Facility management & development

Facilities

The Burra Charter

The Burra Charter provides a best practice standard for managing cultural heritage places in Australia. Published by the International Council of Monuments and Sites, 2013.

Security in museums, archives and libraries: a practical guide 

This guide outlines security guidance and operational procedures in museums, archives and libraries, including information on security staffing, government indemnity, criminal activity, alarms, fires and bombs. By The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, UK, 2003.

Access checklists

The following are a collection of practical checklists by Access Arts Australia for arts and cultural organisations to assist in improving access and developing audiences.

How can your museum better welcome families with a wheelchair user?  

Kids in Museums believes museums are for everyone. But families with a wheelchair user find that some museums are much better than others at making them feel more welcome and included in everything there is to see and do. Resource by Kids in Museums, UK.

Choose Art

Choose Art is a website designed for and by Deaf and disabled people. Find accessible arts programs, opportunities and events across Australia.

Retail & Hospitality

Retail Shop

This resource offers ways to develop and manage a retail space as a profitable service at your museum or gallery.

Café

This resource covers what to consider when reviewing an existing museum café or thinking of introducing a catering offer for the first time to ensure profitability.

Workplace health & safety

Hazards in collections 

These examples of workplace health and safety procedures are to be used as a guide when working with potentially hazardous materials in collections.  

Hazardous materials in museum collections

This resource is a list of the sorts of materials in general museum collections that may present a danger, either to museum workers and visitors, or to other objects in the collection. Written by Museums & Galleries of NSW.

Risk management fact sheet 

This fact sheet will help you to develop a risk management policy and systems to implement it. Developed by Museums & Galleries Queensland, 2012.

Risk management fact sheet

The purpose of risk management is to make the museum, gallery or keeping place a safe place to work in and visit. It is an essential decision-making tool for managing risks to health, the environment and the collections. Resource by Museums & Galleries of NSW.

Energy efficiency

A practical guide for sustainable climate control and lighting in museums and galleries 

This document aims to assist the sector to make informed decisions around viable, economically and environmentally sustainable methods of exhibitions practice and collections care by identifying appropriate technologies, products and systems.  

Prepared by leading consultancy firms Steensen Varming and International Conservation Services, this document is informed by national and international theory and practice.  Resource by Museums & Galleries Queensland, 2nd edition, 2015.  

Sustainable lighting in museums and galleries explained

This interview with Julian Bickersteth, International Conservation Services, provides an introductory overview of A practical guide for sustainable climate control and lighting in museums and galleries.

A case study on lighting for museums and galleries 

This resource provides museums and galleries with five real-life examples to assist when upgrading or replacing their institution’s lighting systems. Prepared by Steensen Varming, 2015.

Clever Custodians

Prepared by respected industry consultants, Timeline Heritage, Clever Custodians is an energy efficiency resource combining factsheets, short films and links to other online resources that aim to assist our small-to-medium museum and gallery sector to reduce their operating expenses and carbon foot, and to improve their long-term sustainability. 

Clever Custodians is an initiative of Museums & Galleries Queensland (M&G QLD) developed in partnership with Museums & Galleries of New South Wales (M&G NSW), Regional and Public Galleries Association of New South Wales (RPG NSW) and Regional Galleries Association of Queensland (RGAQ).

Please note that the link to the Clever Custodians website is no longer active. The films and resources created for this initiative can be accessed below.

This Activity received funding from the Department of Industry and Science  as a part of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program and was supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments.

Disclaimers:

The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.

These resources were primarily intended to provide guidance for facilities staff and volunteers at museums, galleries, cultural and archival facilities. They are not intended to be exhaustive or definitive. It is recommended for users of this resource to exercise their own professional judgement and consult suitably qualified professionals when deciding whether to abide by or depart from it.

Technical Industry Report on Museum and Gallery Lighting and Air Conditioning

This report informs galleries and museums on future options for economical and environmentally sustainable display and lighting environments, and the preservation and storage of art and cultural material, using appropriate technology, products and systems which comply with recent government legislations. Commissioned by M&G QLD in partnership with Regional and Public Galleries New South Wales, 2011.

The GreenGallery Guide

GreenGallery assists gallery owners and managers to identify simple changes to make in galleries that will save energy and water, reduce waste, and help artists and clients to live more sustainable and healthy lives.

Further assistance

M&G QLD Consultant & Supplier Register 

M&G QLD’s Consultant and Supplier Register is a comprehensive list of museum and gallery sector specialists, both Queensland-based and nationally.  

LPG Fire Australia 

A leading supplier of inert and synthetic gas suppression systems, water mist and spray systems, fixed foam systems, oxygen reduction systems and speciality detection systems.

Arts Access Australia

The national peak body of State and Territory arts and disability organisations working to increase access and participation in the arts for the one in five Australians with a disability.

Resources are correct at time of publishing. Is there a resource that should be on this page? Let us know.