Museum Informatics

Die EDV-gestützte Sammlungserschließung am Beispiel des Rheinischen LandesMuseums in Bonn

by Irmela Herzog

Publikation zum eingeladenen Vortrag bei der Tagung "Sammeln und Bewahren. Grundlagen des Umgangs mit Objekten" im Jahr 2004. Tagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft wissenschaftlicher Volontärinnen und Volontäre im Museumsverband Baden-Württemberg.

E-Museum - A Content Management System for Providing Museum Visitors with Personalized Audiovisual Information

by Nikolaos Konstantinou

Co-authored with P.Stathopoulos, V.Zoi, E. Solidakis, C. Basios, T. Zafeiropoulos, P. Papageorgiou, N. Mitrou, In 3rd International Conference of Museology, Mytilene, Greece (2006)

In this paper we present E-Museum a system for providing advanced audiovisual guidance services in museums (and... more In this paper we present E-Museum a system for providing advanced audiovisual guidance services in museums (and exhibitions) to different classes of users. These services include, automatic and on demand audiovisual content retrieval, both on-site and through the Web. On-site services are provided  through handheld devices, which exploit the user’s contextual state, mainly defined as visitor location and organization of exhibits. The main distinguishing characteristic of the system is that it is built as an open, modular platform comprising a core of reusable components and interfaces for supporting different types of services and devices.

«Η χρήση της κινούμενης εικόνας στα ελληνικά μουσεία: τα πρώτα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας» (2006)

by Evi - Maria Pitsiava

Μπούνια Α., Νικονάνου Ν., Πιτσιάβα Ε.Μ., Τσεκούρας Γ., «Η χρήση της κινούμενης εικόνας στα ελληνικά μουσεία: τα πρώτα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας», 3ο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Μουσειολογίας «Τα οπτικοακουστικά μέσα ως πολιτιστική κληρονομιά και η χρήση τους στα μουσεία», Τ.Π.Τ.Ε., Ελληνικό Τμήμα ICOM, Διεθνής Επιτροπή ICOM, Μυτιλήνη, 5 – 8 Ιουνίου 2006

Bounia A., Nikonanou N., Pitsiava E.M. & Tsekouras G., "Audiovisuals in museums: preliminary results of a research program", 3rd International Conference of Museology (Dept of CCT, UoA) & ICOM - AVICOM Annual Conference (Hellenic Committee of ICOM - AVICOM), Mytilene, 2006

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Η κινούμενη εικόνα αποτελεί πλέον ένα από τα συμβατικά μέσα επικοινωνίας του... more - - - - (greek version)

Η κινούμενη εικόνα αποτελεί πλέον ένα από τα συμβατικά μέσα επικοινωνίας του μουσείου με το κοινό του. Ωστόσο, παρουσιάζει μεγάλες δυνατότητες απήχησης σε πολλές και διαφορετικές ομάδες κοινού, κυρίως λόγω του συνδυασμού ψυχαγωγίας και μάθησης που προσφέρει. Επιπλέον, αποτελεί γεγονός η αναγκαιότητα για μια θεωρητικά τεκμηριωμένη προσέγγιση του μουσειακού τοπίου της Ελλάδας, με σκοπό τον καθορισμό των ιδιαίτερων χαρακτηριστικών της μουσειολογικής και μουσειοπαιδαγωγικής πραγματικότητας.

Για τους παραπάνω λόγους, στόχος της παρούσας έρευνας υπήρξε η καταγραφή της χρήσης της κινούμενης εικόνας στα ελληνικά μουσεία, σε μία προσπάθεια, αφενός να χαρτογραφηθεί η ελληνική πραγματικότητα για το ζήτημα αυτό και δεύτερον, να διατυπωθούν συμπεράσματα σχετικά με τους τρόπους με τους οποίους χρησιμοποιείται το μέσο και τη δυναμική του στα ελληνικά μουσεία.

Συγκεκριμένα, το ερευνητικό έργο διαρθρώθηκε σε τέσσερα στάδια.

