Brixham Heritage Museum is the 1000th UK SPECTRUM Licensee
MDA has announced that it has granted its 1000th license in the UK to download the revised edition of SPECTRUM, the industry standard for museum practice and information management.
The 1000th licensee is Brixham Heritage Museum in Devon, an independent community museum with an acclaimed maritime collection illustrating the history of the ancient town and fishing port. Its exhibitions on shipbuilding, sailing and smuggling have been praised for their innovative approach to recording and displaying community life. A registered museum since 1997, it is now among the Year 1 applicants for Accreditation in the South West region and hopes to qualify in April 2006.
The revised edition of SPECTRUM was developed in collaboration with over 100 museum professionals, and was made freely-available as an open standard on the MDA website in April 2005. SPECTRUM is embedded in the documentation requirements of MLA's Museum Accreditation Standard, ensuring that every accredited museum has an accountable documentation system.
Nick Poole, MDA Director, commented, 'Brixham is a great example of an independent museum which plays an important role both in its community and in the preservation of the national maritime heritage. SPECTRUM is designed to help museums like Brixham make the most of the potential of their collections. This is another important step in our mission to ensure that every museum in the UK has easy access to advice, training and guidance in achieving best practice.'
Dr. Philip Armitage, Curator at Brixham, commented, 'The provision for downloading free the revised SPECTRUM standard was very much welcomed by this small, independent - cash strapped - museum. At virtually negligible cost to us (other than printing ink/paper) we now have to hand a copy of what is the most comprehensive guide to documentation procedures and standards, which will allow us to identify and hopefully remedy any weaknesses or deficiencies in our existing documentation system.'
In addition to the UK downloads, hundreds of organisations from outside the UK have been licensed to use SPECTRUM, firmly establishing it as an international standard. The 1000th licensee overall was Cultuur Onder Dak Apeldoorn, which houses the municipal archives, museum and library of the town of Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
SPECTRUM can be downloaded free for non-commercial use from the MDA website at http://www.mda.org.uk/spectrum
Hard copy print-outs are also available at a cost of £25 for MDA members or £30 for non-members.
Notes for Editors
MDA is the UK's lead organisation in documentation and the management of collections information. Our vision is of a sector in which collections are managed effectively, efficiently, and in accordance with national standards to create inspiring, engaging and sustainable services.
MDA's name should appear in print in capital letters as 'MDA'.
SPECTRUM is the industry standard for documentation practice. First published in 1994, SPECTRUM has been adopted throughout the museum community both nationally and internationally and incorporated into a wide range of collections management systems. The revised edition of the standard was published in April 2005 and is available to download free for non-commercial use from http://www.mda.org.uk/spectrum
MLA's Museum Accreditation Scheme sets nationally agreed standards for UK museums. To qualify, museums must meet clear basic requirements on how they care for and document their collections, how they are governed and managed, and on the information and services they offer to their users. For further information and to download a copy of the guidelines, please visit http://www.mla.gov.uk
For further information about Brixham Heritage Museum, please visit their website at http://www.birxhamheritage.org.uk or call 01803 856267.
For further information about the work of MDA, or to interview Nick Poole, MDA Director, contact Eleanor Lovegrove at eleanor@mda.org.uk or telephone 01223 316 028.
