RE-ORG project overview: Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village

The Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village participated in the RE-ORG: Canada (Atlantic) training program in 2015–16. Their mixed collection of 3500 objects was stored in 100 m²; 2026 of these objects were part of the RE-ORG project.

Their storage reorganization project addressed challenges in two storage rooms, located in two separate buildings: MacLeod’s General Store (Figures 1 and 2) and the Visitor Centre (Figures 3 and 4).

Project leads: Pauline MacLean and Katherine MacLeod

Main storage challenges

Attic storage area before RE-ORG

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 1. Before RE-ORG: view of storage in MacLeod’s General Store.

Storage area in MacLeod’s General Store before RE-ORG

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 2. Before RE-ORG: another view of storage in MacLeod’s General Store.

One side of storage area in Visitor Centre before RE-ORG

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 3. Before RE-ORG: view of storage in the Visitor Centre, showing overcrowding.

Second side of storage area in Visitor Centre before RE-ORG

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 4. Before RE-ORG: another view of storage in the Visitor Centre, showing the partial blocking of the centre aisle, which limited access to rear storage units.

Project details

Within a year, the Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village was able to make the following storage improvements:

Man installing new compact wire shelving in MacLeod’s General Store

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 5. During RE-ORG: installation of compact wire shelving in MacLeod’s General Store.

MacLeod’s General Store storage area after installation of compact wire shelving after RE-ORG

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 6. After RE-ORG: completed installation of compact wire shelving in MacLeod’s General Store.

Storage of 2D objects at Visitor Centre after RE-ORG

©Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 7. After RE-ORG: slotted storage solution for 2D objects in the Visitor Centre.

Hanging rolled storage system for textiles in the Visitor Centre to save space

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 8. After RE-ORG: a hanging rolled storage system for textiles in the Visitor Centre. This maximized the use of vertical space in a room with a slanted ceiling.

Rack for hanging garments and shelving in the Visitor Centre after RE-OR

© Photo courtesy of Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village Collection
Figure 9. After RE-ORG: a rack for hanging garments in the Visitor Centre. This also maximized the use of vertical space in a room with a slanted ceiling.

As part of the RE-ORG project, the Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village was also able to complete the following management improvements:

The project took 337 days to complete with the help of no more than 4 team members throughout the 4 phases (Table 1).

Table 1: timeline and breakdown of project phases
RE-ORG phase Number of days to complete Number of team members
1. Getting started 3 2
2. Storage condition report 29 3
3. Storage action plan 10 2
4. Storage reorganization implementation 295 4

The project cost $68,279 to complete, with more than half of the budget being allocated to staff time (Table 2). Less than a quarter of the budget was spent on tools and storage furniture. The Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village was also successful in securing a $10,000 grant from the Museums Assistance Program for the project.

Table 2: budget breakdown
Budget item Amount (CAN$)
Staff time 53,985
Tools, supplies and materials 8,670
Storage furniture 5,624
External services (such as contractors) 0
Total project cost 68,279

Based on the RE-ORG Self-evaluation Tool for Collections in Storage (PDF Version), the Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village made improvements in three out of four RE-ORG components in MacLeod’s General Store: “building and space,” “collection” and “furniture and small equipment.” Improvements were made in all four components in the Visitor Centre: “management,” “building and space,” “collection” and “furniture and small equipment.”

According to the results in Table 3 for MacLeod’s General Store, the “furniture and small equipment” component experienced the largest improvement with an increase of 39% (Figure 10).

Table 3: self-evaluation results for storage in MacLeod’s General Store
RE-ORG component Score (before) Score (after)
Management (maximum of 42 points) 25 25
Building and space (maximum of 54 points) 15 20
Collection (maximum of 51 points) 16 20
Furniture and small equipment (maximum of 33 points) 12 25
Graph illustrating the percentage of improvement to the scores for the RE-ORG self-evaluation tool for MacLeod’s General Store, details below

© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 132794-0010
Figure 10. Graph illustrating the percentage of improvement to the scores for the RE-ORG self-evaluation tool, calculated by comparing scores before and after the storage reorganization project in MacLeod’s General Store.

Description of Figure 10
RE-ORG component Percentage of improvement
Management 0%
Building and space 9%
Collection 7%
Furniture and small equipment 39%

According to results in Table 4 for the Visitor Centre, the “furniture and small equipment” component experienced the largest improvement with an increase of 27% (Figure 11).

Table 4: self-evaluation results for storage in the Visitor Centre
RE-ORG component Score (before) Score (after)
Management (maximum of 42 points) 26 29
Building and space (maximum of 54 points) 34 43
Collection (maximum of 51 points) 35 46
Furniture and small equipment (maximum of 33 points) 17 26
Graph illustrating the percentage of improvement to the scores for the RE-ORG self-evaluation tool for the Visitor Centre, details below

© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 132794-0012
Figure 11. Graph illustrating the percentage of improvement to the scores for the RE-ORG self-evaluation tool, calculated by comparing scores before and after the storage reorganization project in the Visitor Centre.

Description of Figure 11
RE-ORG component Percentage of improvement
Management 10%
Building and space 17%
Collection 20%
Furniture and small equipment 27%

Lessons learned

Based on the experience of the Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village, the following should be considered in future RE-ORG projects:

Additional resources

Page details

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