Στο πρώτο στάδιο πραγματοποιήθηκε βιβλιογραφική έρευνα σε συνδυασμό με επιτόπιες επισκέψεις σε μουσειακούς χώρους στην Ελλάδα και στο εξωτερικό. Στόχος μας ήταν ο προσδιορισμός των επιμέρους στοιχείων του ερευνητικού αντικειμένου καθώς και των κριτηρίων για την προσέγγισή τους. Με βάση τα αποτελέσματα της πρώτης φάσης της έρευνας διατυπώθηκαν συγκεκριμένα χαρακτηριστικά γνωρίσματα που αφορούν στη χρήση της κινούμενης εικόνας στα μουσεία τα οποία ομαδοποιήθηκαν σε διαφορετικές κατηγορίες ανάλογα με τα περιεχόμενα και τους στόχους που υπηρετούν, καθώς και τις λειτουργικές και τεχνικές τους ιδιαιτερότητες.

Η κατηγοριοποίηση αυτή οδήγησε στη δεύτερη ερευνητική φάση κατά τη διάρκεια της οποίας διαμορφώθηκε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο για τη συλλογή των απαραίτητων στοιχείων και συντάχθηκε η λίστα των αποδεκτών του. Το ερωτηματολόγιο δομήθηκε με ερωτήσεις κλειστού και ανοικτού τύπου, οι οποίες αποσκοπούσαν στη συγκέντρωση πληροφοριών ποσοτικού και ποιοτικού χαρακτήρα.

Στην τρίτη φάση του ερευνητικού έργου τα ερωτηματολόγια εστάλησαν ταχυδρομικώς στα ελληνικά μουσεία, κρατικά και ιδιωτικά, και πραγματοποιήθηκε η συλλογή στοιχείων. Ενδεικτικά αναφέρουμε ότι από τους 240 φορείς στους οποίους απευθύνθηκε η ερευνητική ομάδα, 94 συμμετείχαν στην έρευνα. Παράλληλα οργανώθηκε μια ηλεκτρονική βάση για την καταγραφή των δεδομένων με γνώμονα τις δυνατότητες για την άρτια επεξεργασία τους σε συνάρτηση με την αρχική ερευνητική υπόθεση.

Στην τέταρτη φάση πραγματοποιήθηκε η καταχώρηση των δεδομένων αυτών και η επεξεργασία τους με ποσοτικά καταρχήν κριτήρια.

Στην παρούσα ανακοίνωση θα αναφερθούμε αφενός στο ερωτηματολόγιο και αφετέρου σε αυτά τα πρώτα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, ενώ τα ποιοτικά συμπεράσματα, θα αποτελέσουν αντικείμενο περαιτέρω επεξεργασίας στο άμεσο μέλλον σε συνδυασμό με επιτόπιες έρευνες σε επιλεγμένα μουσεία.
Πιστεύουμε ότι τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσας έρευνας μπορούν να εμπλουτίσουν τη γνώση και κατ’ επέκταση τις δυνατότητες χρήσης της κινούμενης εικόνας ως ερμηνευτικού εργαλείου στα σύγχρονα ελληνικά μουσεία.

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Audiovisual resources that can be categorized under the term “moving image”, such as videos, slide shows, films, etc, are among the most common media of museum communication. Their effectiveness and their power to reach different target groups cannot be disputed, since they combine entertainment and education in a unique way. On the other hand, Greek museums need to start developing a theoretical approach on the use of these media that will take into account their special characteristics.

The above reasons are at the basis of our research programme whose aim has been to record the use of “moving image” applications in Greek museums in order to map the current use of these media and to explore their dynamics and prospects in the Greek museum scene.

Our research programme has been structured in four stages: In the first stage, we worked on a literature review combined with visits to museums in Greece and abroad. Our aim was to define the main issues this research was to explore along with the criteria that we were going to use. As a result of this first stage, a categorization of these media was developed, according to their content and their use in the museum environment.

