My lost museum: User expectations and motivations for creating personal digital collections on museum websites

The recent development of personal digital collections systems on museum websites has prompted researchers to examine the motivations and expectations of museum visitors as they interact with those systems. Results from an online survey completed by visitors to six different museum websites show that users of personal digital collections systems are primarily motivated by a desire to create simple collections of objects and images, and are less influenced by the more complicated features museums have implemented to encourage user participation. The significance of these findings is explored through a discussion of user expectations and motivations with respect to creating personal digital collections, and an attempt is made to reconcile some of the disparities between the perceptions of survey respondents and the experiences of museum professionals developing and implementing personal digital collections systems.     

Education Collections as Museum Collections

Museum education collections are inarguably a part of a museum's actual collection, just as are the research/permanent collections. However, past practices indicate that education collections are typically not given equal stature in museological terms. This paper argues that techniques and practices used with research/permanent collections should be applied to education collections, a viewpoint that has not yet been readily embraced. Several methods are addressed for upgrading an education collection to a level similar to a museum's permanent collection. The Lubbock Lake Landmark's education collection serves as a case study to demonstrate the need for the application of proper museological techniques to conform to best practices. A scope of collection was created, preventive conservation techniques were applied, a gap analysis was performed, and legal issues concerning the education collection were addressed.     

我国自然博物馆藏品收藏现状与分析

本文介绍了国内外自然博物馆藏品收藏现状,分析我国自然博物馆存在藏品收藏总体不足、各区域自然博物馆之间藏品收藏差距较大、收藏范围较狭窄、藏品来源单一等问题,并进行了原因分析,提出正确认识自然博物馆的研究、收藏与教育的关系,加强对博物馆科研的投入,授予博物馆标本采集权,打破体制机制限制,加强对各方标本资源的利用等建议。     

Portable X-ray fluorescence analysis of pesticides in the textile collection at the German Historical Museum,Berlin

The majority of the objects found in the textiles collection at the German Historical Museum in Berlin have been treated with different biocides at various points in the past. Prior to this study, the presence of organochlorinated pesticides in rooms and storage cabinets had already been proven in an analysis of air samples that employed gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. To estimate the risks these toxins pose to both collections and museum staff, we conducted a field study with the help of a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. In this study, we present an attempt at a reliable quantitative analysis. In addition to chlorine, other potentially hazardous elements such as lead, arsenic, and mercury were found in the majority of the objects. In some cases, however, it has to be taken into account that the detected elements might have originated from manufacturing processes rather than biocide treatments. Such knowledge is a crucial prerequisite to proper risk prediction.     

基于用户需求的博物馆藏品档案服务对策研究

博物馆藏品档案是博物馆藏品的重要组成部分,对藏品档案的开发利用已经引起了社会的关注。研究藏品档案用户需求行为有利于展现藏品档案独特的历史记忆,发挥博物馆文化服务平台的作用。以用户需求行为角度出发,采用定量分析的方法,对藏品档案用户需求行为进行研究分析,通过数据分析发现现如今博物馆藏品档案服务与时代发展脱钩,不能满足用户日益增长的多元需求,并从深化服务理念、建设数字化管理、加强先进技术使用三方面给出服务改进建议。     

White Collar Crime In Museums

White Collar Crime (WCC) can be defined as crimes committed by employees against their employers. Little empirical research has been conducted into WCC in the museum sector. The majority of a museums collection is held in back‐of‐house storage facilities with only a relatively small number of objects actually on public display. The true extent of WCC is unknown and it is a difficult area because of its complexity and invisibility. The article gives an overview of white‐collar crime, outlines the characteristics and techniques of this type of crime and seeks to identify the problems of controlling white‐collar crime with particular reference to the UK museum sector.     

Environmental conditions for the safeguarding of collections: A background to the current debate on the control of relative humidity and temperature

Conditions of relative humidity (RH) and temperature within museums and buildings holding collections of cultural heritage objects are often maintained around a strictly controlled set point of about 50 ± 5% RH and 20 or 21 ± 2°C to provide safe, stable conditions for hygroscopic artifacts. It has recently been proposed that these ranges should be relaxed to values that are less energy-intensive to maintain while still being safe for the objects in the collection, with the aim of reducing both carbon footprint and energy use. It is also suggested that conditions should be determined by the needs of individual objects and by the local climate of the region, rather than applying overall values across the museum as a whole. This proposal has led to much discussion within the conservation community. The suggested values, a stable humidity within the range 40–60% RH and a stable temperature within the range 16–25°C for most objects, apart from the most vulnerable, are derived from the results of experimental research on the responses of individual materials to particular conditions of RH and temperature, as well as observations of the behaviour of cultural heritage objects in their own environments and on loan. This paper describes briefly the historical and scientific background to the present discussion.     

