Vancouver (B.C.). Civic Museums and Planetarium Board

Corporate body

Vancouver (B.C.). Civic Museums and Planetarium Board

The origins of the Greater Vancouver Civic Museum and Planetarium Board may be traced back to 1959 when Council created a seven-member Board to oversee operations of the new Maritime Museum. An agreement in December 1959 transferred to the Museum Board jurisdiction over the City Museum, which had formerly been operated by the Board of Trustees of the Art, Historical and Scientific Association. The Association received representation on the Museum Board and became the official membership organization for City-owned museums. The Museum Board integrated the Vancouver and Maritime Museums into a two-unit museum system run as a City department under a Director of Museums (subsequently Manager of Museums). The Civic Museums Board was officially established by by-law no. 3960 in 1961. In 1969, the by-law was amended, changing the name of the Board to the Greater Vancouver Civic Museums and Planetarium Board to accommodate the newly built planetarium. The functions of the Board were as follows: to manage, order, arrange and dispose of displays, exhibits and collections of museum objects in order to benefit the citizens of Vancouver. It was to report to Council, submitting annual plans and annual reports. Its advisory functions were to concern public outreach, museum operation, museum fees, budget evaluation, and related matters generated by Council or by the Board. In 1972, by-law no. 3960 was repealed; on April 1, 1973, the responsibility for the Vancouver Museum, the Maritime Museum and the Planetarium was placed by Council with the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association.

Should this board be part of Council, or simply part of the City?