SDI Final Report

For anyone unfamiliar with our funding situation, ANSM received money this year from the provincial government (through the Strategic Development Initiative - SDI) for a number of support initiatives for Passage member museums.  While it's hard to believe, the funding year has come to an end.
I don't know about the rest of the museum professional world, but I often feel like I'm just spinning my wheels.  The to do list never shortens no matter how many hours, days, weeks... you put in, and right when you think you've got a handle on things, something else comes up that brings you back to square one.  It's not until I sit down to write a progress report that I see how far we've come.  Incidentally, this is why the blog was first started - to keep our member museums up to date on project activities.  So without further ado, here is this year's official final report.

The Passage Project sought funding to support 60 community museums in the following areas:

1.      Core Activities

1.1.   Outreach, training and on-site support visits

1.2.   Remote assistance

1.3.   Documentation package

1.4.   Revised database manuals

1.5.   Software and hardware standardization

2.      New Initiatives

2.1.   Internet marketing for museums

2.2.   Professional development and promotional videos on YouTube

2.3.   Feasibility study on web conferencing software

BACKGROUND AND CURRENT STANDING

Project work began on November 30^th, 2009 and was completed on November 26^th, 2010.  The following is an outline of work accomplished over the past year.

1.1 Outreach, training and on-site support visits

Providing support to community museums occurred in person, on-site, by phone, and through the internet (email, Skype, Crossloop).  When in the office, the Collections Coordinator (CC) was always logged in to Skype, allowing museum staff/volunteers to quickly contact her by instant message or VOIP (voice over internet protocol) when a question arose.  While the CC was not inundated with questions, she did notice that the questions discussed through online means are quite different from those discussed via traditional phone.  In the past, museum staff/volunteers expressed a reluctance to “bother” the CC with questions they viewed as being of little importance.  The staff/volunteers would either delay work tasks or make assumptions which inevitably required correction.  By being available to museums online, staff/volunteers are now asking these “little questions” immediately, allowing them to move forward with their work more efficiently. 

The Collections Coordinator attended the Canadian Museums Association conference in St. John’s Newfoundland in May.  A full review of the conference was posted on the Passage blog as a professional development offering to community museum staff and volunteers: http://passagemuseums.blogspot.com/2010/06/canadian-museums-association-conference.html

Due to scheduling conflicts, the Collections Coordinator was only able to attend 5 of 8 regional meetings.  In order to maintain a presence at these meetings, updates were sent off with other ANSM staff or board members so that museums would still receive a report on project activities. 

Outcomes	Actual Outcomes	Percentage of Funding Objective
50 on-site visits	64 site visits	128%
attendance at 8 regional meetings	5 regional meeting	63%
minimum of 200 support emails with partner sites	254 support-related emails	127%
Minimum of 12 blog posts	34 blog posts	283%
minimum of 100 support phone calls with partner sites	222 phone calls	222%
provide assistance to 50+ partner sites to create enriched, digitized records	Offer made to 56 partner sites, 27 museums opted to participate	100%

1.2 Remote Assistance

As mentioned in item 1.1, Skype has allowed for more frequent outreach and training support.  Crossloop was used 62 times to provide training and troubleshooting assistance to community museums.  This represents over $3000 in cost-avoidance.  This service has been so well received by community museum staff/volunteers and is so easy to use that many wonder how we ever got along without Crossloop.

Outcomes	Actual Outcomes to date	Percentage of Funding Objective
As needed database troubleshooting for 50+ partner sites using Crossloop and Skype	62 Crossloop sessions	100.0%
	21 Skype sessions	100.0%

1.3 Documentation Package

There are currently 25 resources available on the ANSM website under the categories of Collections & Access to Information and Management.  These vary from sample forms to tip sheets to database manuals.  Given how well they have been received by the community, this work will continue as time and resources allow. 

Outcomes	Actual Outcomes to date	Percentage of Funding Objective
Compile standardized collections management documentation package, available online to 50+ Passage partners and 100+ ANSM members	12 collections management forms	100%
	10 tip sheets and manuals	100%
	3 administrative forms	100%

1.4 Revised Database Manuals

The task of revising the database manuals was removed from the project work plan following the IT consultants’ feedback (see Appendix 1 – Database Renewal Report) on our current MS Access databases.  Through discussions with the SDI funding manager it was determined that moving forward on this deliverable would be irresponsible.  Until the new database system is in place, community museum staff/volunteers can access the existing database manuals via the ANSM website.

