MUSEUMS AND THE WEB Mark Walker Robert Taylor

Mark Walker

Robert Taylor

About SCIP Not for profit social enterprise Training inc Net:Gain IT Support Web Design Databases Community Projects

Not for profit social enterprise

Training inc Net:Gain

IT Support

Web Design

Databases

Community Projects

SCIP support for museums in south east England Funded through Renaissance SE Working with Museum Development Officers Initial health check Diagnose key issues Quick fixes Ongoing technical support Training Projects ends 31 March 2009

Funded through Renaissance SE

Working with Museum Development Officers

Initial health check

Diagnose key issues

Quick fixes

Ongoing technical support

Training

Projects ends 31 March 2009

This workshop Review key issues for your organisation Help you review your own website Identify specific actions for using the web to promote your museum make your collections available

Review key issues for your organisation

Help you review your own website

Identify specific actions for using the web

to promote your museum

make your collections available

You and your organisation Your name and your role Current number of staff and volunteers Current turnover Your role in relation to website in the organisation Current website budget

Your name and your role

Current number of staff and volunteers

Current turnover

Your role in relation to website in the organisation

Current website budget

Why are you here? What do you want to know? Specific questions Knowledge and experience

What do you want to know?

Specific questions

Knowledge and experience

Why have a website? Exercise in pairs What can a website do for your museum? What do you think is the most important thing that people will want from your website?

Exercise in pairs

What can a website do for your museum?

What do you think is the most important thing that people will want from your website?

Why have a website? Promote your museum Encourage visitors to come to your museum Make your collections available Engage new audiences Receive comments and feedback

Promote your museum

Encourage visitors to come to your museum

Make your collections available

Engage new audiences

Receive comments and feedback

Your options Build your own Pay someone Advantages and disadvantages?

Build your own

Pay someone

Advantages and disadvantages?

Key steps Define what you want = the brief Design a solution Build the site Test the site Update and amend the site Sign off Ongoing updates to the site Review and improve the site

Define what you want = the brief

Design a solution

Build the site

Test the site

Update and amend the site

Sign off

Ongoing updates to the site

Review and improve the site

Preparing a website brief Not a technical task but needs some technical insight Involve other people Staff, volunteers, trustees What do they think you need? How can they help? Link it to your overall planning process “ In the next 12 months we want to increase the number of visitors to our museum by 25%. To help achieve this we will use our website to raise our profile amongst families looking for a day out.”

Not a technical task but needs some technical insight

Involve other people

Staff, volunteers, trustees

What do they think you need? How can they help?

Link it to your overall planning process

“ In the next 12 months we want to increase the number of visitors to our museum by 25%. To help achieve this we will use our website to raise our profile amongst families looking for a day out.”

A website brief Summary Current Situation Aims and Objectives Budget Timescale Audiences Functionality Design Requirements Managing the Site Domain Name Suggested Site Map Promoting the Site Training Next Steps www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/websitebrief

Summary

Current Situation

Aims and Objectives

Budget

Timescale

Audiences

Functionality

Design Requirements

Managing the Site

Domain Name

Suggested Site Map

Promoting the Site

Training

Next Steps

www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/websitebrief

Budgeting What do you think you can get for your money? Nothing £500 £1,000 £5,000 £10,000

What do you think you can get for your money?

Nothing

£500

£1,000

£5,000

£10,000

What makes a good website? Up to date Opening times Contacts Accessibility Ease of use Clarity Preferences Search engine friendly Links to other sites Standards Easily updated by us

Up to date

Opening times

Contacts

Accessibility

Ease of use

Clarity

Preferences

Search engine friendly

Links to other sites

Standards

Easily updated by us

A ‘good enough’ website? Exercise in pairs Identify three things that you think your website MUST do for your museum Identify three things you WOULD LIKE your website to do for you museum.

Exercise in pairs

Identify three things that you think your website MUST do for your museum

Identify three things you WOULD LIKE your website to do for you museum.

