| Apr ’05 |
| 21 |
The digital object: visualisation, interpretation, sustainability
Hosted by The University of Leicester; sponsored by The 24 Hour Museum, mwr and Simulacra.
Thank you to all participants and speakers for making the day such an inspiring and successful event.
Presentations and conclusions are below.
UK Museums and the Web is not affiliated to Archimuse’s North American Museums and the Web conference.
Today, amidst the information age, the idea of ‘object’, ‘visit’ and (even) ’site’ have been transformed. The ‘collections’ our visitors engage with are just as likely to be digital in format, bringing with them an array of new curatorial challenges as well as audience expectations.
Our community holds one of the richest sources of such information and knowledge available in the world. Much of this knowledge does not make it into physical galleries, but can be ideal for the web. In communicating this knowledge we need to understand the world of publishing better and consider seriously the permanence of digital material and access to it. At the same time we need to aid understanding of the widest possible audiences by explaining and bringing to life its value to them. A tall order, and all within our limited budgets.
Squaring up to these major changes, and by drawing together a range of practitioners, consultants, scholars, policy makers and industrialists this year’s UK Museums and the Web conference focuses attention on to the ‘digital object’.
| Time | Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 9.00-9.45 | Registration and coffee | |
| 9.45-10.00 | Welcome from mcg chair | Debbie Richards, mcg |
| Introduction from the 24 Hour Museum | Jane Finnis, Director | |
| 10-10.30 | Publishing the digital object Including the International Cultural Portal Survey | Chair: Jon Pratty, 24 Hour Museum |
| Peter Bale, Online Editorial Director, The Times and The Sunday Times | ||
| Patrick Towell, Simulacra | ||
| 10.35 -11.15 | Valuing the digital object Perspectives from outside the sector | Chair: David Dawson |
| Chris Yapp, Microsoft | ||
| 11.15-11.45 | Coffee kindly sponsored by Simulacra | |
| 11.45 – 12.25 | Accessing the digital object | Chair: Marcus Weisen, Development Officer (Disability), MLA |
| Helen Petrie, City University | ||
| Brian Kelly, UKOLN | ||
| 12.30-1.10 | Defining the digital object From tangibles, to intangibles ...to e-tangibles? Expanding the notion of 'museum object' | Chair: Ross Parry, University of Leicester |
| Charlie Gere, ICR, Lancaster University | ||
| 1.10-2.10 | Buffet lunch kindly sponsored and hosted by mwr | |
| 2.10-2.55 | Parallel sessions | |
| Session a – Learning with the digital object Digital technology - expensive substitute for the real thing, or justifiable motivator for learning. | Martin Bazley, eLearning Group for Museums, Libraries and Archives and ICT4Learning | |
| Session b – Future technologies and the digital object A beginner's guide to the semantic web. | Mike Lowndes, Natural History Museum. | |
| Session c – Ownership over the digital object Digital Rights Management and the Lifecycle of a Digital Object | Chair: Naomi Korn, Museums Copyright Group. Powerpoint presentation | |
| Nick Poole, mda | ||
| 3.00-3.45 | Managing the digital object Best and future practice in digital object management and recording | Nick Poole |
| Patrick Towell | ||
| Gordon McKenna | ||
| 3.45-4.15 | Tea kindly sponsored by Simulacra | |
| 4.15-5.15 | The reality of the digital object Engaging with the challenges facing small museums | Ian Edelman, Recreation and Heritage, Hampshire County Council |
5.15-5.30 | Closing remarks: some take-homes | Mike Lowndes, mcg UKMW lead, Natural History Museum |