Audit watchdog slams NI museums

Northern Ireland’s museums and galleries have come under attack from the
Northern Ireland Audit Office for failing to meet required standards for
adequately storing artefacts and documents of national significance.

The Audit Office highlighted the fact that the preservation of the national
collection was not meeting the necessary standards and said that around half of
the 50 stores used for the housing of Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland
(MAGNI) collections were ‘poor or unacceptable’.

MAGNI is responsible for 1.5 million artefacts of significant, however only
10% of the collection is ever on show at one time.

As a result the storage of 90% of items was of huge concern to the Audit
office who said the matter needed to be addressed ‘urgently’.

The report also criticised the standard of record-keeping, especially in the
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum where less than 10% of the collection was
logged on computer.