Improve your museum’s performance with this user-friendly series of He Rauemi Resource Guides. There are currently thirty-three guides, and more are published each year.
Every museum, art gallery, iwi, or related culture and heritage organisation in New Zealand is entitled to a free set of guides, including any new titles.
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Governance, management, and planning
1: Working with the Media (941kb)
Museums can and do make news. National newspapers, prime time television, and periodicals regularly cover major museum and art-related events. This guide advises you on how to work with the media.
2: Tapping into Funding Sources (1.87MB)
Seeking funding for projects is something all museums have to do. There are many sources available. Which ones should you approach? How should you approach them? This guide offers some practical help.
6: Minimising Disaster (1.04MB)
Damage from a burst water pipe? Or devastation by earthquake, fire, or flood? Is your museum ready for disaster? This guide looks at how you plan for recovery from emergencies.
7: Emergency Procedures (269kb)
An emergency can strike any museum at any time. Do the people who work at your place know how to respond immediately? This guide shows you how to develop an emergency procedures flipchart. The model has been developed in consultation with the emergency services.
8: A Guide to Guardians of Iwi Treasures He Tohu ki ngā Kaitiaki o ngā Taonga-a-iwi (753kb)
Museums increasingly accept that iwi (tribes) must be involved in the interpretation, exhibition, and care of all taonga (treasures). This guide looks at ways in which museums can work towards strong and effective partnerships with iwi.
9: Copyright and Museums (941kb)
What is protected by copyright? When do you need permission to use copyright material? How do you find the copyright owner? This guide introduces some things to bear in mind.
11: Developing a Training Plan (941kb)
What skills do the people who work at your place need to develop? How do you find out? How do you plan to meet their needs? This guide looks at how you put together a training plan for your museum.
Museum Training Plan Supplement Suplement (389kb)
This enables you to complete your own training plan to address priorities.
12: Training evaluation (941kb)
Training costs time and money. How do you know whether money spent on training is a worthwhile investment? In this guide we look at ways to evaluate the effectiveness of training - for individuals and your organisation.
13: Valuing collections (632kb)
Have you done a valuation of your collection? Most museums and art galleries are legally required to do so. What do you value? How do you go about doing a valuation? This guide aims to tell you how.
14: Developing a Strategic Plan (927kb)
What are the goals for your museum? How are you going to reach them? These are questions you address in a strategic plan. This guide offers you a process to follow in developing a plan.
15: Making sponsorship work for you (941kb)
Sponsorship plays a vital role in arts, culture, and heritage funding. This guide suggests practical steps you can take to identify and work with sponsors for your museum and heritage service.
16: Developing your collection: acquisition and deaccession policies (941kb)
How do you decide on acquiring or no longer keeping collection items? Every museum needs a framework for making such decisions. This guide aims to help you develop suitable policies for that framework.
17: Deciding on Digital Tools for Collection Management (941kb)
Are you planning to change how you manage information about your collection? Do you want to transfer it to a computer system? Or change your current software set-up? This resource guide outlines a process to help you decide what will work best for you.
19: Developing a Marketing Plan (1.2 MB)
Marketing is an essential part of how museums, galleries, and other culture and heritage organisations operate. This guide suggests some simple, practical steps you can apply to define your marketing strategy and produce effective marketing campaigns.
21: Developing Business Cases for Museum Projects (1.5MB)
If your museum is considering a new business venture, developing a business case will help you decide whether it is feasible. This guide explains how and when to develop a business case, and includes a template you can use for the process.
22: Governance Structures (1.9MB)
Museums, iwi, and other heritage organisations have various options available for governing their organisations. This guide takes you through a process of decision-making on governance, with a focus on New Zealand’s bicultural context.
29: Working with Volunteers (3.6MB)
Volunteers are a valuable asset for museums. This guide suggests some ways of developing an effective volunteer programme and maximising benefits to both the museum and volunteers.
30: Feasibility Studies (530 kb)
Planning to extend a building or construct a new one? Is your proposal sound? This guide tells you how to carry out a feasibility study to evaluate the likely success of your project - before you commit money to it.
31: Mātauranga Māori (1.4 MB)
What is Mātauranga Māori? How can museums facilitate and express that which is essential to Māori - their values, concepts, culture, and worldview? This guide shares information and stimulates discussion on these matters.
32: Planning a new museum (3MB)
You have a great idea for a museum and you’re keen to start one. But how do you put that idea to the test? This guide aims to help you decide whether you can turn your dream into a sustainable and financially secure reality.
Collection care
5: Preventive Conservation (1.8MB)
How do you safeguard the items in your museum? This guide looks at practical steps you can take to ensure the protection, safety, and security of your collection.
18: Caring for Māori Textiles (2.5MB)
Many iwi (tribes), hapū (sub-tribes), whānau (families), and museums have taonga (treasured items) made of Māori textiles in their care. This resource guide looks at practical steps you can take in the proper handling, storage, and display of such taonga.
24: Caring for textiles and Clothing (1.13MB)
Museum collections often include clothing and textiles. These beautiful, fascinating objects are very vulnerable to damage and deterioration. This guide looks at some practical steps in caring for textiles.
26: Condition Reporting (832kb)
Condition reporting is a valuable tool for managing collections. This guide offers a systematic approach to reviewing the condition of items in your collection and a consistent framework and set of terms for making useful reports.
Exhibitions and other public services
10: Exhibitions at your place (1.9MB)
This guide suggests ways for you to create exciting exhibitions using Kiwi ingenuity and modest, sometimes minuscule, budgets.
23: Managing Loans (997KB)
This guide offers practical guidance on managing loans effectively - for both borrowers and lenders. Includes sample loan forms.
27: Low-cost exhibition display techniques (1.8MB)
A may, a vase, a kete - whatever objects you exhibit, you want them to be a pleasure to view. This guide suggests practical techniques for displaying objects attractively and securely at little cost.
28: Writing effective interpretive text (864kb)
Text is the most common device used for interpretation in displays and exhibitions. This guide aims to help you write text that communicates effectively with your visitors.
Customer service
3: Know Your Visitors (1.74MB)
Do you know who comes to your museum, and why? Do you know who doesn’t come to your museum, and why not? Knowing your visitors is an essential part of building your audience and planning your services.
4: Introduction to visitor surveys (1.0MB)
How do you conduct a survey to find out more about your visitors? How do you process and present the results? This guide introduces you to visitor surveys - a vital research tool for your museum’s planning and operations.
20: E-commerce and museums (945kb)
Selling products through the internet is now big business. Could it be a way for your museum to make money? If you are considering developing a website to trade products and services, this guide introduces you to some key issues.
25: Customer Service (450kb)
Excellence in customer service is at the heart of success for any museum or culture and heritage organisation. This guide describes strategies and skills to assist you in making every visitor’s experience of your organisation an enjoyable one.
Relationships with communities
33: Working effectively with local government (1.4MB)
Local government has a big effect on a museum’s ability to succeed, whatever their relationship. This guide outlines local government powers, operations and decision-making relevant to museums, and suggests ways museums can build and strengthen relationships with their local council.