Selected books
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Museums in the Digital Age: changing meanings of place, community, and culture Author Bautista, Susana Smith by Museums in the Digital Age: Changing Meanings of Place, Community, and Culture showcases how the use of technology in museums should be understood as factors directly related to the museums' notion of community, local culture, and place, whether these places are in mid-America, urban metropolises, or ethnically diverse and underserved communities. Here, museum expert Susana Smith Bautista brings more than twenty years of experience in cultural institutes in Los Angeles, New York, and Greece to propose a social understanding of why museums should be adopting technology, and how it should be adapted based on their particular missions, communities, and places. This book is timely because we are in the midst of the digital age, which is rapidly changing due to rapidly changing developments in technology and society as well, with social adaptations of technology. Theory is always racing to catch up with practice in the digital age, but theory remains a critical - and often neglected - component to accompany the practical application of technology in museums. In order to illustrate these points, the book presents five case studies of the most technologically advanced art museums in the United States today: The Indianapolis Museum of ArtThe Walker Art CenterThe San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern ArtThe Brooklyn Museum Each case study ends with a Lessons Learned section to bring these points home. While the case studies focus on museums in the United States, and also on art museums, this book is relevant to all types of museums and to museums all over the world, as they equally face the challenge of incorporating technology into their institutions. Although these case studies are all well-established and well-endowed museums, Bautista reveals valuable insight into the difficulties they face and the questions they are asking which are relevant to even the smallest museum or community cultural center.Publication Date: 2013 online -
Partnership Power: essential museum strategies for today's networked world Author Semmel, Marsha L. (editor) : ch. 1 My Partnership Journey / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 2 From a Museum Basement to a City of Learning: Pittsburgh's Remake Learning Network / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 3 Partnerships as the Great Good Place / Gregg Behr -- ch. 4 Partnerships, Not Mergers / Elyse Eidman-Aadahl -- ch. 5 Us versus Them: How to Bridge Boundaries to Discover New Partnership Frontiers / Peter Ellsworth -- ch. 6 Partnering with the Public / Chris Ernst -- ch. 7 Meaningful Partnerships and the Eight "Rtes" / John H. Falk -- ch. 8 Why Museums Must Turn Outward to Find the Right Partners / Kate Goodall -- ch. 9 Mapping Collaborations / Richard C. Harwood -- ch. 10 Growing a Strategic Partnership Mindset within a New Museum: Staff Perspectives on the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture / David La Piana / Melissa Mendes Campos -- With interviews from Nicole Bryner, Marion McGee, Allison Prabhu, and Auntaneshia Staveloz / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 11 Partnerships for STEM beyond the School Day / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 12 Museums Can Take a Lead in Cultivating Vibrant Learning Ecosystems / Ronald L. Ottinger / Cary Sneider -- ch. 13 Seeking Synergy: Strategic Partnership Development as Organizational Practice in Informal Education Organizations / Katherine Prince -- ch. 14 The People's University / Rafi Santo -- From interviews with Felton Thomas, Jr. / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 15 From "They" to "We": A Study in Collaboration / Balboa Park Cultural Partnership Team / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 16 Partnering in Digital. Resource Creation / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 17 In Pursuit of Freedom: A Partnership Grows in Brooklyn / Nik Honeysett -- With Introduction by Marsha L. Semmel / Deborah Schwartz -- ch. 18 Habla Espanol? / Deborah Schwartz -- ch. 19 Partnerships in Transforming a Neighborhood and Learning Landscape / Tammie Kahn -- ch. 20 A Museum Turns Outward / Suzanne McCaffrey / Jane Werner -- From interviews with Joe Hastings and Kristin Leigh / Marsha Semmel -- ch. 21 Growing a Network of Small Cultural Organizations Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network and Virginia Africana / Marsha Semmel -- From contributions and interviews with Althemese P. Barnes, Audrey Davis, and Phyllis Ford / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 22 Be Our Guest! / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 23 The Jewish Museum of Maryland: Catalyzing Neighborhood Revitalization / John Wetenhall -- From interviews with Marvin Pinkert and Lindsay Thompson / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 24 An Institutional Commitment to a New Model of Community Collaboration / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 25 Partnership 3.0: The Case of Oregon Museum of Science and Industry / Elisabeth Callahan / Karleen Gardner -- From interviews with Nancy Stueber, Kyrie Kellett, Lauren Moreno, and Marcie Benne / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 26 Growing the "Experiment Station" through New Partnerships / Marsha L. Semmel -- From interviews with Dorothy Kosinski and Suzanne Wright / Marsha L. Semmel -- ch. 27 Resources: Diving Deeper into Partnerships and Networks / Marsha L. Semmel -- Better Together? Ten Considerations for Successful Strategic Partnerships / Marsha L. Semmel.Publication Date: 2019 online -
