Libraries, Museums and Archives
Both Nick Moore and Elaine Kempson began their careers in libraries and Acumen has maintained the connection. Some of the work referred to in other sections of this workforce was undertaken in the context of libraries - Nick Moore's work on performance measurement, for example. This section focuses on some of the recent consultancy assignments that we have undertaken.
Cross domain work
The context for much of this work has been set by the fact that, since 1999, the government has tried to bring the domains of libraries, museums and archives closer together. To achieve this, they created Resource, now re-launched as MLA: The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. We worked with the MLA to take forward this process of convergence. The projects include:
- Stewardship
- a project undertaken jointly with Sara Selwood and Julie Carpenter of EfC. We were commissioned by Resource to develop a strategy for the management and development of collections in museums, libraries and archives.
- International activity
- we were commissioned jointly with EfC to identify the extent of international activity undertaken by the sector. We were subsequently asked to identify potential sources of funds that could be used to cover the costs of these activities.
- Mapping access to collections
- again with EfC, we were asked to identify the initiatives that sought to provide improved access to learning resources in museums, libraries and archives.
- mda Review
- we were commissioned jointly with EfC to review the mda, formerly the Museums Documentation Association, and to develop a three-year development strategy.
The MLA supports nine regional agencies in England and we have done work for three of them. Jointly with EfC we supported the MLA-West Midlands in the development of their Public Libraries Challenge Fund. We worked with Alice Grant Consulting on an ICT strategy scoping study for SWMLAC. And we worked with SIRU on a commission from SEMLAC to survey the library, museum and archive workforce in the South East. The MLA-West Midlands have asked us to build on this survey and to produce a manual that can be used by all the regional agencies.
Libraries
We have also undertaken two library projects for Resource - MLA. The first was a project undertaken jointly with Margaret Wallis from the University of Brighton to evaluate the projects supported by the DCMS-Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund.
The, in 2003, we were commissioned to undertake a review of the long-term development of public library services to inform MLA's strategic plan. The results of the review have subsequently been published in Cultural Trends (Vol 13(1) No 49, March 2004 pages 27-57)
In the late 1990s a group of organisations, led by the British Library came together and launched the Full Disclosure Initiative. The aim was to document, or catalogue, all the collections in the UK's libraries, museums and archives and to make the catalogues available over the internet. The Cultural Heritage Consortium, of which Acumen is a founder member, was commissioned to undertake a major consultation exercise in order to determine the priorities that should govern the work.
In 2000, we were commissioned, jointly with Margaret Wallis from the University of Brighton Social Informatics Research Unit to explore the feasibility of coordinating the distributed national collection of research resources. The work was commissioned by the British Library - Higher Education Task Force, which has subsequently been re-designated as the Research Libraries Support Group and the report is available from their website.
In the same year we were commissioned jointly with EfC to carry out a survey of cooperation between libraries. The results were published as Mapping the cooperative landscape.
Margaret Wallis worked with us again in 2002 to undertake an international review of the collaboration between research libraries. The report was commissioned by the Research Libraries Support Group.
Museums
We have also begun working with museums. Following his preparatory work on the People's Network, Nick Moore was commissioned by the National Museum Directors' Conference to support a group planning a similar development for museums. The result was the report A netful of jewels.
Working with EfC, Acumen undertook two commissions from the National Maritime Museum which were designed to help the museum take full advantage of the opportunities that are presented by digital information and communication technology.
Cultural Heritage Consortium
We felt that, in view of the government's intention to bring the domains of libraries, museums and archives closer together, there was a need for a cross-domain research and consultancy group. We therefore established the Cultural Heritage Consortium. This brings together Acumen, EfC, Alice Grant Computing, Helen Forde and Sara Selwood, thus bringing together leading strategic thinkers and consultants from the archives, libraries and museums domains. By pooling our knowledge and our research and consultancy skills, we are able to offer a high level of expertise that can be used to address cultural heritage issues from a cross-domain perspective.