档案文创产品IP化探解——基于故宫《石渠宝笈》项目的思考

镇馆之宝焕发新生问题、赋予馆藏IP生命力问题、将馆藏IP内容商业化问题等是档案馆、博物馆、图书馆等在馆藏文创过程中面临的共性难题.再现:选择适合馆藏的表现形式,实现镇馆之宝IP化,是赋予镇馆之宝新生的首要条件.再造:根据原有IP创作出符合当代人审美需求的好内容,是馆藏IP根植于人心的基本条件.再生:根据IP内容做出能出...     

Developing Local Narratives for Objects in National Collections: Lessons Learned from the “Number Please? Working with the Enfield Exchange” Project

Museums of science, technology, and engineering are developing new ways of interpreting and displaying their collections. Increasingly objects are being placed within narratives of everyday use; the human side of technology. The focus of this article is a section of one of the last UK manual telephone switchboards, which was acquired by the Science Museum, London, following its decommissioning in 1960. This artifact offers a unique insight into a communication technology that relied extensively on female telephonists, a distinct way of understanding gender roles in the twentieth century. The authors explore strategies for developing local narratives for objects from national collections and reflect on lessons learned from a cross‐institutional collaboration. This article highlights: the value of local historians, community events and oral histories to developing local narratives; how these activities informed understandings of the telephone switchboard; work life in the communications industry; the relationship between women and technology; and practical strategies that can enhance collections and museum practice through collaboration.     

Records and Access

Libraries and museums are alike in collecting sources of information, whether print or nonprint items, sound recordings, or three-dimensional objects. The institutions also maintain records of their collections in files or systems which reflect the purpose of the collections. This article compares and contrasts museum registration and library cataloging procedures, suggesting that differences in records management result from philosophical and historical differences. It is suggested also that the competencies of library and information science may be applied to museum registration.     

The Naturalist Center: Proof that museums can do more to maximize the learning potential of their collections

There may not be a more passionate group of learners than museum scientists, historians or artists. What if museum visitors had the same freedom to learn from museum collections as researchers do? At the Smithsonian Institution's Naturalist Center we not only examined the environmental factors that have nutured such passion for learning in museum researchers but also successfully reproduced them in a publicly accessible, open storage study collection. Three major functional elements were critical to the Center's success: (1) building a critical mass of information (collections, books, images, databases, etc.) (2) providing access to that information in ways that motivates the public to want to seek information out, and (3) fostering the cognitive skills of inquiry based learning to make the whole experience meaningful to the learner. By incorporating more elements of the learning ecosystem into public offerings, the public not only experiences what fuels museum researchers' unique passion for learning, but also heightens the public's understanding of the subject matter and the learning potential of museums.     

Museums and the Agency of Ideology: Three Recent Examples

Abstract Museums are not neutral organizations; they are active social participants. While museums serve many social purposes, fundamentally they define and express major social narratives. Museums are important collections of ideological symbols and perform a special communication as well as legitimizing role. The narratives conveyed by museums are observed as definitive and authoritative, and the objects displayed are understood as emblematic or normative culture. This article examines two museums and a historic site in the United States in the context of their social narratives. Attention is paid to the political implications of recent program decisions. The social and political interactions that accompany these institutions' program decisions demonstrate the ideological purpose of the museum.     

A Moving Experience: Thirteen Years and Two Million Objects Later

The Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution began preparing and moving its ethnographic and archeological collections, consisting of two million specimens, to an off-site storage facility in 1983. The move was necessitated by continual museum accessions and diminishing available storage space, resulting in overcrowded conditions. Thirteen years later, the anthropology move is nearing completion. This article documents some of the circumstances that precipitated the collection move. It also delineates the procedures that evolved and some of the lessons learned. Experience showed that adequate training of staff was essential to the success of the project. Bar code technology was implemented to streamline tracking of objects and inventory control. With the completion of the anthropology move, the collections care is significantly improved on many levels, but challenges lie ahead because the new storage facility is nearing capacity.     

