The text was also born with the aim of establishing a common frame of reference to face the immediate future with guarantees in the scenario left by the COVID-19 crisis.
The planning document, the result of the consensus and work of the professionals of the Ministry's museums, has been distributed to the ministries of Culture of the autonomous communities and to institutions and organizations linked to the museum sector.
The text proposes a reflection on the post-pandemic museum's priorities and on the new possible forms of social interaction. "In the new scenario, there is no place, at least in the short term, for the influx of large audiences caused by tourism and impact exhibitions, nor for the carrying out of socio-educational activities of a group nature," he affirms. The guide recommends advancing the digital treatment of collections and "offering the museum's contents imaginatively through different forms of virtual communication."
The document, subject to updates arising from the general measures adopted by health authorities, sets out recommendations and guidelines for action in three areas: the prevention of occupational risks in the return to work of public employees, the preservation of property of cultural interest and, extensively, customer service.
Staggered return to work with priority to teleworking
In the first case, it is proposed to return to work on a staggered basis, in shifts and with priority to telework and work-life balance. Instructions on the return of public employees will be set by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Function and the Undersecretariat for Culture and Sports. It is also recommended to avoid meetings and travel and its replacement by videoconferences.
In the field of the conservation of assets of cultural interest, the document urges to follow the guide of Recommendations on disinfection procedures in cultural assets due to the crisis by COVID-19, published by the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Spain (IPCE ), as well as the protocol of action prepared by the Working Group of the Plan for the Safeguarding of Cultural Assets in Emergencies of the General Sub-directorate of State Museums.
In the public attention section, the actions will be based on compliance with the three fundamental control measures to guarantee health security (social distancing, capacity control and hygiene measures), and the norms included in the ministerial order of Health .
Cultural activities will be resumed with the capacity limit to one third and the design of educational, scientific and informative resources of a digital nature will be reinforced, allowing the museum to fulfill its role as a cultural institution and transmitter of knowledge, by alternative means to face-to-face .
The libraries, archives and research rooms of the museums will not be available to the public until the de-escalation phases have been completed and, in any case, assistance by telematic means will prevail.