Outcomes	Actual Outcomes to date	Percentage of Funding Objective
Revise 3 database manuals, available online to 50+ partners through video (YouTube) and text	Initial textual revisions made to Collections database manual (prior to receiving feedback re: databases)	10%

1.5 Software and Hardware Standardization

Two new partners joined the project this year – Wedgeport Sport Tuna Fishing Museum and Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum.  While the Milton Blacksmith Shop was hoping to join as well, when we discovered the reality of our database situation, it was decided (by both ANSM and Milton) that they would wait until the new system was in place in order to prevent the necessity of learning two database systems in two years.  The mentorship agreement that is in place between the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum and the Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum is working well, and it is hoped that this model can be used with other museums that are just beginning the digitization process.

As mentioned in the interim report, CHIN funding allowed for the purchase of 23 webcams with built-in microphones.  This has greatly facilitated the use of Skype as a remote assistance and outreach tool.  With this funding we were also able to purchase 32 external hard drives (640GB) with built-in automatic backup software.  During the delivery of these hard drives, the automatic backup feature was set up, greatly reducing the risk of data loss.  

Also addressed in the interim report was the rfp for a technical consultant to analyze and report on the existing MS Access database structures and make recommendations on how to proceed in the future.  A full report has been written (see Appendix 1), but in short, it was determined that the Collections database is highly unstable and it is imperative that a new system be adopted as soon as possible.  The Collections Coordinator has been working with the developer of the new system to do customization work so that the learning curve for museum staff/volunteers will be as small as possible.  To date, the beta version of the new system has been completed, and the first round of testing by the ITCMA Committee will take place on December 9^th.  This has involved many hours of investigation, discussions and testing, but the Collections Coordinator is pleased with how the project is progressing.  The Cemetery and Volunteer/Tracking databases will remain in MS Access until the Collections database issue has been resolved, after which the IT & Collections Management Advisory Committee will seek alternative options for these systems.

Given the amount of time required for the database renewal project work, the equipment purchase program was postponed until the fall.  A procedural document has been drafted, as well as a requisition form which will be updated prior to each biannual order (see Appendix 2 – Equipment Purchase Program Procedures and Appendix 3 – Equipment Requisition Form).

Outcomes	Actual Outcomes to date	Percentage of Funding Objective
Provide 3 new sites with standardized equipment and software	2 new sites	67%
Prepare terms of reference for IT consultant work, select consultant, review findings and recommend action	Report written, new database system ready in beta-version	100%

2.1 Internet Marketing for Museums

The Collections Coordinator attended workshops and read a number of books and articles on internet marketing for businesses, museums, and tourism operators.  Reviews of the workshops were written and posted on the Passage blog (http://passagemuseums.blogspot.com).  All of this information was compiled into a reference document (see Appendix 4 – A Museum’s Guide to Internet Marketing) that is available on the ANSM website.   

In addition to the internet marketing guide, ANSM partnered with the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) to deliver a workshop on Strategy Development for Social Media (see Appendix 5 – Social Media Workshop Flyer).  This workshop was held at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on November 16^th and due to the high number of registrations a second workshop will be held at the Acadia University Library on December 10^th.  These workshops were limited to 10 participants in order to work individually with the attendees’ situations.

In order to be recognized as a leader for museums in this area, ANSM has recently added two new internet marketing platforms to its staff blogs.  ANSM now has a Facebook fan page with almost 40 followers after 1.5 weeks.  This page will allow for wider dissemination of information and increase recognition of the ANSM brand.  A YouTube channel has also been established which will be used to host how-to videos for the new CollectiveAccess database system. 

Outcomes	Actual Outcomes to date	Percentage of Funding Objective
Investigate & compile internet marketing recommendations available to all 100+ ANSM members	A Museum’s Guide to Internet Marketing is available on the ANSM website	100%

ITCM Report for ANSM Annual General Meeting

Annual Report to the Board of Directors, Association of Nova Scotia Museums

by the

Information Technology & Collections Management Advisory Committee

Presented to the Annual General Meeting, Port Hawkesbury

24 April 2010

1.         A Successful Year of Transition

This report first deals with 8 months of the Project activity under the management and administration of the Passage Steering Committee (PSC) by the Wolfville Historical Society (WHS) from the last AGM to 31 November 2009. On 1 December 2009 the PSC and the Collections Management Advisory Committee (CMAC) were dissolved and WHS retired from its obligations to the Passage participants and the Passage funder (Heritage Division).

