Petition to save the jobs of Kendal Museum's curators

Kendal Museum contains world-class collections of natural history, geology, local and world history. The museum is currently run by Kendal College, and they have two specialist curators: Morag Clement, Archaeology curator, and Carol Davies, Natural History Curator.

Kendal College have a ten year management agreement with SLDC, to manage the museum which started on 1 April 2009.

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Kendal College has now proposed to make both curators redundant. They are both 18.5 hrs/week each and the proposal is to have one post of Curator/manager for 3 days only. This will mean the loss of expertise and curatorial care of one subject specialism. The staff at Kendal Museum are a very small team and having two subject specialists for their collections is incredibly important.

In September Kendal Museum started teaching a Diploma in Curatorial Skills and have 10 students. The only other museum to offer this in England is the V&A and our strength for teaching this is the outstanding collections, plus two specialist curators in Archaeology and Natural History with a wealth of knowledge in both the collections, and in working as curators. Yet just one week after the Museum starts teaching this course the college proposes to make the Curators redundant.

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Please sign this petition and rally up some support for Kendal Museum, and indeed other smaller museums in the UK, who will be forced to close due to unreasonable cost-cutting measures which will not only negatively affect the staff but will seriously jeopardise the safety and security of the collection.

If you feel able, please also write to those individuals involved to re-enforce how important it is for museums to retain professional curators. Not only for collection care, but to facilitate use and access to the collections, and for future funding opportunities. It would also be useful if you might comment on the future collection care of objects that have been lent on long-term loan to the museum.

I would also be grateful if you might consider writing to Kendal College or South Lakeland District Council enquiring about the proposals and what assurances are being made for the future care and access to the archaeology collections, and re-enforcing the importance of professional curators. Kendal College have a ten year management agreement with SLDC, to manage the museum which started on 1 April 2009. South Lakeland District Council have a meeting on 8 November where they will be giving a decision on whether to support the Colleges proposals so they need to be contacted before then. If you feel able, PLEASE CONTACT THESE INDIVIDUALS:

Graham Wilkinson – Kendal College Principle
Jayne Kendall – SLDC’s Economic Development Manager
Councillor Peter Thornton – SLDC’s Leader
Councillor Graham Vincent - Communities and Wellbeing Portfolio holder (Also on the Museum Advisory Board)

Kendal College details:

Kendal College
Milnthorpe Road
Kendal, LA9 5AY
Tel: 01539 814700
Fax: 01539 814701
Email: enquiries@kendal.ac.uk

South Lakeland District Council details:

South Lakeland House
Lowther Street
Kendal
Cumbria LA9 4DQ

Tel: 0845 050 4434
info@southlakeland.gov.uk

Many thanks for your time.