Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC)
Community Memories Program
Program Guidelines
(January 2007)
(Full document available in Word
and PDF formats)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTEXT
THE MISSION
OF THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF CANADA
OPERATING
PRINCIPLES
VIRTUAL
MUSEUM PROGRAMS
THE COMMUNITY
MEMORIES PROGRAM
Objectives
Program Overview
Eligibility
Criteria for Investment
Investment
Translation
First Venture into Technology
Community Memories Requirements
ANNEX A
Guidelines
for Calculating Costs/Values - Translations
CONTEXT
The Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) is part of a broad
strategy on the part of the Government of Canada to ensure Canadian cultural
content in the online environment. The VMC links the collections
and exhibits of over 1000 museums for online access by Canadians and international
audiences.
The Community Memories Program described in these guidelines
complements the Virtual
Museum of Canada Investment Program1.
In supporting smaller museums in the development of online local history
exhibits, the Community Memories Program creates additional
opportunities for Canadians to share their heritage with one another.
Return to Table
of Contents
THE MISSION OF THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF CANADA (VMC)
"Engaging
audiences of all ages in Canada's diverse heritage through a dynamic Internet
service freely available to the public in French and English."
The VMC is a collaboration
between Canadian museums of all sizes and the Canadian Heritage Information
Network that includes:
- a branded collection of high-quality content and features developed
by museums and their partners;
PLUS
- the Virtual Museum search engine that helps audiences identify
the branded content wherever it is located and that showcases certain
content on a dynamic basis.
Return to Table
of Contents
OPERATING PRINCIPLES
The Virtual Museum of Canada is based
on six equally-important operating principles:
- collaboration and connectivity;
- value for Canadian society;
- diversity;
- quality content;
- development of enduring skills;
- professional standards.
Return to Table
of Contents
VIRTUAL MUSEUM PROGRAMS
In support of the mission and vision, the Virtual
Museum of Canada:
- ensures diverse Canadian choices by investing in museum content development
through the VMC Investment Program and the Community Memories
Program;
- connects Canadians with dispersed heritage content by developing and
maintaining the VMC hub and search engine;
- encourages excellence and builds capacity by fostering the development
of skills;
- projects Canadian interests and values by promoting the Virtual
Museum within Canada and internationally.
Return to Table
of Contents
THE COMMUNITY MEMORIES PROGRAM
Objectives
The objectives of the VMC's Community
Memories Program are to:
- create a national online portrait of Canada's history by connecting
individual local histories;
- engage Canadians in sharing their personal heritage with others;
- stimulate community/museum partnerships in the development of online
local history exhibits; and
- strengthen the capacity of smaller museums to create digital content
for use on the World Wide Web and in local programming.
Program Overview
In creating Community Memories exhibits,
museums work with individuals and groups within their communities to explore
particular aspects of their local history. Together, they engage in telling
the stories about their community and in doing so, share their personal
heritage with others. For the purposes of this program, a community is
defined as being a group that shares a common history or interest and
that may be situated in a specific location in Canada.
Community Memories exhibits
present artifacts in the context of people and places. Individual exhibits
should have a clearly defined subject. Examples include the main industry
of a particular community, a significant historical event, traditional
crafts or ways of life, early settlers, the impact of major world events
or the experiences of immigrants. Storylines are also an essential part
of an exhibit. It is through the storylines that the museum really gets
to tell the community's story and lead viewers along a specific path through
the exhibit.
The exhibit tells a unique story
rooted in time and place. It offers a glimpse into the events and the
people that shaped a community. Essential to sharing your story are the
exhibit storylines. Like chapters in a book, each storyline is a smaller
story of interest under the umbrella of the exhibit. Museums will play
an important role by leading viewers along a particular path through the
exhibit records and tell your community's story.
To create a Community Memories
exhibit, museums must use the Community Memories software supplied
by CHIN without charge. The software can be used to create an unlimited number of individual
exhibits. Please note that the software is not a general Web
authoring tool and cannot be used to create a Web site. Rather, it is a template
specifically structured to ensure a common look and feel for the Community
Memories exhibits. To familiarize yourself with the Community Memories
software, please consult Software on the CHIN
Web site. Museums that wish to take a more individual approach to the
creation of virtual exhibits or that are interested in creating educational content are encouraged to respond to Calls for Proposals from other VMC Investment Programs.
A Community Memories exhibit draws on photographs
and documents owned by individuals as well as objects and images that
may be owned by the museum itself. It includes oral and textual reminiscences
to bring the images to life. Museums may also include video clips that
help tell the community's story. The Community Memories software
that CHIN supplies to participating institutions makes it easy to integrate
the various types of information.