Where are we going? Accessibility - DDA Interactive sites - Amazon, Facebook, etc Online participation - communities Search engine optimisation Content management systems Mobile information Online payments Blogs and wikis … .?

Accessibility - DDA

Interactive sites - Amazon, Facebook, etc

Online participation - communities

Search engine optimisation

Content management systems

Mobile information

Online payments

Blogs and wikis

… .?

Why have a website? Promote your museum Encourage visitors to come to your museum Make your collections available Engage new audiences Receive comments and feedback

Promote your museum

Encourage visitors to come to your museum

Make your collections available

Engage new audiences

Receive comments and feedback

Promoting your museum Tourist sites www.visitsoutheastengland.com Local authority sites www.visitwinchester.co.uk www.visitbrighton.com www.buckscc.gov.uk www.visitbuckinghamshire.org Popular public sites:Wikipedia and YouTube 24 Hour Museum

Tourist sites

www.visitsoutheastengland.com

Local authority sites

www.visitwinchester.co.uk

www.visitbrighton.com

www.buckscc.gov.uk

www.visitbuckinghamshire.org

Popular public sites:Wikipedia and YouTube

24 Hour Museum

Wikipedia A free encyclopedia with millions of articles contributed collaboratively using Wiki software, in dozens of languages. www.wikipedia.org Why use it? How to use it?

A free encyclopedia with millions of articles contributed collaboratively using Wiki software, in dozens of languages.

www.wikipedia.org

Why use it?

How to use it?

YouTube YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. www.youtube.com/ Why use it? How to use it?

YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips.

www.youtube.com/

Why use it?

How to use it?

24 Hour Museum new funding to develop as a ‘cultural sector broker’ Promoted as a main public ‘museum’ site For teachers to locate the education resources from the cultural sector online content, educational workshops and visits to exhibitions open source, open standards able to support web services / Web 2.0 www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/

new funding to develop as a ‘cultural sector broker’

Promoted as a main public ‘museum’ site

For teachers to locate the education resources from the cultural sector

online content, educational workshops and visits to exhibitions

open source, open standards

able to support web services / Web 2.0

www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/

Making your collections available Existing MLA Knowledge Web Cornucopia, MICHAEL and the MLA Institutional server. Cornucopia covering physical collections and MICHAEL, in the UK,focuses on digital collections. New strategy, now led by Collections Trust No new data to be added to Cornucopia and MICHAEL Provide data for People’s Network which will be developed Feed collections data into Google Link to Europeana

Existing MLA Knowledge Web

Cornucopia, MICHAEL and the MLA Institutional server.

Cornucopia covering physical collections and MICHAEL, in the UK,focuses on digital collections.

New strategy, now led by Collections Trust

No new data to be added to Cornucopia and MICHAEL

Provide data for People’s Network which will be developed

Feed collections data into Google

Link to Europeana

Cornucopia online database of museum collections system for collection descriptions www.cornucopia.org.uk/

online database of museum collections

system for collection descriptions

www.cornucopia.org.uk/

MICHAEL A software platform that signposts data to other public sites Digital collections: Web accessible collections Standalone collections – CD, DVD, organisation based. The public: Directly via the UK site, particularly for teachers www.michael-culture.org.uk/teachers Directly via an international site (will be searchable in 14 languages). www.michael-culture.org/ Indirectly via sites using MICHAEL data.

A software platform that signposts data to other public sites

Digital collections:

Web accessible collections

Standalone collections – CD, DVD, organisation based.

The public:

Directly via the UK site, particularly for teachers

www.michael-culture.org.uk/teachers

Directly via an international site (will be searchable in 14 languages).

www.michael-culture.org/

Indirectly via sites using MICHAEL data.

