british and irish archaeological bibliography
'Taking stock' – access to archaeological collections
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1 - 43; figs; refs; tables
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Abstract:
These proceedings of the 1993 SMA conference are selective, omitting many papers on the potential effects of local government reorganisation in England. They begin with a discussion of the results of 'A survey of archaeological collections in Scotland 1993', by Robina Hanley (1–9). Responses from independent museums and local authority museums are presented in 'Appendix 1' (4–6) and 'Appendix 2' (7–9) respectively. The following paper, by Alison Reid (10–18), examines how museum archaeology has been and will be affected by successive 'Local government reform in Scotland'. The situation is seen to be complex, owing to the diversity of museum organisations, local authority structures, and demographic patterns in Scotland. 'Local authority reorganisation in Wales: the possible effects on museum archaeology' is considered by Christopher Delaney (19–21). The changes proposed in a 1993 White Paper are discussed with reference to the general organisation of archaeology in the principality. M D King (22–4) reports on three projects aimed at increasing 'Accessibility to archaeology at Perth Museum and Art Gallery'. These are: the new Human History Gallery, a temporary exhibition on Medieval Perth, and a programme based around an ongoing fieldwalking project. In a similar vein, Edmund Southworth (25–31) describes 'Experiments in access to collections in Liverpool Museum', both in the physical sense and in terms of an understanding of the objects; building on the experience of interactive exhibits in technology and natural history, the National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside set up the Discovery Centre to apply the techniques to archaeological and ethnographic material. The activities are described and their effectiveness evaluated. 'Beggars and choosers: a selective approach to archaeological collections in museums' by Carolyn Wingfield (32–8) looks at the principles involved in deciding whether material is to be retained or dispersed, referring to standards and guidelines (including 95/864 & 95/869). Mhairi Handley (39–43) puts the case in favour of the use of microfilm rather than computers for archiving data in 'Preserving our archaeological past for the future', and microfilm technology is described. Oetgen, Jeremy
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figs, tables, refs.