This categorization led to the second stage of our research: the development of a questionnaire in order to collect the necessary data. The questionnaire included closed and open-ended questions, in order to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. In the third phase, the questionnaires were sent to Greek public and private museums, while a database for the analysis of the collected data was organized. In the fourth phase, a data review using quantitative methods was performed.

In this paper, we are going to present the development of the questionnaire and the preliminary results of the analysis that followed. Further research in selected museums is currently under way and it will allow us to structure the final report of this project.

It is our belief that the results of this research will enrich our knowledge and our capability to use the “moving image’ as an interpretation tool in contemporary Greek museums.

“Using a mail survey to study the use of audiovisuals in museums: methods and issues” (2007)

by Evi - Maria Pitsiava

Bounia A., Nikonanou Ν., Pitsiava Ε.Μ., Tsekouras G., “Using a mail survey to study the use of audiovisuals in museums: methods and issues”, CHIRON WORKSHOP “The evaluation of ICT applications in Cultural Heritage: Issues, methods and approaches”, Museology Laboratory, Department of Cultural Technology & Communication, UoA, Mytilene, 11 – 12 May 2007

Il museo come organismo sensibile. Tecnologie, linguaggi, fruizione verso una trasformazione design-oriented

by Davide Spallazzo

Co-authored with A.Spagnoli & R.Trocchianesi. Published in AICA2009. Roma. ISBN-88-901620-8-2

Il museo si trasforma. Il tempio delle arti diventa organismo sensibile che modifica il rapporto visitatore-opera... more Il museo si trasforma. Il tempio delle arti diventa organismo sensibile che modifica il rapporto visitatore-opera d’arte introducendo nuovi paradigmi di interazione e fruizione. Le tecnologie digitali giocano un ruolo determinante nella trasformazione, generando nuovi linguaggi e sperimentazioni che moltiplicano i livelli di racconto dell’opera d’arte, introducono nuove dimensioni temporali e nuovi paradigmi allestitivi. Il paper analizza le trasformazioni in atto, fornendo una panoramica su esperienze nazionali ed internazionali che si servono della potenzialità tecnologiche in modo innovativo, definendo best practises nel settore. Il filtro è duplice: da un lato la tecnologia è messa in relazione allo spazio, al tempo, ai contenuti e al gioco generando quattro paradigmi di fruizione; dall’altro si analizza il rapporto visitatore-museo attraverso tre approcci che definiscono altrettanti modelli di interazione. Si suggeriscono infine possibili scenari di fruizione ed interazione visitatore-museo, in cui le tecnologie digitali giocano il ruolo di strumenti abilitanti e di fattori di cambiamento.

Creating Online Collaborative Environments for Museums: A case study of a museum wiki

by Jonathan Bowen

Alison H.-Y. Liu (National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan) and Jonathan P. Bowen. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 7(4):407-428, 2011. Special issue on Designing Shared Spaces for Collaborative Creativity.
DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2011.042988

Museums have been increasingly adopting Web 2.0 technology to reach and interact with their visitors. Some have... more Museums have been increasingly adopting Web 2.0 technology to reach and interact with their visitors. Some have experimented with wikis to allow both curators and visitors to provide complementary information about objects in the museum. An example of this is the Object Wiki from the Science Museum in London. Little has been done to study these interactions in an academic framework. In the field of knowledge management, the concept of 'communities of practice' has been posited as a suitable structure in which to study how knowledge is developed within a community with a common interest in a particular domain, using a sociological approach. Previously this has been used in investigating the management of knowledge within business organisations, teachers' professional development, and online e-learning communities. The authors apply this approach to a museum-based wiki to assess its applicability for such an endeavour.