In anticipation of the restoration of Passage to ANSM administration and management, during August 2009 WHS and the PSC worked collaboratively with the Managing Director and the Board to prepare the SDI Funding Application for the 2009/2010 year.  The Board endorsed, signed and submitted the application which was subsequently approved by the Peer Adjudication Committee and Heritage Minister. The funding advance, paid to ANSM, was received without a hitch.

On 1 December 2009, with new funding in place, the project was returned to administration and management by ANSM through a new committee, the Information Technology and Collections Management Advisory Committee (ITCMAC in short). So this report also includes the four months of ITCM activity from 1 December 2009 to 31 March 2010.  The turnover to ANSM was smooth; there was no interruption in work; previous PSC members became ITCMAC members and one new member joined - Valerie Lenethen, Nova Scotia Museum's Collections Management Consultant.

In order to effect the transfer of Passage work to ANSM, the Terms of Reference for the new committee had earlier been written by the CMAC, in consultation with the Managing Director, Anita Price, with the valuable advice of Max Chauvin, Governance Consultant.  An Employment Agreement for a Collections Coordinator (Karin Kierstead) was likewise written, setting out roles and responsibilities.  Both of these documents have received approval and have been adopted for use by the Board of Directors.

2.         Results of Passage Work to April 2010

Whatever else might be said about the totality of Passage work, there is no doubt that the best measure of progress is that of the number of collection accession records that have been digitized by the 55 participant museums:

Measure	April	April	April
	2008	2009	2010
Accession records digitized	Not recorded	163,212	196,691
Uploaded to Artefacts Canada	12,000	63,656	153,995
Sites for whom records “cleaned”	23	42	52
Records “cleaned”	85,000	120,000	171,747

Some of this progress is due to ANSM’s continued partnership with CHIN; more specifically participation in Collection Development Projects.  Through CHIN and YCW funding, we were able to hire Jennifer Bawden and Anna Fitzgerald to assist member sites with the digitization and enrichment of art objects.  496 objects were enriched and uploaded to Artefacts Canada.

In addition to the regular outreach, site visits and support activities, this is the first year that remote assistance has been offered to members.  To date, 15 museums from across the province have taken advantage of this service.  As the following table shows, we have essentially substituted travel time for productive work time, and saved money in the process:

	Cape Breton	Central	North east	South west	Totals
Travel time saved (hrs)	15.50	2.00	6.00	17.20	34.20 hrs
Time on Crossloop (hrs)	8.72	1.50	4.75	23.95	38.30 hrs
Cost-Savings*	$789	$50	$347	$1044	$2220

*calculated by distance to site, covering car rental, gas, meals and accommodation

We have also been fortunate to have two former contract staff return as volunteers, enabling us to move forward on two projects which would not otherwise have been completed.  Lynn MacEachern completed a thorough cleaning and edit of the Manufacturers' Database, so that we now have a more user-friendly and manageable database.  Our second volunteer was Melanie Baker, who assisted with the data entry of backlogged records for Passage sites. 

3.         2009/2010 Work Plan

1.      Core Activities

a.      Outreach, training and on-site support visits

Support staff attend as many regional meetings as possible, and send reports to the regional group if they are unable to attend in-person.  On-site support visits take place from May through October, and each participating museum is ensured of at least one visit.  In addition to these, the CHIN enrichment project allowed for an additional 15 full-day site visits that focused on digital photography and enrichment of art objects. 

b.      Remote assistance

Testing of Crossloop for this purpose has been very successful.  The program allows support staff to accomplish database troubleshooting and provide one-on-one assistance immediately instead of worrying about travel costs or transferring files back and forth.  We view this as a stepping stone to offering a broader range of web-based distance learning services that will further increase the efficiency of ITCM services.

c.       Documentation package

The standardized documentation package is currently being reviewed by the IT & Collections Management Advisory Committee, and will be posted on the new ANSM website in the coming weeks.  As time and resources allow, more information will be added to the Resources section of the website.

d.      Revised database manuals

The task of revising the database manuals has been slated for September-October.  This will allow the Collections Coordinator to complete site visits and obtain feedback from participant museums on revisions needed in the new manuals.  Until this task is completed, the current database manuals are available on the ANSM website in the new resources section.

e.       Provision of equipment to new partners and examination and/or upgrade of existing databases

One new site has been brought on board already, with the second planned for May, and both will have been provided with the necessary equipment.  The ITCMAC regional reps also performed a member equipment survey.  For those museums without, we purchased external hard drives and webcams to facilitate backup & remote assistance.  In order to further assist members, investigations have been made into online backup systems and the possibility of a bulk purchase equipment program.