People’s Network Discover Service harvests other databases (OAI, web services) MICHAEL and Cornucopia BL Collect Britain, Fitzwilliam being used as basis for other projects 20 th Century London, NE ‘Single Point of Access’ access to object / item level content www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/discover/

harvests other databases (OAI, web services)

MICHAEL and Cornucopia

BL Collect Britain, Fitzwilliam

being used as basis for other projects

20 th Century London, NE ‘Single Point of Access’

access to object / item level content

www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/discover/

Europeana New project from July 2007 Prototype website giving users direct access to 2 million digital objects including film material, photos, paintings, sounds, maps, manuscripts, books, newspapers and archival papers. By 2010 , target of 6 million digital objects www. europeana .eu/

New project from July 2007

Prototype website giving users direct access to 2 million digital objects

including film material, photos, paintings, sounds, maps, manuscripts, books, newspapers and archival papers.

By 2010 , target of 6 million digital objects

www. europeana .eu/

SSNConnect SSNConnect is a service produced by Collections Trust on behalf of the MLA. Each Subject Specialist Network will have a simple platform to: Publish a website Share files and information within the SSN Keep users and stakeholders up to date with their work Map collections relating to their subject specialism Develop terminologies for their subject specialism www.portraits.specialistnetwork.org.uk/ Details from: www.collectionslink.org.uk/find_a_network/subject_specialists/ssnconnect

SSNConnect is a service produced by Collections Trust on behalf of the MLA.

Each Subject Specialist Network will have a simple platform to:

Publish a website

Share files and information within the SSN

Keep users and stakeholders up to date with their work

Map collections relating to their subject specialism

Develop terminologies for their subject specialism

www.portraits.specialistnetwork.org.uk/

Details from: www.collectionslink.org.uk/find_a_network/subject_specialists/ssnconnect

Where to get help What help does your organisation need with its website? Who currently provides that help. If anyone? Where can you get more help? Practical help. Strategic planning.

What help does your organisation need with its website?

Who currently provides that help. If anyone?

Where can you get more help?

Practical help.

Strategic planning.

Types of help for groups Volunteers - one off projects + ongoing Accidental Techies IT Support Companies Web Designers Database Consultants Circuit Riders Net:gain Centres UK Online Centres

Volunteers - one off projects + ongoing

Accidental Techies

IT Support Companies

Web Designers

Database Consultants

Circuit Riders

Net:gain Centres

UK Online Centres

Working with volunteers Need to think about job description and recruitment process May have technical skills May be administration eg data entry What support and training do yu need to offer? How do they link to staff? Passwords and security issues

Need to think about job description and recruitment process

May have technical skills

May be administration eg data entry

What support and training do yu need to offer?

How do they link to staff?

Passwords and security issues

Who can help? National Digital Services for the Cultural Sector [DiSCS] www.discs-uk.info AIM Focus Paper - ICT for Museums Collections Link www.collectionslink.org.uk Local/sub-regional MDOs + museum Hub IT support companies, volunteer bureau, university, private companies

National

Digital Services for the Cultural Sector [DiSCS] www.discs-uk.info

AIM Focus Paper - ICT for Museums

Collections Link www.collectionslink.org.uk

Local/sub-regional

MDOs + museum Hub

IT support companies, volunteer bureau, university, private companies

Who can help? ICT Hub: www.icthub.org.uk Knowledgebase - www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk Suppliers Directory Publications IT 4 Communities: www. it4communities.org.uk Volunteers AbilityNet: www.abilitynet.org.uk Accessibility

ICT Hub: www.icthub.org.uk

Knowledgebase - www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk

Suppliers Directory

Publications

IT 4 Communities: www. it4communities.org.uk

Volunteers

AbilityNet: www.abilitynet.org.uk

Accessibility

Any more questions? Mark Walker www.scip.org.uk [email_address] 01273 234049 Robert Taylor [email_address] 01798 839580

Mark Walker

www.scip.org.uk

[email_address]

01273 234049

Robert Taylor

[email_address]

01798 839580