Patias P, Chrysanthou Y., Sylaiou S., Georgiadis H., Stylianidis, S., (2008). The development of an e-museum for contemporary arts, VSMM Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia dedicated to Cultural Heritage 2008, 20-25 October, Nicosia, Cyprus.

by Stella Sylaiou

Τhe increasing development of interactive techniques and new information technologies’ software and hardware and the... more Τhe increasing development of interactive techniques and new information technologies’ software and hardware and the decreasing
of their costs have facilitated their use by a wide range of cultural institutions, such as museums. These new technologies also
provided solutions for the lack of exhibition space, considerable exhibitions’ costs and the fragility of some artifacts whose possible damage museum curators want to prevent. The value of these new tools and formats have been recognized and fruitfully exploited by curators for visualizing the cultural context of museum exhibitions. In addition, museums changed their way of conveying information about their cultural artifacts to the wide public, through new communication methods, like virtual museums, which have made the content and context of the museum collections more accessible and attractive to the wide public. During the last decade various kinds of ‘virtual museums’ have been developed either in the museums’ environment, or over the World Wide Web. Α virtual museum can be a digital collection that is presented either over the WWW, or to an intranet or even to a CD-ROM and it can be an extension of a physical museum, or it can exist only in a digital form. Furthermore, the virtual museum can have various forms. It can be a 3D reconstruction of the physical museum, where, in the virtual rooms of the museum exhibition, the visitors can navigate and explore its collections. Alternatively, it can be a completely imaginary environment, in form of various rooms, where
the cultural artifacts are placed. This study describes all aspects of the creation of an e-museum for contemporary arts. Emerging
tools, technologies, 3D digitization processes of museum spaces as well as artifacts are presented, public acceptance polls are
discussed and educational scenarios are exercised. All presentations concern the actual case of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Arts in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Sylaiou S., Karoulis A., White M., ‘Virtual Museum Interface Evaluation: the ARCO case’, Panhellenic Conference on Informatics (PCI 2007), organised by the Greek Computer Society (ΕΠΥ) and the Computer Engineering and Informatics Department of University of Patras, Patras, Greece, 18-20 May 2007.

by Stella Sylaiou

The Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects (ARCO) system provides software and interface tools to museum... more The Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects (ARCO) system provides software and interface tools to museum curators to develop virtual museum exhibitions, as well as a virtual environment for museum visitors over the World Wide Web or in informative kiosks. The main purpose of the system is to offer an enhanced educative and entertaining experience to virtual museum visitors. In order to assess the usability of the system, two approaches have been employed: a questionnaire based survey and a Cognitive Walkthrough session. Both approaches employed expert evaluators, such as domain experts and usability experts. The result of this study show a fair performance of the followed approach, as regards the consumed time, financial and other resources, as a great deal of usability problems has been uncovered and many aspects of the system have been investigated. The knowledge gathered aims at creating a conceptual framework for diagnose usability problems in systems in the area of virtual Cultural Heritage.

Quanto "vale" il sito web di un museo

by Elisa Bonacini

published on "Fizz - Oltre il marketing culturale" - ottobre 2011

L’aumento dei canali di contatto e di comunicazione ha, per un museo, effetti anche di natura strettamente... more L’aumento dei canali di contatto e di comunicazione ha, per un museo, effetti anche di natura strettamente commerciale: l’aumento dell’utenza potenziale e, dunque, della domanda potenziale, può rendere il museo un ‘prodotto’ commercialmente più appetibile dal punto di vista degli investimenti o delle sponsorizzazioni, una ulteriore occasione per i finanziatori di pubblicizzare il proprio marchio o la propria azienda. Attraverso un'analisi 'empirica' dell'utenza remota di alcuni siti web museali italiani e stranieri a confronto, si analizzano criticità e potenzialità dell'uso del web per queste istituzioni museali.

The Level of Information and Communication Technology Use by Museums In Malaysia

by Juliana Aida Abu Bakar

cite as: Juliana Aida Abu Bakar, Puteri Shireen Jahn Kassim & Murni Mahmud. The Level of ICT Use by Museums in Malaysia, in the Proceedings of International Symposium of Information Technology ITSim2010, Kuala Lumpur, June 15-16, 2010, pp.1462-1467.

