Ballymoney Museum has successfully completed the necessary requirements to qualify for the UK Museum, Libraries & Archives Council (MLA) Accreditation Scheme.  The museum had to demonstrate that it met high standards in the care of the collection, museum management, and the quality of the information and services it offered to its users.  With support from the Causeway Museum Service, the necessary information was compiled by museum staff in a series of detailed reports before final submission to the museum’s UK governing body in London.

6,000 annual visitors

The accreditation award comes at a time when the museum is going from strength to strength.  With the new venue, additional staff and a popular series of high profile events and exhibitions, the annual visitor figures are expected to reach 6,000 people a year.  May 2007 proved a record breaking month, with over 2,000 people through the doors for the North West 200 exhibition.

Museum’s 150^th birthday

Council are also optimistically waiting for notification from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) concerning the major grant application to develop the exhibition gallery and public resource areas.  If this HLF application is successful, by late 2008 the Borough will have one of the finest heritage venues in the north of Ireland.  This will also be a tremendous boost to the museum’s birthday celebrations as it proudly draws closer to its 150^th year (1860 – 2010), an anniversary that few other public museums can claim.