Rachel Mairs - Current Research in Egyptology 2005: Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Symposium

As a university museum, the Petrie receives most of its funding from UCL and was founded with the same libertarian ethos. The university is also home to four publicly accessible museums, of which the Petrie is one, and twelve departmental collections, unified under the name UCL Museums and Collections. These museums and collections cover a diverse array of subjects from science and archaeology, to geology, natural history and art, and were gathered and developed from the 1820s to assist UCLs academic staff in their teaching and research. Previously all collections existed separately, however in 1998 UCL invested further resources into the care and management of the collections and for the first time centralised its management systems. All of the museums and collections work towards collective goals and this can be seen in the UCL Museums and Collections mission statement of the 5 Year Strategic Plan 20042009 , a document which provides a focus for shared common objectives and to give the museums a framework within which to work and measure success (see Ambrose and Runyard 1991; Davis 1996). The mission statement is to inspire learning, support research and stimulate enjoyment for the benefit of UCL and the wider community, based on the sustainable use of the collections (UCL Museums and Collections 2004, 1; cf . previous mission statement in MacDonald 2000, 68). This statement mirrors the current definition of what a museum is and it defines who its users are. One of the ways in which to ensure sustainable use of the collections is in the audience it attracts. Although the priority audience is UCLs staff and students, all the museums are expanding to serve the wider community and to be more accessible and inclusive. While all the museums target the same audiences, the Petries audience base is more diverse. It is taking advantage of its special appeal to certain interest groups, as well as actively creating new audiences and targeting new communities so that the collections can continue to be appreciated and used.

A significant problem shared by all the museums is the low usage of the collections. Outside of the Egyptological community, too few people are aware of the Petries collection. Even within UCL, many students are surprised to learn that UCL has four museums and even more collections. Thus, they are under-utilised and under-appreciated. The total direct users (as opposed to virtual users) is estimated at 17,000 per year (UCL Museums and Collections 2004, 1). This is a common problem faced by university museums and a problem also faced by the Oriental Museum at the University of Durham, which houses an Egyptian collection (Karen Exell, personal communication). Low usage of the collections is also closely connected to physical access and the visibility of the museums. All of the UCL museums are located within the main UCL campus and its opening hours are constrained by staffing levels. Access to the Petrie is further restricted as it does not have an easily accessible public entrance (see MacDonald 2000, 67). Other problems faced by the Petrie include insufficient fundinga perennial issue for all museums, especially university museums (MacDonald 2000, 68)as well as limited accommodation and space for the collection. Accommodation has long been an issue, as its present location was supposed to be temporary. Of the 80,000 objects in the collection, 6% are on display, and the Petrie is currently housed above UCLs main boiler where building work is frequently carried out. In the past, air conditioning and the roof and drainage system have caused irreversible damage to part of the collection. Low lighting and the labelling of the objects have also been areas of dissatisfaction for visitors, as a degree of specialist knowledge is required to understand the context of the objects. These are problems with its present location, however the relocation of the Petrie to a purpose-built museum would eradicate these problems and this is discussed below.