Já que falamos a mesma língua... falemos de normalização e tecnologias de informação em museus

by Maria Jose de Almeida

Poster apresentado no VI Encontro de Museus de Países e Comunidades de Língua Portuguesa (Lisboa 2011)
Draft

Os museus da CPLP têm a língua portuguesa como um dos seus mais importantes traços identitários. Contudo, falarmos a... more Os museus da CPLP têm a língua portuguesa como um dos seus mais importantes traços identitários. Contudo, falarmos a mesma língua não chega para que se construa uma linguagem comum. A construção de uma linguagem comum aos museus da CPLP necessita de instrumentos de normalização e controle terminológico, bem como da definição semântica de conceitos e da normalização de procedimentos na sua utilização.
As tecnologias da informação apresentam-se como um poderoso auxiliar nesta tarefa e são apresentados dois exemplos em Portugal em que a sua utilização, bem como a realização de programas de formação orientados para o seu uso, contribuíram para a criação de sistemas interoperáveis e de redes de cooperação e partilha de recursos.
Discute-se a oportunidade e o desafio que pode constituir a criação de uma rede de profissionais no âmbito da CPLP, entendida como espaço de universalização de normas e conceitos nos museus de língua portuguesa.

NFCMuseum: an Open-Source Middleware for Augmenting Museum Exhibits

by Andres Gomez Casanova

Presented at ICPS 2008, Sorento, Italy.
Coauthored: Walter Rudametkin, Lionel Touseau, Maroula Perisanidi, Didier Donsez
Source code: https://sourceforge.net/projects/nfcapps/

Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies are
mature and are meeting the mass market in many application more Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies are
mature and are meeting the mass market in many application
domains. They provide the possibility to automate many
processes that had been lacking such features. Museum exhibits
are one such case, and have traditionally been static pieces that
do not interact with users or provide any additional context. In
this demonstration we present an open-source middleware for
museology. Our work uses external devices such as media
renderers to create an augmented reality environment around
visitors to improve interaction and the overall experience from
the exhibit, while giving museum management valuable
information about visitor behavior. The NFCMuseum
middleware is part of the ASPIRE project funded by the
European Union and is available for download at the OW2
Consortium website.

Património arqueológico móvel: o acervo do futuro Museu de Arqueologia de Cascais

by Maria Jose de Almeida

Presented at local iniciative European Heritage Days 2003 (Cascais, Portugal); unpublished

Só encontra quem sabe procurar: o sistema de informação dos Museus de Cascais

by Maria Jose de Almeida

Agenda Cultural de Cascais N º 18 | Janeiro – Fevereiro 2006, Cascais: Câmara Municipal, p. 72-73

The Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp): Whence and Whither?

by Jonathan Bowen

In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Museums and the Web, 1997: Selected Papers, pages 9-25, Archives & Museum Informatics, 5501 Walnut Street, Suite 203, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232-2311, USA, 1997.

The Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp) were started as a personal project in 1994, forming part of the Virtual... more The Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp) were started as a personal project in 1994, forming part of the Virtual Library distributed information repository initiated by the original inventors of the World Wide Web. The VLmp resource provides a leading directory of online museums and associated resources which has grown exponentially in size and use since its inception. In 1996 the directory was adopted by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), helping to ensure its long-term future. This presentation provides a brief history of the development and use of VLmp, and considers its possible future directions.

Keywords: On-line museums, World Wide Web, Internet, Directory, Access statistics.

The Website of the UK Museum of the Year, 1999

by Jonathan Bowen

Jonathan P. Bowen and Jane Bowen. In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Proc. Museums and the Web 2000, Minneapolis, USA, 16-19 April 2000. Archives & Museum Informatics, Pittsburgh, USA, 2000.
Also available as Technical Report SBU-CISM-00-28, SCISM, South Bank University, London, UK, 2000.

