Museums lack proper organization

TALLINN - A state audit has revealed that the nation’s museums have become more active and earn bigger profits, though they still lack storage space and proper record-keeping, reports LETA. Auditors characterized the museums’ storage conditions as “good” or “satisfactory” in only about half of museums.

“Although a lot of money has been invested in museums in recent years, storage facilities have not been considered a priority, as support from the European Union cannot be used to build or renovate them,” the office said.
Besides, less than half of museums lack proper records of the collections. The problem becomes more and more serious as the collections are expanding in size.

The audit office also noted that, though an online database for viewing museum collections on the Internet has been introduced, the lack of the current labor force means it would take decades for all exhibits to be entered.
Data from Statistics Estonia shows that in 2010, there were 245 museums in the country, of them 89 belong to the state, 81 to local authorities and 75 are in private hands. The total number of exhibits in all museums in 2010 was ten million.