Presentation on the contribution of volunteers to the museum

1. People Power:
Working with volunteers
to rehome our collection
Andrew Lewis
Collections and Exhibitions Manager
alewis@brooklandsmuseum.com

2. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
• Introduction to Brooklands and our
collection
• The collections move project
• Working with volunteers
• Some audience participation!
www.menti.com
38 44 20
People Power

3. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
The first purpose-built racing
circuit in the world
• Home of the first British Grand Prix
• Site of three World Land Speed Records
and over 200 other international records
• Female racing drivers from 1908
• Motorcycle racing from 1908
• Britain’s first massed start cycle race
Brooklands

4. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
Largest centre of aircraft
production in Europe
• Centre of pioneering aviators, including
Britain’s second public flying display, first
flying school and first loop-the-loop
• Over 18,000 aircraft built between 1907 and
1984
• 14,000 people employed at its peak
• Manufacturers based there included
Sopwith, Bleriot, Martinsyde, Vickers,
Hawker, & BAC
Brooklands

5. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
• Collecting began in 1985 before the
museum was open to the public
• Large volumes of material was ‘rescued’
from the BAe factory as it closed down
• Includes aircraft, cars, motorcycles,
bicycles, social history and archive
• In 2015, the aviation technical archive
alone was described as ‘bigger than the
average county archive’
• 800 registered volunteers, with around 200
actively working with the collections, 30 of
which directly on archives.
Brooklands Museum
Collection

6. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
• The existing archive store building was in
poor condition and no longer fit for
purpose
• The Re-engineering Brooklands project
gave an opportunity for a new store on the
other side of our 32-acre site.
• Larger footprint with more efficiently
planned storage
• Gave us the opportunity to audit and
improve our collections documentation as
items were moved
Collections Move Project

7. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
• Check existing documentation for
accuracy
• Identify & document previously
undocumented items
• Take reference photographs for MODES
• Clean objects to avoid contaminating new
environment
• Repack vulnerable objects
• Identify collections hazards
Collections Inventory & Audit

8. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
20 volunteers and equivalent of 1 staff
member have processed:
• 10,000 plan drawings
• 900 aircraft manuals
• 600 items of costume
• 1400 archival boxes
…so far!
What have we achieved?

9. BROOKLANDSMUSEUM.COM
Experience on this project has shown us:
• Some tasks aren’t for everyone
• Use your team’s strengths
• Environment matters
• Flexible scheduling is essential for some
• Understand their motivations for
volunteering
• Invest time in training
• Keep an eye on consistency
• Appreciate your volunteers!
Working with volunteers