Read more: Museums and the Web 2000 Bowen and Bowen, The Website of the UK Museum of the Year, 1999 http://www.archimuse.com/mw2000/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

The River & Rowing Museum celebrates the traditions and environment of the River Thames, the international sport... more The River & Rowing Museum celebrates the traditions and environment of the River Thames, the international sport of rowing and the historic riverside community of Henley-on-Thames in England. Spacious and state-of-the-art, the specially commissioned building was designed by the award winning British architect, David Chipperfield. The museum was opened in August 1998 and is already an architectural landmark. The museum has won a number of awards including the National Heritage UK Museum of the Year 1999, Building of the Year 1999 for England (shortlisted for the Stirling Prize) and Website of the Week for two weeks running in the 24 Hour Museum UK museums portal.

The website has been produced at minimal cost, but is simple and effective in design (matching the minimalist design of the museum building itself) and attracting over 65,000 visitors so far (more than have visited the physical museum). The website is organized in a simple hierarchical manner. The homepage is designed to present the museum in different ways for different categories of user such as general visitors, including the disabled, children, teachers, researchers, group visitors, museum supporters, event organizers, the press, etc.

The presentation will give a history of the development of the website, originally initiated in 1995 several years before the museum actually opened. This helped establish the museum's presence throughout the world, particularly to the rowing community. Plans for the future, especially how the website fits into the museum's marketing strategy, will also be covered. Attendees should gain tips on how to produce a cost-effective website that is designed to be user-oriented.

On-line Collections Access at the Museum of English Rural Life

by Jonathan Bowen

Jonathan P. Bowen, Roy Brigden, Mary Dyson and Kevin Moran (University of Reading). In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Proc. MW2001 Museums and the Web conference, Seattle, USA, 14-17 March 2001. CD-ROM.
Also available as Technical Report SBU-CISM-01-02, SCISM, South Bank University, London, UK, January 2001.

Read more: On-line Collections Access at the Museum of English Rural Life http://www.archimuse.com/mw2001/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

The Rural History Centre at the University of Reading, which includes the Museum of English Rural Life, holds... more The Rural History Centre at the University of Reading, which includes the Museum of English Rural Life, holds extensive collections of material relating to the history of food, farming, and the countryside. As a result, it operates as the leading research and resource center for the subject in the country. The collections have been Designated of national importance and are now in receipt of a grant from the UK government-funded Designation Challenge Fund for a project designed to greatly enhance access to the collections via the World Wide Web. The aim is to have a dynamic, database-driven website which will present a thematic route of entry for exploration of the collections.

This collections access project aims to make the information available to a variety of users in an appropriate manner. Specifically targeted users are primary school children (and teachers), the general public (including secondary school children) and expert researchers (e.g., from academia). Different interfaces are provided within the website to accommodate these various types of user in the INTERnet Farm And Countryside Explorer (INTERFACE) section designated as schools, public and advanced users. For example, story-based environments are being included, extracting information from the database. The stories themselves are being generated by hand as static pages based on templates, but the database can be used at any time to include further information on objects or areas of interest. Primary school children can be limited to records that include graphical images, with access via story-based presentations suitable for use as educational resources, with associated teacher support. The public interface provides hierarchical exploration of subject areas. For experts, a more traditional form-based database interface with many fields will provide access to the full database.

One of the key considerations in developing on-line content for museums is bringing together collection management systems and exhibition information into one system. The manner in which collections are integrated into websites is likely to have implications for their accessibility. For example, the location of the access to collections within the overall site and the graphic presentation of the interface may influence visitors' search and navigation behavior. This paper includes information on an evaluation approach that was developed as part of the initial stages of the project. The objectives of the initial evaluation were to identify other sites which provide access to a collections database; to observe how functionality has been implemented; to consider which aspects of the interfaces may be adopted or adapted for the project. The outcome of the evaluations is described, identifying strengths and weaknesses of existing sites. As the sample of sites analyzed is small, this data is discussed in relation to potential uses for this methodology. A technical evaluation of the first version of the new website is also included.