高职院校图书馆"老书库"建设初探

高职院校大部分是由中等专业学校转制而来,其图书馆目前面临着文献总量不足、馆藏文献质量低和馆舍面积不足等困境.这些院校的图书馆一般具有较长的文献收藏历史.馆藏的各类历史文献虽算不上弥足珍贵.也不足什么珍本、善本,但却反映了一定历史时期我国的出版发行特点及文化背景.由于这部分文献具有特殊历史意义,对于需要它的特定读者仍有一定的参考价值,因此,建立"老书库",对这些文献进行特藏,既可以使这些文献得到保护,又可以满足读者的特定需求,还可以确保图书总量满足教学评估的要求.对图书馆的藏书建设是非常有意义的.     

Examining Massive Digital Libraries (MDLs) and Their Impact on Reference Services

Massive Digital Libraries such as Google Books and the HathiTrust can provide libraries with virtual ready-reference collections that match the scope of print collections. Their impact reaches into the tens of millions of public domain and copyrighted titles. Yet, problems persist with these digitized book collections. This article examines some of the flaws and unintended consequences of relying on Massive Digital Libraries at the expense of local print collections. Such problems include lack of metadata accuracy, poorly implemented optical character recognition, lack of quality control in the mass-digitization process, the problem of linguistic representation, and the lack of subject diversity in the source collections.     

浅谈美国科技博物馆的发展态势

作者通过实地考察和检索相关文献,提出当前美国科技博物馆呈现几个值得关注的发展态势:与正规教育紧密结合、高度社会化、高度市场化、科学中心与传统博物馆相互借鉴相互融合、重视新技术应用。在此基础上,本文提出我国科技博物馆建设与发展的对策:正视差异与差距,加快科技馆体系建设,加强科技和工业藏品的征集,提升科技博物馆的经营能力,实现我国科技博物馆事业的跨越式发展。     

Protecting Museum Collections from Vibrations Due to Construction: Vibration Statistics,Limits, Flexibility and Cooperation

ABSTRACT

Vibrations due to heavy construction work continue to be a major concern for museums. Although there has been an increase in research on the effect of vibrations on objects of cultural heritage in recent years, selecting measures to protect collections and remain open during construction work continues to be difficult because of a lack of data on what objects can actually withstand, the complexity of vibration loads, and the uniqueness of each situation. The major renovation of the Central Library in Liverpool, UK, which shared walls with the World Museum and Walker Art Gallery, both of which belong within National Museums Liverpool, showed how museums and other institutions can successfully deal with such situations. An integral approach was taken, beginning with an extensive risk analysis to determine which objects could remain on display, which needed extra protection and regular condition monitoring, and which had to be removed. The museums then negotiated a vibration protocol and action plan with the contractors, including continuous monitoring, and trigger levels requiring consultation or work stoppage. Vibration data were also stored and used for later analysis. This integral approach was successful in protecting the collections on exhibition, with only two incidents of reported damage directly related to vibrations. A combination of museum staff experience, excellent communications with the contractors, and some flexibility in defining vibration limits provided a successful recipe for both museums. The analysis of the vibration data using the basic engineering concept of the Palmgren-Miner rule, supports a more flexible approach to setting vibration limits based on recently published guidelines.     

Can't We All Just Get Along? Pan-Domain Collaboration Through an Innovative Collections Review Project at the Royal College of Surgeons of England

ABSTRACT

Although libraries, archives and museums were historically linked as ‘cabinets of curiosity,’ professionalization within the domains in the 19th century seems to have divided these collections. The creation of different working practices and standards built up barriers between these cultural or ‘information’ objects. However, in recent years there has been a well-developed trend towards pan-domain collaborative work which is slowly re-uniting collections and re-establishing links between the specialists that care for them. This article outlines how a project in the Royal College of Surgeons of England brought the library, archive and museum staff together to create a more collaborative environment which has served to benefit the collections, their users, and the staff themselves.     

The Future of Three‐Dimensional Imaging and Museum Applications

Abstract Is it time for all museums to initiate large‐scale 3D digitization programs? We don’t yet know how 3D is going to change, replace, or integrate into current museum experience. Yet the possibilities are being actualized right now. What does 3D mean for museums? Digitizing museum objects in 3D (or the museums themselves, for that matter) with incredible accuracy and realism; examining the inside of a mummy; modeling collections in 3D; retaining virtual copies of vulnerable objects; all these and more already exist in the fast‐changing realm of 3D applications.