Abstract

Having observed the progress of museums in the computerization of collections, the author warns about the need to ensure that the cataloguing efforts adopt appropriate technological solutions to produce value on Web 2.0. Metadata should be able to define complex cultural objects much more broadly than the simple description of a single piece or monument. Context and environment information should be added. Formal description processes should not be limited to inside the museum.

Abstract

This research aims to explore the media relations in museums, through the interaction between the press office and the specialized journalists. It attempts to quantify the use of documentation provided by Internet and Web 2.0 tools and observe to what extent traditional professional habits have changed. It describes the results and puts forward conclusions that can be interesting for both researchers and public relations practitioners. It provides knowledge about an emerging model of organizational communication and information processing in museums, in a new cultural and media setting.

Abstract

The paper analyses the similarities between cultural heritage libraries and museums. First, books are analyzed as heritage objects and museum artifacts. Secondly, researcher’s needs and interests concerning rare books are studied, as well as the knowledge and skills a librarian must possess. Finally, main functions and special features of heritage libraries are outlined.

Abstract

In museums, the scope of documentation must be extended through the concept of documentary services: libraries, archives and services of documentation have to work together to achieve a better knowledge and diffusion of the collections of each museum. If libraries have an uncertain future, archives can play an important role in the future of the institution. Documentary services must be open to everything from internal service to the diffusion of all bibliographic, documentary and artistic collections using the most recent means available, such as those proposed for the semantic web.

Abstract

The current social and cultural environment requires museums to adopt new models of management that include the need to communicate effectively with diverse publics considered important for the development of their activity. The aim of this paper is assess the coherence between the importance assigned to strategic publics and the way museums communicate with them. The study was done on a wide sample (111 entities) of museums in Catalonia. The results indicate consistency with only a few groups, suggesting that museums are still in an early stage of adopting any new models, but a trend towards broadening the scope to include groups of interest other than museum visitors.

Abstract

With the aim of preserving artistic heritage, in the past museums have removed paintings and furniture from the places they were created for. Over the decades the curators of these places have begun to request that these artistic works be returned, conscious of the significance that many of these works now have. Some institutions and museums have responded to these requests by providing copies of the original works. Traditionally these copies were handmade but now digital resources are used, such as audiovisual technology. The project Taüll 1123 (Lleida, Spain) is an example of the use of these new tools for the benefit of the artistic heritage and its visitors.

Abstract

The concept of museum communication is examined from the perspective of the professionals in charge of this task, characterizing the practical circumstances, perceptions, and specifics of the communication area. Through a series of interviews with managers of a group of Chilean museums, we identified elements to consider and problems that often affect museum communications in general, despite the diversity of these institutions. In the museums examined, we observed different ways of understanding the concept of communication. Such differences are linked to geographical location, ownership or affiliation, as well as other dimensions of the museum such as mission, objectives of the institution, and the communications vision.

Abstract

Social networks have obtained a relevant presence in Communication programs and they are changing the way to disseminate information and engage in dialogue. They permit a more balanced and participatory model of communication between publics and organizations, based in dialogue and conversation, not persuasion. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate how museums are using Facebook to interact and engage in dialogue with their publics. This work asks if they are using this platform in order to be recognized as ‘museums 2.0’. Our results illustrate that the museums we studied (the 100 which are most important on the global level) have a very poor activity on Facebook, and they are not using all the opportunities that this social network offers as an interactive and dialogical means of communication.