Friends of The MacDougall Collection
Scottish Registered Charity No. SCO 31934 Website www.friends-macdougall.co.uk

Welcome to the second edition of our Friends Newsletter. We hope you have survived the wet summer weather and are looking forward to what will hopefully be a better autumn!

Progress with the Collection
The process of documentation and archiving The MacDougall Collection is now well underway with our two Project officers Catherine Gillies and Jacky Skeldon busy at the project offices at Dunollie. The three-month pilot project has ended and proved a useful benchmark to assess work and progress. Both Trustees and staff were full of trepidation over the condition of the objects first opened from the boxes which were in a damp house prior to going into storage and were then in only slightly better conditions through necessity. However the conditions now are stable and so far the emerging objects are little the worse for their time in the boxes. Will Murray at the Scottish Museums Council has been extremely helpful in his advice on care and conservation.
The initial work has been concerned with establishing systems for documentation and laying the groundwork for the work in schools.
Catherine, the Collection Manager, reports the following targets have been achieved:-

- The establishment of a fully functioning office with a new computer system.
- The selection of a documentation system (ADLIB BASIS), installation of software and the undertaking of training.
- The centralisation of all objects on site, along with the 'mapping' of boxes and stores leading to a reasonably good understanding of layout and content.
- Stabilisation of environmental conditions in the stores, improving relative humidity by around 20 degrees
- A system and workroom set up for the processing of objects, including a photographic area.
- The planning and implementation of the 3-month pilot project from the start of June to process objects through light cleaning, labelling, photographing and re-packing, entering data through three stages on a form devised by staff on the computer and also in an accession register.
- As part of the trial the documentation has been carried out in themes as far as possible. 'Lighting' was selected as the first theme, principally to allow assessment of the condition of the metals after two and a half years of storage.
- The initial assessment of the archive comprising 22 boxes of files currently with the Argyll and Bute Council archivist in Lochgilphead. Two boxes have been brought to Dunollie to assess contents and care requirements and ensure the relative humidity of the office rooms is adequate for paper and photograph storage. The Friends of The MacDougall Collection purchased a dehumidifier for the office and conditions are now quite good.
- A schools programme has been devised for 2002/3 offering three courses. The intention has been to offer craft based or enquiry based courses for the older children which do not require many artefacts from the Collection to be taken into schools. This is to take account of the fact that the documentation and reorganisation of the Collection is still at an early stage and the less that the schools programme disrupts this the better. The 'Busy Families' course for the younger children is not Collection-based at all and is part of a programme to build up a store of dressing up clothes, baking, washing and other tools which will be part of the outreach resource of the Collection. This collection process is well underway.
- Schools have been contacted and invited to book in for courses starting this term and already the courses are three-quarters booked.
- Eader Glynn Residential Home in Oban contacted the MacDougall Collection and asked to be considered for outreach work and this has given a flying start to plans to work with the elderly. Discussions are now taking place with the home drawing up plans for a block of sessions which will combine reminiscence work with a useful long term outcome for the home - possibly a reminiscence box.
- The Collection has been booked for a number of talks to local SWRI and local history groups. The displays at Kerrera Day and the Argyllshire Gathering were particularly well received. At Kerrera despite the wet weather there was good interest and Catherine gave a demonstration of spinning 'the old way'.
- A loans policy has been drawn up with care and the first item loaned was the bench from the old school at Kerrera to go back for the community open day. Discussions are also underway regarding a shearing bench from Kerrera. Both MacDougall Collection Trustees and staff are delighted with this development as it is completely in line with the intention to get as many artefacts out into appropriate communities as possible (under carefully regulated conditions) Large objects only are being considered for loan at present.
- An acquisitions policy has been drawn up and adopted with the approval of the Trustees.
Catherine adds that the first three months have been a combination of frustration and achievement - frustration because of the necessary slow pace of establishing a new, tailor made system of documentation. However, after many alterations, both she and Jacky are pleased with the system in place and plan to have it reviewed by a specialist in September. Overall the staff feel the targets so far set have been met and the intention to spend the first three months laying the groundwork has been satisfactorily achieved.

New Trustees of The MacDougall Collection Two new members have now been welcomed on to The Trust - The Rev Brian Wilkinson of Inveraray who was a friend of Miss Hope MacDougall and always had a keen interest in the Collection and Peter MacLeod of Ganavan who holds an immense knowledge of both local and west coast history.

Fund-Raising Activities As the main fund-raising body for The MacDougall Trust, The Friends are planning a coffee morning for early November and a cheese and wine evening for early in the New Year.
If anyone has any ideas for events which could be used to raise funds, please contact the Friends. We hope to raise funds to send one of the project workers to Shetland to look at the Shetland Museum Service's Accessible Store. This will be the next stage forward to securing storage for the Collection which would also allow limited public access. Thought is now being given to drawing up another application to the Heritage Lottery Fund to access funding for such a project and we will keep you updated on progress.

Volunteers
Laura Tish from Crinan who is hoping for a museum career has been our first volunteer to help with documenting and cleaning parts of the Collection. We will shortly be holding a volunteer training day to start the volunteer network. Anyone who is keen to become involved with this should contact the Friends.

Visiting the Project
If any Friends would like to visit and see how things are coming along, give the office a ring on 01631 570550.

AGM
The Annual General Meeting of The Friends of The MacDougall Collection will be on Wednesday 25th September at the Project Offices at Dunollie. A notice is being sent out with this newsletter. Anyone wishing to bring up items under AOB should contact the secretary.

Membership Renewal
A year has passed since 'The Friends' was launched and renewal subscriptions are now due. We would like to thank you for your support over the last year and hope you will join The Friends again to help keep up the good work that has been carried out this year.
Meantime, anyone wishing further information or Friends leaflets, should contact the Friends. The Friends of the MacDougall Collection website is also continually being updated and can be accessed on www.friends-macdougall.co.uk