Use it or Lose it

One of the reasons that Herne Bay Museum was​ vulnerable to closure was that of all the museums in the Council’s service, its visitor figures were the least impressive. They had in fact been dropping for the last couple of years. One of the things we can do as a group is to help reverse this trend.

The community needs to be more involved in its museum and the Friends can help by acting as a conduit for ideas and initiatives. As we get bigger we can become the voice of the town with some hope of being heard. Write to the newsletter or the website with your ideas, moans and grumbles. Don’t forget to put in the things you like or want more of, and don't forget to visit. Pop in when passing, add a click to the counter, and urge others to do the same.

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Aims and Objectives

To become a stakeholder group and consequently have some influence, we needed to have a formal structure and constitution. The key aims and objectives are:

• To support a Museum in Herne Bay open to the general public at reasonable time.
• To encourage an interest in the history of Herne Bay through exhibits in the Museum and other appropriate means.
• To encourage an interest in the study and practice of History through exhibits in the Museum and other appropriate means.
• To represent the interests of the users and supporters of the Museum in Herne Bay.
• To campaign for the continued existence of a Museum to serve the local community needs as well as those of visitors.

The rest of the constitution will be available on the website for those with the stamina to endure it!

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Welcome

Welcome to the Friends of Herne Bay Museum, which has come into being really as a result of last years bombshell announcement of possible closure. The campaign group that formed in response to this threatforms the core of the current committee. The reason for the Friends is the need to cement the mass of protest into something more substantial, and to be a more positive, creative and active influence in support of our town museum.

So how successful have we been? There have been a number of meetings recently with the Council and other bodies concerning Herne Bay Museum as well as other CCC museums under threat. The government body, the MLA (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council) has got involved and is currently undertaking a review on the whole museum service.

After holding question and answer sessions with council staff, museum staff and stakeholders (the Friends were represented in this group), the MLA assessors delivered a short verbal report to the council that we are told was highly critical. In September they will produce a definitive written report with recommendations, which we understand will be published.

Since then the Council has held a Museum Stakeholder Consultation Day with all the major stakeholders represented. There was vigorous debate and many different points of view expressed. The discussion covered the future of the service, its major flaws and current council policy. The Council's job is now to take all the information and ideas from the whole review process and begin to draft new polices in line with the current economic situation, the criticisms expressed throughout the campaign since last November and the results of the MLA review.

We expect that sometime in September there will be a further meeting and then we will get some idea of their intentions. The only certain thing is that the campaign, both in Herne Bay and in Canterbury has had an impact upon Council thinking, but it remains to be seen whether that has materially affected the future shape of the museum.

David Cross, secretary

August 2010

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