Museums and Digital Culture: New Perspectives and Research by This book explores how digital culture is transforming museums in the 21st century. Offering a corpus of new evidence for readers to explore, the authors trace the digital evolution of the museum and that of their audiences, now fully immersed in digital life, from the Internet to home and work. In a world where life in code and digits has redefined human information behavior and dominates daily activity and communication, ubiquitous use of digital tools and technology is radically changing the social contexts and purposes of museum exhibitions and collections, the work of museum professionals and the expectations of visitors, real and virtual. Moving beyond their walls, with local and global communities, museums are evolving into highly dynamic, socially aware and relevant institutions as their connections to the global digital ecosystem are strengthened. As they adopt a visitor-centered model and design visitor experiences, their priorities shift to engage audiences, convey digital collections, and tell stories through exhibitions. This is all part of crafting a dynamic and innovative museum identity of the future, made whole by seamless integration with digital culture, digital thinking, aesthetics, seeing and hearing, where visitors are welcomed participants. The international and interdisciplinary chapter contributors include digital artists, academics, and museum professionals. In themed parts the chapters present varied evidence-based research and case studies on museum theory, philosophy, collections, exhibitions, libraries, digital art and digital future, to bring new insights and perspectives, designed to inspire readers. Enjoy the journey!Publication Date: 2019 online -
Museums in a Digital Culture: how art and heritage become meaningful by The experience of engaging with art and history has been utterly transformed by information and communications technology in recent decades. We now have virtual, mediated access to countless heritage collections and assemblages of artworks, which we intuitively browse and navigate in a way that wasn't possible until very recently. This collection of essays takes up the question of the cultural meaning of the information and communications technology that makes these new engagements possible, asking questions like: How should we theorise the sensory experience of art and heritage? What does information technology mean for the authority and ownership of heritage?Publication Date: 2017 online -
Technology and Digital Initiatives : innovative approaches for museums by Technology and Digital Initiatives: Innovative Approaches for Museums discloses the ways in which technology is used as a means of communicating with visitors through podcasts, apps, websites, and blogs; as an educational enhancement through off-site e-learning and onsite participation at interactive kiosks; and as non-site-based experiences through collaborative initiatives providing open access to collections worldwide. This book offers ten case studies that address technology and digital initiatives from the perspective of initiators and consumers. Each of the chapters consider the use of technology in as a means of communicating with visitors through apps, websites, and other online resources used onsite and off-site. For example, strategies of museums detailed on a global level by Jane Alexander and Elizabeth Bolander of The Cleveland Museum of Art and Sree Sreenivasan of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alexander and Bolander walk us through the creation of a digital roadmap, a digital vision that links the museum's mission and strategic plans to the needs of its constituencies. Sree contends that museums can lead the way with innovation in the digital sector. And he offers lessons from his experience at the Met that might provide guidelines for your work and your museum. The Innovative Approaches for Museums series offers case studies, written by scholars and practitioners from museums, galleries, and other institutions, that showcase the original, transformative, and sometimes wholly re-invented methods, techniques, systems, theories, and actions that demonstrate innovative work being done in the museum and cultural sector throughout the world. The authors come from a variety of institutions--in size, type, budget, audience, mission, and collection scope. Each volume offers ideas and support to those working in museums while serving as a resource and primer, as much as inspiration, for students and the museum staff and faculty training future professionals who will further develop future innovative approaches. Contributions by: Jane Alexander, Elizabeth Bolander, Elizabeth Botten, Gareth Brereton, Nancy E. V. Bryk, Stephen J. Bury, Duygu Camurcuoglu, Kimberly Christen, John Dallwitz, Birger Ekorn sv g Helgestad, Jennifer E. Henel, Kelly Quinn, Sree Sreenivasan, Jonathan Taylor, Sabra Thorner, Rihoko Ueno, and Heather Marie WellsPublication Date: 2015 online -
ECulture: cultural content in the digital age by Do virtual museums really provide added value to end-users, or do they just contribute to the abundance of images? Does the World Wide Web save endangered cultural heritage, or does it foster a society with less variety? These and other related questions are raised and answered in this book, the result of a long path across the digital heritage landscape. It provides a comprehensive view on issues and achievements in digital collections and cultural content.Publication Date: 2009 online
