museum and Archives and the South Peace Historical Society.*



-30-





*Quick facts*

·         The BC Museums Association has over 400 members located in
communities across B.C.

·         Total revenues for B.C.’s museums sector are estimated at over
$213 million annually.

·         An estimated 4,000 people are employed by B.C.’s museums sector.

·         Over 21,000 volunteers provide over 1 million hours of volunteer
work each year.

·         B.C. museums attracted over 8.6 million visitors in 2013, with an
additional 21 million online visits to museums’ digital collections and
programming.

·         20,348 school groups visited B.C. museums in 2013.

·         The collections of B.C. museums include over 4 million artifacts
and objects, 663,896 linear meters of textual records, close to 12 million
graphic materials, over 53,000 natural history/scientific specimens, 36,307
hours of film, video and sound recordings and 2,093 permanent exhibitions.



*Source: Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions: 2015 *



*About the BC Museums Association:*

Founded in 1957, the BC Museums Association represents the institutions,
trustees, professional staff and volunteers of the BC museum, gallery,
cultural centre and heritage site community. The BCMA supports the industry
through advocacy, networking, an annual conference and professional
development training opportunities such as regional workshops and webinars.
For more information about the BCMA and its activities, please visit
www.museumsassn.bc.ca .



*Contact:*

Erica Mattson, Executive Director

BC Museums Association

Tel: 778.679.4568

emattson at museumsassn.bc.ca



-- 
*Erica Mattson*
Executive Director

BC Museums Association || 675 Belleville Street  || Victoria, BC || V8W 9W2
<https://maps.google.com/?q=675+Belleville+Street%C2%A0+%7C%7C%C2%A0Victoria,+BC+%7C%7C%C2%A0V8W+9W2&entry=gmail&source=g>

Direct: 250-356-5694 <(250)%20356-5694> || Office: 250-356-5700
<(250)%20356-5700>  || www.museumsassn.bc.ca
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