The last part of the paper gives an overview of what is planned for the last part of the project. Not many museum collections are available on-line in a comprehensive form, especially from smaller museums, so this project aims to be exemplary of what can be achieved given appropriate resources

Museophile: A Community for Museum E-commerce

by Jonathan Bowen

Jonathan P. Bowen. In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Proc. MW2002: Museums and the Web 2002, Boston, USA, 17-20 April 2002. Mini-workshop.
Also available as Technical Report SBU-CISM-02-08, SCISM, South Bank University, London, UK, 2002. Also presented at MCN 2002.

Read more: MW2002: Papers: Museophile: a community for museum e-commerce http://www.archimuse.com/mw2002/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

Large national museums can afford to create their own on-line mass communication services and to undertake e-commerce... more Large national museums can afford to create their own on-line mass communication services and to undertake e-commerce activities themselves. However, for other museums, this can be a daunting prospect, both technically and financially. It is also likely to be much less effective. A solution could be to create an on-line museum community of small to medium sized museums who alone would struggle to make such an enterprise a success but who together, with suitable help, could rival the efforts of national museums. This mini-workshop examines existing example of museum e-commerce and facilities that could be used by museums. It then goes on to propose a possible infrastructure for museums wishing to take their initial steps in e-commerce at low cost and low risk.

Keywords: e-commerce, museums, community, accessibility, World Wide Web

Online Museum Discussion Forums; What do we have? What do we need?

by Jonathan Bowen

Jonathan P. Bowen, Michael Houghton and Roxane Bernier (Université de Montréal). In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Proc. MW2003: Museums and the Web 2003, Charlotte, USA, 19-22 March 2003.

Read more: Museums and the Web 2003: Papers: Bowen, Houghton and Bernier http://www.archimuse.com/mw2003/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

Virtual communities have become increasingly popular for the general public, using electronic mailing lists,... more Virtual communities have become increasingly popular for the general public, using electronic mailing lists, newsgroups, WWeb-based forums, chat rooms, etc. However, it appears that online forums are not well integrated into the sphere of museums. Curators have therefore not capitalized on widening their mandate and engaging visitors as well as museum professionals themselves in effective online interaction.

This paper presents a survey of existing museum-related forums available for discussion by museum professionals and the general public with an interest in museums. Some of the software and facilities available to museums for the establishment and maintenance of mailing lists, WWeb-based discussion forums and more innovative service like WWeb logs, often freely available, are also explored. A museum discussion forum facility has been implemented experimentally (see under http://forums.museophile.net) using open source software. As well as local forums, this integrates topical information of interest to museum personnel from a wide range of online sources. Finally, some thoughts for the future are discussed.

Keywords: discussion forums, mailing lists, museums, newsgroups, online communities, WWeb logs, World Wide Web

Gender Issues and Museum Websites

by Jonathan Bowen

Clara Baiget, Isabel Bernal, Sue Black, Nadia Blinova, Stefania Boiano, Ann Borda, Jonathan P. Bowen, Wera Grahn (University of Linköping, Sweden), Eleanor Lisney and Teresa Numerico. In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), MW2005: Museums and the Web 2005, Vancouver, Canada, 13-16 April 2005.

Read more: Archives & Museum Informatics: Museums and the Web 2005: Papers: Bowen, et al., Gender Issues and Museum Web Sites http://www.archimuse.com/mw2005/papers/bowen/bowen.html
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We consider the provision of museum Web sites with respect to gender issues from a number of different perspectives.... more We consider the provision of museum Web sites with respect to gender issues from a number of different perspectives. Design issues for Web access, the use of technology such as Web logs by women, together with some more specialist interests such as on-line gaming are covered. The differences in various cultures are also considered. In particular, the situation in a selection of Spanish, Italian and Russian language museum Web sites is presented. We include a small survey of potential visitors who are members of the British Computer Society BCSWomen specialist group. It is hoped that the discussion here and in the forum itself could feed into a larger study in this area to see how museums can minimize any gender discrimination on their Web sites, increasing accessibility in the process.
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition."
        - Timothy Leary (1920-1996)

Keywords: female issues, gender studies, museum Web sites, on-line gaming, Web design, women's rights, Web