The Community Memories software
also has features that will enable museums to run a "slide show" of the
exhibit for local programming purposes. The desktop software used to create
the Community Memories exhibits cannot be used directly to display
the exhibits on the World Wide Web. A special application for this purpose
has been developed to run on CHIN's server, where all Community Memories
exhibits will be hosted. Members can present their exhibits as part of
their own Web sites, if they wish, through a link to the CHIN server.2
Museums can also publish their own exhibit "Viewer" CD/DVDs which may then be reproduced to sell.
Community Memories exhibits
are hosted by CHIN and presented in the Community
Memories section of the VMC Web site. Online visitors
are able to view the exhibits individually and are also able to explore
themes that are represented across multiple exhibits (e.g. the experiences
of farming communities across Canada). Because the Community Memories
software uses predefined terms to classify images and documents, these
classified elements of Community Memories exhibits are automatically
searchable in both English and French. Participating museums are not required
to translate reminiscences or other textual material of their exhibits
but may choose to do so to serve a wider audience.
Eligibility
Calls for proposals will be issued on an annual basis. To be eligible
for consideration, museums submitting proposals must meet both of the
following criteria:
- be public, not-for-profit museums3
that have demonstrated their commitment to work collaboratively with
colleagues across the country by becoming Basic or Contributing members
of the Canadian Heritage Information Network and the Virtual Museum
of Canada; and
- be institutions with no more than five full-time paid staff. Institutions
that are entirely volunteer-run or whose communities are not defined
geographically are included in this criterion.
CHIN/VMC member institutions
with more than five full-time paid staff members may request a copy of
the Community Memories software but are not eligible for financial
investment under this program. Interested member institutions must submit
a completed the Community Memories proposal form during an open call. To obtain the necessary documents, please consult the Proposal
Form.
Decisions concerning the selection
of proposals will be made by the Director General of CHIN based on advice
from the VMC Programs Secretariat. CHIN may seek advice from
external sources in this process. It is important to note that due to
the Program's limited budget, not all eligible proposals may be approved
for investment. Priority will be given to proposals that have the strongest
community partnerships and intergenerational participation.
Criteria for Investment
CHIN's evaluation of proposals will be based
on the following criteria:
1. Evidence of exhibit
planning including:
- clearly defined subject that explores a particular aspect of the
community's history or way of life (Description of proposed exhibit);
- summary of planned content;
- identification of content sources including types of contents (e.g.
images, text, audio, community interviews, other media)
and content providers (e.g. museum, associations, groups, schools,
etc.);
- workplan for the production of the exhibit.
Note: an exhibit must be completed and submitted to CHIN within
9 months of the signature of the
contract between CHIN
and the museum;
- proposed uses of exhibit material beyond the Virtual Museum of Canada.
2. Degree to which the
development of the exhibit will involve the community (e.g. volunteers,
schools, libraries, Legion, community
organizations). Priority will be given to proposals that have the strongest
community partnerships and/or an intergenerational dimension in the
creation of content.
3. Plans to publicize the
exhibit within the community both during exhibit development and following
the completion of the exhibit.
Investment
The Community Memories Program
is not a Grants and Contribution program. To fulfil the program objectives,
CHIN will enter into contracts with selected member institutions for the
creation of a Community Memories exhibit.
The standard investment for
a museum's first Community Memories exhibit is $5000. This amount
is sufficient to engage local
communities in the exhibit development process and to cover any related production expenses
4 . The
Community Memories software and user manual are supplied by CHIN without charge.
CHIN will be pleased to consider proposals for subsequent productions and will provide $2500 for each additional exhibit selected for investment.
Translation
Museums that wish to translate their exhibits in the other official language may submit a proposal for translation costs only after the exhibit has been completed in the first language. To obtain the necessary administrative and technical procedures, museums must contact the program administration. Costs should be calculated using the formula in Annex A. Investment in translation of a single exhibit will not exceed $2500.
First
Venture into Technology
For many heritage institutions,
developing an online exhibit under the Community Memories Program
is their first step in creating digital content.
By committing to the development of an online exhibit, small institutions
can not only enhance the technological skills of their staff and volunteers,
they can simultaneously promote the acquisition of multimedia production
and project management skills. It also enables museums to forge closer
ties with their communities by getting people of all ages involved in
the production process. By generating interest in the shared history covered
by the exhibit, a Community Memories project increases pride
in the community and interest in the museum’s activities.