2.      New Initiatives

a.      Internet marketing for museums

Information gathering has been taking place and support staff have been meeting with various key informants to determine how museums can best take advantage of internet marketing.  A strategic plan will be written over the coming months and will be made available on the ANSM website.

b.      Feasibility study on web conferencing software

A review of possible web conferencing programs has been drafted.  Staff have also met with CHIN to compare notes and discuss partnership possibilities.  The study will be completed over the coming months.

c.       Hiring an IT consultant

An RFP has been circulated and we are in the process of hiring a local IT consultant to examine the database structures and assist in determining a long-term plan for the project.

In addition to the above-mentioned, the ITCMAC has drafted a new ITCM Service Policy to provide better guidelines for service activities. 

3.         Looking Ahead

The new committee and no less the PSC before it, has been concerned about the efficiency of the costs involved with the Project in general.   Maximizing the effectiveness of limited staff time and resources is a concern, which is why ways to improve and intensify the Project's training capacity continue to be given trials and investigated (see items 1a & 2b).  A foundational piece to this is the new ITCM Service Policy, which will help in guiding Project activities and ensure effectiveness.  We want to be able to encourage many more of the large number of museums in the province to join the Association and take up Passage.  We must attempt to increase total service revenues but at the same time reduce the individual or unit cost of service, particularly of Passage.  With the new ToR for Passage enabling an expansion of service offered, we hope to develop the ways and means of doing so.

At the end of the current Passage funding year, I wish to step down from the position as Chairperson of the ITCMAC.  I ask all of the Passage participants to consider my replacement and particularly urge the County Museums, in their role as recognised and rewarded leaders among the community museums, to assume responsibility in ensuring the effective continuity of what is clearly a most important committee of the Association. 

4.         Conclusion

It has been a most productive and in many ways a definitive year. The project is now securely established within the Association, with clear and forward looking terms of reference.  The committee has thereby been provided the potential to become the principle vehicle of service delivery to the members of the Association.

The presence of a Managing Director representing the board to the committee has been most valuable and excellent communication has been established.  The regional organisation continues to be a very useful platform for effective communication by the Collections Coordinator, and the additional "distance learning" being introduced and tested is already demonstrating a most economic means of very accessible training refreshment.

As committee chair I wish to thank the members, Gail MaGee (Committee Secretary) from Fultz House, Jim MacLean from the Port Hastings Museum, Linda Rafuse from the Queens County Museum, Dayle Crouse from the Hector Exhibit Centre, and Valerie Lenethen Collections Management Consultant, Heritage Division, Tourism, Culture & Heritage, for their attendance, attention and assistance with the affairs of the committee. 

Finally, I personally wish to acknowledge the professionalism, quality, commitment and above all else, the leadership initiatives of Karin Kierstead in her role as Collections Coordinator for Passage Project.  She has, this year with the benefit of the new terms of reference, confidently continued, successfully, to develop the project as a remarkable and unique service for the Association and its member organisations.

Respectfully submitted

Derek Watts

Chair, ITCMAC

15 April 2010

Interim SDI Report

COMMUNITY MUSEUMS
PASSAGE PROJECT
Interim Report July 31, 2009


OBJECTIVE:

The Passage Project sought funding to increase the capacity and online profile of 53 community museums through uploading information to Artefacts Canada. Funding was also sought to incorporate three new museums into the group.

Funding Deliverables:
• 100,000 clean and unclean basic records uploaded to Artefacts Canada
• review and clean collections databases for 15 sites, proofreading and reviewing information and providing customized report on improving methodology
• 500 new and updated enriched records with images uploaded to Artefacts Canada
• 50 site visits conducted by Passage Project staff, providing on-site one-on-one consultation with museum staff & volunteers
• Regular contact and communication with member institutions
• Increased communication and cooperation with other organizations
• Improved management practices tracking members’ capacity
• Increased visitation and enquiries, monitoring success of uploading information


BACKGROUND AND CURRENT STANDING:

The primary objective of uploading information to Artefacts Canada is to increase Passage partners’ online profiles, which will in turn increase their online and on-site visitation numbers and enquiries. This not only increases the level of understanding of their current audience, but reaches out to new visitors, increasing Nova Scotia’s heritage profile as a whole. Sites were encouraged to focus their attention on catalogue records still needing to be entered in the database in order to be able to operate with a full database. It is estimated that there are approximately 225,000 objects in partner museums’ collections, but not all of these have been entered into the databases. Over 20,000 records have been entered over the past 8 months, bringing the total number of entries to over 183,000.
To date, 103,744 records have been uploaded, representing 103% of the funding obligation.

