Heritage-policy in Sittard-Geleenin context:

Together stronger!

Peer Boselie

Director Euregionaal Historisch Centrum Sittard-Geleen

(Netherlands-Limburg)

www.ehc.sittard-geleen.nl1

Sittard-Geleen is a town of 100.00 inhabitants. 20 historical societies with ca 2000 members. In the region (the border-region of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany) at about 250.000 people. Interesting : the fact that Europe in our region is always very nearby. (3 Euregions)Cooperation shows the relativity of borders throughout history. In this way we work constantly to encourage more understanding between people.

Erfgoed-eXtra‘Volunteers and civic society,

the road to a strategic heritage council’

2

3

Developments in the archival setting

Our Archives ca 9 fte, +/- 35 volunteers (ca 8 fte) +/- 3.000 ‘live’visits from researchers per year,

More ‘clustering’ of municipal and regional archives (‘archives with addes value’) Sittard-Geleen, Stein, Beek, Schinnen…

Archives more external: show the world what we have! Coöperation is the the basis Very strong digitization (e.g. In our archives +/- 400.000 scans

online.This year +/- 3 million search actions and at about 5 million page views in website) (in 2009: in total 30.000 search actions, 2010 > 1 million)

www.ehc.sittard-geleen.eu

4

Developments in Museums

The Museum has ca 25.000 visitors

per year

A lot more interaction with the

visitors Making exhibitions together with the

partners: archives, library, historical

associations. Our region more then once a

good practice… Digitization also here an opportunity

when original object gets more and better

attention (more context) 5

Developments in Libraries

The Library has at about 300.000 visitors

per year

A lot more interaction with the clients More and more digital information, less books Coöperation with other heritage-institutions,

but also schools, book-shops, rest-homes etcetera Low-profile information in a ‘heritage-point’ (in cooperation

with archives, museum and historical associations)

6

Developments within historical associations

The historical associations (totally ca 30) have ca 2500 members and ca 150 to 200 volunteers that are the ´core´.

Volunteers, from amateurs to almost full-time professionals Need to be taken serious Centres of knowledge and thus worth a certain amount of

money Also here strong digitization, but not always well done,

lots of different formats… Crucial to obtain added value for professional

institutions (and the other way around…)

7

Duties of the Archives, Musea and Library

- Presentation-function (analogue ánd digitally)- Platformfunction (ca 30 associations in the

region)- Hinge between old and new (‘lubricating oil’) rather a

debate then a collision

- Cooperation (in projects and structurally)

- Facilitating (meetings, logistics…)- Educational programme (symposia,

presentations, publications, (mobile) internet

8

State of affairs

- 2001 Merger of Sittard, Geleen and Born.

- Doubling the meters of archival information,

- Reorientation of the Museum,

- first historical CD-Rom with texts, images and film

- 2002 first Euregional project concerning

The historian Jacob Kritzraedt, putting cooperation

central in the project

9

-2003 national Dutch pilot history of living: digital ‘cultural biografy´ (look at google: ‘Claustrum ’ ). About 10 people (volunteers) build it in 3 months by means of a Content ManagementSystem (also build by volunteers) http://www.historiesittard.nl/kapittel/

-2005… Erection of the historical federation, cooperation of 20 historical associations in the city, (more then 30 in the Euregion):

Mutual assistance, facility-management, IT-solutions. Initiated by and working together with the archives.

Annually all kinds of activities, e.g. dinner-symposia, week/month of history, day of the archives, day of open monuments, books, sites. Working together with highschools and university

State of affairs

10

State of affairs- 2007… Development of PDA/walks (together with

schoolchildren)

- 2008 TVDocu-drama related to excavations of a cemetery of Napoleontic soldiers, even the consul de France visited… http://www.expeditielimburg.eu

- 2009… Start development site Archives as Heritage-portal and development Heritage-point (in the Library) cooperation of Archives, Library, Museum and historical society = making history interactive

11

- 2010… Start of the Aezelprojek: interactive offspin of history of living; history of living (buildings) and history of people (genealogy) combined www.aezelprojek.nl

- 2011… Heritage-point is opened

- Analogue historical ‘production’: Each year average of 4 to 6 historical books, 24 historical magazines, 3 symposia, 25 historical lessons (ca 100 people attending) in Sittard-Geleen alone

12

2011, interim-score…This is what Archives, Museum, Library

ánd historical associations want:

- Digitization of the collections and presenting it in cooperation in context

- Continue to develop the Website of the Euregionaal Historisch Centrum as Heritage-portal for our part of the Euregion: more archival-, museum-, archeological, monumental sources. More interactivity…

- History with the focus on history of living and people, from archeology till now, using the semantic web

- Continue cooperation with partners in the region and highschools and university´s of Maastricht and Delft/Eindhoven: synergy on the terrain of research and education

13

What did we develop to do this:

Erfgoed eXtra(Heritage-eXtra)

innovative concept for cooperation in (Eu)regional setting…

 Institutions involved

in Erfgoed-eXtra:

* Archives* Museums

* Libraries

* Historical associations

* and: everybody else…

In the border-region of the Netherlands Limburg, in Belgium (Maasland) and Germany (Kreis Heinsberg)

And in the rest of the world….

 

15

Three main items

A) Strategic Heritage CouncilB) Mutual assistance and support servicesc) Formats must be the same

16

Three main items

A) Strategic Heritage CouncilB) Mutual assistance and support servicesc) Formats must be the same

17

S aveM yF uture

A) Strategic Heritage Council

Composition:

* Director EHC / Town-/ municipal archivist* Curators of Historical and Archeological Museums in (our part of) the (Eu)region* Municipal Archeologists* Employee for the Monuments* Heritage-employee Library* Delegation of the Historical federations

18

What´s the aim:  Synchronise the resources for the shared projects,

financially and related to people Focusing at the realisation of the main targets Signalling in an early stage developments and main

historical events and mile-stones (look forward for 10 years, gives also financial opportunities)

Communication with participating organisations and related initiatives, also over the borders… (internal communication)

Communicating strategically (PR, external communication)

19

Examples of ongoing projects Projects / activities / developments Who involved Planning  

• 1 . Exposities musea Domein en andere musea / EHC / BiblioNova /Federatie / HzG / Maasketen Continue

2. Erfgoedpunt(en) Biblionova/EHC/Domein/federatie/HzG 3. digitaliseringsprojecten allen (middels formats),

verduurzaming via EHC 4. Belangenbehartiging monumentenzorg Federatie / HzG Continue 5. Belangrijke data / Historische mijlpalen allen in 2011 conceptlijst maken 6. Internationale samenwerking historie algemeen: EHC/Domein en andere musea /

Federatie/Biblionova/HzG/Maasketen 7. Maand van de Geschiedenis Federatie / EHC / Domein / Biblionova

Jaarlijks 8. Historische infopagina media EHC / Federatie / HzG, Onregelmatig 9. Alden Biesen en Geleen/Huyn Federatie / EHC / HzG / musea 2013? 10. Mogelijke projecten adel / mottekastelen / refugiekloosters allen 11.Aezelprojek Stuurgroep en werkgroep

Aezel/EHC/allen 12. Monumentenboek Sittard-Geleen Fedaratie/MEG/SCHUG,Timmers/EHC/20

B) Mutual assistance and support services

Archives and Library lend equipment (scanner / laptop / audio / equipment…) to organisations and advise about use of it

Organisations (historical or other) scan photo’s, determine the objects etc

Scans (or audio etc) land in the database and

website of the archives

Images also land in the website of Museum,

Heritage/point )Library) and the historical societies

In the archives all digital content will be kept and

guarded durable and for free…

The Outcome: win/win/win…21

C) Formats need to be the same

Formats (simple but correct!) are developed for …- Image (photo´s, slides, negatives, postcards etc)

- Sound

- Moving images (video, film) together with the film institution > Limburgs Museum (a tin of happiness)

- (museum) Objects

22

Points of interest

Agreement concerning the formats

Agreement about your own ´identity´ (or identities…!)

Possibility of a codicil of a will (and agreement…)

No ´macho` behaviour!: cooperation is keyword!!

Communication-PR

23

What is the result of this cooperation (exept for a logo that gives a mutual ‘face’ to our cooperation):

Let’s look at one of the projects:

Aezel-projek

24

A fast growing site, started in Sittard, but fast growing at the moment. Being filled at this moment by more than 60 people, adding each month

tenths of thousands of facts about houses and people: Aezel-projek is:Interesting for the public, challenging for creative industry, important

for the civil servants (archeologie, law-enforcement, historical background-info, pollution-areas etc..)

momentarily still ‘behind the screen’but in a few months ‘live’ http://www.aezelprojek.nl/

Keywords: low-budget

participationfrom people to structures, not the other way around

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Hier logo erfgoed-eXtra…

32

Hier logo erfgoed-eXtra…

33