The technological knowledge that is acquired is transferable and closely
related to the digital preservation of collections. Some have been taking
advantage of the skills gained to catalogue the artefacts in their collections.
Many CHIN members have decided to place the data in Artefacts Canada5,
making their cultural and natural resources available to Canadian and
international heritage professionals and general audiences. Other institutions
have decided to place their data in online directories. Institutions often
are able to apply what they have learned to planning more ambitious digitization
projects, such as museum Web site development and to the digitization
of their own museum collections. After their involvement in their Community
Memories production, some CHIN members decide to create a virtual
exhibit that is broader in scope, under the aegis of the VMC
Investment Program.
By participating in the Community Memories Program, heritage
institutions can make use of what they learn in many different ways. In
addition to the newly acquired technological skills, they are finally
able to share their local history and heritage with local, Canadian and
international visitors to the VMC and via CD-ROM. The online
exhibit gives greater access to collections that would otherwise be too
delicate to handle or place on permanent exhibit. Lastly, the CHIN email
feedback system makes it possible for small institutions who have just
gone online to communicate with virtual visitors.
Community Memories Requirements
- Community Memories exhibits must be developed using the Community
Memories software.
- Software distributed by CHIN cannot be reproduced, adapted or redistributed
in any manner whatsoever.
- Community Memories exhibits must contain a minimum of 100 images
and qualifying text as well as any associated oral, video content together
with at least one storyline that organizes exhibit elements in a narrative
fashion. To find out more about storylines, please consult Create
many exhibits and stories.
- Transcriptions or summaries of oral reminiscences and other audio
material must be included to ensure accessibility for those with hearing
disabilities.
- Rights to include material in exhibits must be obtained. CHIN will
supply sample rights clearance forms as a guide for community
content providers (individuals and/or organizations). Museums requiring
additional legal advice should consult their institution's legal counsellor.
- A 250 word summary of the exhibit must be provided in electronic form
once the exhibit has been completed for inclusion in the Community
Memories landmark. This may be submitted on the exhibit CD or by
email to service@chin.gc.ca. CHIN reserves the
right to modify the summary prior to its posting on the VMC
site.
- Community Memories exhibits must be hosted on CHIN's server.
Museums may obtain the complete URL to create a link from their Web
site to their Community Memories exhibit.
- Museums are responsible for responding to public feedback concerning
their exhibits. An e-mail address must be supplied to CHIN for feedback
messages when exhibits are completed.
Return to Table
of Contents
ANNEX A
Guidelines for Calculating Costs/Values
Translation
Depending on the translator, fees may be established on a hourly or per-word
basis. For the verification of a translation, an hourly rate would be
the norm. It should be noted that the speed and accuracy of translation
is directly affected by the quality of writing in the original language.
It may therefore be cost-effective to have the original version reviewed
by an editor prior to translation. Similarly, a bad translation will require
more time and effort in a verification phase. All estimates, therefore,
should be treated as approximations.
Hourly rates: approximately
$75.00 (estimated number of words per hour for translation: 210; estimated
number of words per hour for verification: 500)
Per word: approximately
30¢
Return to Table
of Contents
1
For more information on the VMC
Investment Program, please consult the CHIN Web site at www.chin.gc.ca
(Back)
2
Museums that wish to link their Community Memories exhibit to their
own Web sites should contact CHIN to obtain the complete URL. (Back)
3
Not-for-profit permanent establishments, exempt from federal and provincial
government income taxes, open to the public and administered in the public
interest, for the primary purpose of conserving and preserving, studying,
interpreting, assembling and exhibiting to the public, for its instruction
and enjoyment, objects and specimens of educational and cultural value,
including artistic, scientific (whether animate or inanimate), historical
and technological material. Museums thus defined include art galleries,
art exhibit centres, botanical gardens, zoological parks, aquaria, planetaria,
historical society museums and historical houses, preservation projects,
and sites which meet the requirements set forth in the preceding sentence. (Back)
4
CHIN will provide information concerning recommended hardware and software
configurations. To receive Help Desk support from CHIN during the exhibit
development process, museums must use these hardware and software configurations.
CHIN cannot guarantee that the Community Memories software will
work with other configurations. (Back)
5
Artefacts Canada is a database
managed by CHIN. It contains a collection of approximately 4 million records
and 450,000 images from almost 200 museums across Canada. CHIN member
institutions contribute data regularly with a view to sharing their museum
collections with heritage professionals both in Canada and abroad. (Back)
