Objectives and Results -- Museological Excellence and Outreach

In its pursuit of museological excellence, the Corporation continued to place particular emphasis on further improvements in its research activities to make its artifact collections and related programmes more relevant to the people of Canada and to improve its outreach capabilities -- both electronic and traditional -- in order to share its wealth of knowledge with all Canadians.

Objective

To continue to review the Corporation's current artifact collections and research policies, in order to make its collections of artifacts and related programmes even more relevant to Canadians.

Results

• The Collections Development Plan was drafted. Further refinements are needed before it is tabled for approval.
• The Research Advisory Committee's study and recommendations on the Performance Measurement Framework were not completed by Fall 1995, due to other priorities. This will be done in the new fiscal year.

Objective

To further develop the outreach capabilities of the Corporation, through new electronic technologies and other means, so that it can share its wealth of knowledge to a greater extent with those living outside Canada's Capital Region.

Results

Digitization of collections:

• The Corporation photographed and digitized 16,101 new objects and digitized 73,324 existing images, for a total of 89,425 images, including 6,511 war art and poster images. The results accomplished within the first two years are in line with targets for the initial three-year digitization plan.

Memoranda of Understanding and Cooperation:

• Additional Memoranda were signed with:
  • the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General,
  • the Bruce County Museum in Southhampton, Ontario, and
  • the Provincial Museum of Alberta.
• Discussions are under way with six other institutions in Canada, the U.S.A. and France.

CD Product Development:

• Totem Poles: Myths, Magic and Monumental Art on the Pacific Northwest Coast (CD-ROM) will be available in May 1996. Release was delayed beyond the original estimate (May/June 1995) in order to make technological improvements and to provide a more finely tuned product. Back the Attack: Canadian Women and the Second World War (Portfolio Photo-CD) was launched in October 1995. Painting The War: Canada's Second World War Official Artists (Portfolio Photo-CD) was available in October 1995. Maya (Portfolio Photo-CD, English version only) was available in October 1995. Tsimshian: From Time Immemorial, English version, was available in November 1995; the French version became available in December 1995. The delay in the French version was due to technical difficulties with the sound portion of the CD.
• Professional photo CD-ROMs in the "Museum" series were marketed by Corel. They are entitled Museum China, Museum Children's Toys, Museum International Toys, Museum Tools, Museum Dolls, Museum Furniture, and Museum Glass. These discs are designed to be used by designers and other publishers to provide images for publishing applications.

World Wide Web Site:

• With the number of accesses increasing to 55,000 per month by the end of 1995-1996, the CMCC's projection for the World Wide Web site was largely exceeded. The Corporation is expanding and improving its World Wide Web services with the addition of upgraded technology and new activities. The Corporation's site is currently comprised of 1,900 bilingual screens of content, including 200 screens for the Cyberboutique. Through improved technology and expanded interactive image-maps, World Wide Web users have greater access to constantly updated multimedia information concerning the CMCC's collections, exhibitions and research.

IMAX® Film Development:

• The Mystery of the Maya, a CMCC and National Film Board co-production, had its world première in the CINÉPLUS theatre on April 12, 1995. Other co-productions included Stormchasers, which was completed in September 1995 and launched at several U.S. venues, and Special Effects, produced by WGBH-Nova.

Re-enactments to mark the 250th anniversary of the Siege of Louisbourg:

• The re-enactment of the Siege of Louisbourg occurred on July 22-23, 1995, with 80,000 visitors witnessing the programmes. In conjunction with the private sector, the Corporation prepared a documentary on this event for marketing to the broadcast industry and, with the National Film Board, a television special for the History Channel in the United States.

Heritage Information Kiosks:

• This venture is co-sponsored by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Charles R. Bronfman Foundation, the Department of Canadian Heritage, Digital Renaissance and Digital Equipment of Canada. The Kiosks' core information was comprised of 12 "Heritage Minutes" produced by the Bronfman Foundation. A total of 12 Heritage Information Kiosks were marketed to various institutions across Canada. Unfortunately, due to Programme Review budget cuts, funding for further Kiosks was eliminated, and the programme was discontinued.

New Media Centre:

• An agreement was reached with Digital Equipment of Canada to establish the New Media Centre. The Canadian Museum of Civilization is providing accommodation for the Centre, which will include research and development laboratories; a public testing and demonstration area; creative services; archive services; and distribution services through various elements of the Information Highway.

Other Outreach:

• The Visitor Studies Network -- an informal international network of professionals in many different kinds of heritage institutions -- expanded from 170 to more than 400 members in 16 countries. More than a thousand copies of the CMCC's publications were distributed through this network.
• Workshops in evaluation, visitor studies and live interpretation were carried out for Ontario Provincial Parks and the First World Congress on Evaluation (in Vancouver). Workshops were also conducted in 10 different institutions in Australia and New Zealand.
• Technical assistance in evaluation was provided to a variety of institutions in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Taiwan, as well as to many members of the Visitor Studies Network described above.

Table of Contents