Setting up the Association of Danish Museums (Organisationen Danske Museer)

Lene Floris, chairperson of the Association of Danish Museums, director of Holbæk Museum of Local History

On 2 March 2005, the Danish museum world was witness to a major change in its organisational structure. Two “old” museum associations - the Association of Danish Museums of Cultural History (Dansk Kulturhistorisk Museumsforening) and the Association of Danish Museums of Art (Foreningen af Danske Kunstmuseer) - closed down their activities, as had the Association of Danish Museums of Natural History (Foreningen af Danske Naturhistoriske Museer) a few months previously. To supersede them, a new body was set up to represent the interests of all the museums in Denmark.

Ordinary membership

Ordinary membership of the Association of Danish Museums consists of Danish museums or corresponding institutions. In this context, “museum” means an institution that collects, records, preserves, researches and disseminates material and artistic evidence and documentation about both man and nature, and about their history and development.

In this context, “corresponding institutions” means professionally managed institutions with defined areas of responsibility within a number of fields of museum activity. Acceptance of the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums and compliance with its provisions are a prerequisite for ordinary membership of the association.

Associate membership

Associate membership of the Association of Danish Museums is available to institutions and collections that work within the same fields as the museums themselves. Associate members have no voting rights within the association and are not permitted to use their membership as a reference in connection with marketing, etc. A requirement for associate membership of the association is that the body concerned does not contravene the provisions set out by the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums.

The decision to grant ordinary or associate membership of the Association of Danish Museums is taken at the general meeting, on the basis of recommendation by the board.

A very important element in the structure of the association and its future modus operandi is the special networks that are described as follows in the association’s rules and regulations. “Networks can be set up by either the board of the association or the member museums, but they must be approved by the board. The networks consist of employees of the member institutions, but people from non-member institutions can also be involved. These networks assist the board and the secretariat with arguments, information, surveys, etc. and also act as forums for sharing experience with others. The minutes of the meetings held by the networks are to be sent to the secretariat, which distributes them to the members of the networks and the board of the association.”

There are networks for modern history, archaeology, collections and preservation. The most recent addition is the network specialising in the dissemination and communication of museum information. Within the field of art history, there are groups in which administrators and administrative staff pool experience.

Future tasks

The new board now faces a number of tasks. At its first ordinary meeting, the board allocated roles and external board appointments. A working group was also set up to prepare job descriptions, etc. to enable the appointment of a secretariat administrator as soon as possible. Once this has been achieved, the location of possible new premises and additional staffing will be discussed, planned and implemented.

One particularly important task is clarifying the best way for the association to reinforce the supplementary training of museum staff. The board must also keep a sharp eye on the ongoing process of structural reform in Danish local government, with particular focus on block grants and implementation of the Danish “arm’s length” administrative principle, in which politicians appoint experts to distribute funds within certain parameters.