The Data Cleaning work provides sites with visible improvements to their databases, along with a report that helps them maintain this consistency in the future, regardless of changes in staff or other issues. Furthermore, it prepares records for uploading to Artefacts Canada so that sites do not have to worry about having unprofessional information made available to the public.
To date, 13 sites have received the data cleaning service, representing 87% of the funding obligation. Passage staff continue their efforts to complete this work, obtaining and working on the remaining databases as site visits are conducted, and are confident that it will be finished by the end of the project year (November) if not earlier.

Passage has continued in its partnership with the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) in order to increase the number of enriched records on Artefacts Canada and the Virtual Museum of Canada. Focusing on furniture that was either made in Nova Scotia or holds special significance for the partner museum, objects were photographed, researched, and uploaded to Artefacts Canada.
To date, 677 records have been enriched. 441 of these have been uploaded with images to Artefacts Canada, representing 88% of the funding obligation.

On top of the limited winter visits, regular site visits began in May. These included a database upgrade, initiation of a Passage game plan for completing database work, and an introduction to Skype so that sites can make free “calls” to support staff when they require assistance.
To date, 41 of the 50 site visits have been conducted, representing 82% of the funding obligation. Almost all of the remaining visits have already been scheduled and will be completed by October at the latest.

In April Karin attended the annual conference of the Association of Nova Scotia Museums. She wrote a report of the conference which was forwarded to all partner sites, the ANSM board of directors, Steering Committee, and posted on the blog so that partners could benefit from the event even if they were not able to attend. Karin also attended the regional meetings in April, held in Amherst, Baddeck, Halifax, and Mahone Bay. All of these meetings were very well attended, and provided Passage staff with the opportunity both to hear about what is going on at members’ museums, and also to be able to report face-to-face on Passage activities.

As previously mentioned, a Passage game plan was drafted in order to assist sites in taking a methodical approach to their work. Partner museums reported that they were feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done, and never seemed able to catch up on it. The game plan provides them with small, step-by-step directions on what to focus their attention on, and is designed to give them a functioning database that can then be added to and updated on a regular basis. It also has a companion self-assessment document that allows Passage & museum staff to monitor their progress and see what areas need work. In the short time that it has been in use, project staff have observed a drastic increase in data entry and uploading. Thousands of records have been entered and uploaded over the past two months. Passage staff are formally tracking this activity to compare it to the rate of data entry & uploading in years past, and hope to encourage all parties involved by showing such drastic improvement. The game plan has also been posted to the blog as a permanent resource for partner sites.

Passage was also fortunate to obtain its first-ever centralized volunteer, Melanie Baker. After discussing what work needed to be accomplished, it was decided that the volunteer would provide data entry assistance for sites who have an overwhelming backlog that they have been unable to cope with. Sites applied for this assistance, and the volunteer is now working on an 11-year backlog of data entry for the selected museum. In order to expedite the process, Melanie is strictly adhering to the game plan and only completing step one for the chosen site. After accomplishing this, it will be much easier for them to update and manage their information as time and resources allow.

In cooperation with the Association of Nova Scotia Museums, Passage has also been able to partner with CHIN again for another Collections Development Project. This began in mid-July and is only in the early stages, but this year enrichment work will be done on Art objects in partners’ collections, following the sub-category of Art in the Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing. The Enrichment Project Officer and Research Assistant will be visiting selected museums to provide on-site training and digitization assistance. Off-site research and further assistance will be provided in order to enrich the catalogue records and ensure that quality information and images will be uploaded to Artefacts Canada.



FUTURE WORK:

In the coming months, Karin will be continuing with site visits, ensuring that all partner sites are on track with the database work, and providing them with the aforementioned Passage game plan to complete the work at a faster pace.

Passage staff and the Steering Committee will continue to be in regular communication with members through phone, email, and the Passage blog (http://passagemuseums.blogspot.com). As mentioned in the last report, the blog has become an integral part of the Passage communication plan, providing members with a way to access past and present updates, notices, and messages from the Steering Committee. It also allows members to comment on the postings and answer questions that help the Steering Committee determine the future direction of Passage. An average of three posts are made per month, so that members are always up-to-date on project activities. New poll questions will be posted every other month so that the Steering Committee will continue to get a much clearer picture of the community and its needs.

As this report has shown, the Passage Project is on track with its funding deliverables, and the Steering Committee and staff are confident that the remaining deliverables will be completed by the end of the project year.