Copyright has always been a murky area for most of us but the presenter, Te Papa's rights adviser Victoria Leachman, explained the complex process in a practical and clear way.
She showed us how to administer the assessment of copyright, the reuse of collections and how, with the digital age, the environment is changing. The laws governing copyright have changed twice and will undoubtedly change again soon.
Four of Kiwi North's staff members, Stewart Bowden, Shirley Peterson, Natalie and I, attended the Northland Museums Association AGM at Mangawhai Museum. This museum has recently opened and is well worth a visit. The theme of the meeting was risk assessment. After listening to the amount of things that could go wrong to collections and museums, I think we were all ready to lie down in a darkened room.
The speakers were Bronwyn Simes (Canterbury Museum), Phillipa Tocker (director of Museums Aotearoa), Rose Evans (consultant Devonport Museum Experience), Sally August and David Asham (Auckland Library) and Jo Willey (Auckland War Memorial Museum).
The risks a museum has to manage include insect and animal infestation (mice, borer, silverfish, cockroaches), water damage (leaking roofs, burst pipes and floods), mould and mildew through poor ventilation and, of course, earthquakes.
Especially in danger are paper and textiles. We work hard at Kiwi North to manage all these possibilities.
Some people may remember our collections manager of several years ago, Claire Nodder. She has been working at a beautiful, stately National Trust home southeast of London called Clandon House.
Recently, in the news, we watched it being gutted by fire. It is all very sobering and our thoughts are with Claire and her colleagues. We can but try to manage as many risks as possible.
-Kiwi North (Whangarei Museum, Kiwi House and Heritage Park) is open daily from 10am to 4pm.
