Collection effects examining the actual
use of on-line archival images Brian Dawson Marc Ladouceur Marcia Rak

The CN Collection <ul><li>Documents the
development of CN and of Canada as an emerging nation </li></ul><ul><li>750,000+ images </li></ul><ul><li>Dating back as early as the 1850s </li></ul><ul><li>Broad subject range </li></ul><ul><li>Web site launched May 10, 2000 </li></ul><ul><li>Founding member of Images Canada consortium </li></ul><ul><li>7,305 images currently on line </li></ul>

Three 6400-class steam locomotives posed
for a photo 1936 Subject: 4-8-4 (Locomotive) / 6400 (Locomotive) / Steam locomotives CN000519

Women assembling aircraft parts Subject:
Airplanes -- Design and construction / Women in war / World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Female CN001863

A fishing village between the
cliffs and the sea François, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Subject: Mooring of ships / Cities and towns -- Canada / Landforms / Ships / Dwellings / Ocean CN003678

A farmer inspects his crop
of oats Loon Lake/Loon River area, Saskatchewan, Canada July 1951 Photographer: Ken H. Hand Subject: Oats / Farmers CN001746

Portrait of Blackfoot Chief High
Eagle Canada ca. 1926 Subject: Blackfoot Indians / Indians -- Kings and rulers / Elders (Aboriginal peoples) / Indians of North America -- Alberta / Beadwork / Aboriginal arts CN000596

The Web site

The Web site

Web visits 2000-2008 What is
really going on behind these numbers?

Key questions <ul><li>Who and why?
(motivations) </li></ul><ul><li>How? (use) </li></ul><ul><li>So what? (outcomes / impacts) </li></ul>

Analytical framework

Situated identity and motivation (John
Falk) <ul><li>Identity as a causative factor in behavior </li></ul><ul><li>Situated identity as a transitory sense of self, appropriate for the current situation </li></ul><ul><li>Different identities are expressed at different times, depending on need and situation </li></ul><ul><li>People enact identities to fit the moment </li></ul>

Identity-based motivation in the museum
<ul><li>Explorer: curiosity-driven, general interest in discovering more </li></ul><ul><li>Facilitator: focused on someone else’s needs (e.g. children, family) </li></ul><ul><li>Professional/hobbyist: possess strong knowledge; specific motivation </li></ul><ul><li>Experience Seeker: following recommendations; fulfill expectations of others </li></ul><ul><li>Spiritual Pilgrim: visit to reflect or contemplate; seek a spiritual or restorative experience </li></ul>Falk (2006)

Motivations for online museum visits
<ul><li>Planning a museum visit </li></ul><ul><li>Casual browsing </li></ul><ul><li>Self-motivated research </li></ul><ul><li>Assigned research (e.g. school or job assignment) </li></ul>Ellenbogen, Falk & Goldman (2008) / Goldman & Schaller (2004)

Motivation categories we are using
<ul><li>Explorers </li></ul><ul><li>Facilitators </li></ul><ul><li>Professional </li></ul><ul><li>Hobbyists </li></ul><ul><li>Experience seekers </li></ul><ul><li>Spiritual pilgrims </li></ul><ul><li>Planning a museum visit </li></ul><ul><li>Casual browsing </li></ul><ul><li>Self-motivated research </li></ul><ul><li>Assigned research </li></ul>

Other models <ul><li>Motivation theory: intrinsic
vs. extrinsic </li></ul><ul><li>Serendipity </li></ul><ul><li>Genre / metaphor </li></ul><ul><li>Visual culture </li></ul><ul><li>Museum experiences (cognitive, introspective, object, social) </li></ul>

Sources of data

Sources of data <ul><li>Web log
analysis (Web Trends) </li></ul><ul><li>Google Analytics </li></ul><ul><li>Google Webmaster Tools </li></ul><ul><li>Photo requests </li></ul><ul><li>Capturing search terms </li></ul><ul><li>Web site survey </li></ul>

Who and Why

Who: visits by country GA

Who: visits within Canada GA

Who: identity & motivation Photo
requests and survey; n=50

How

How: engagement GA 1:50 4:18
Average Duration 2.87 15.67 Pages / Visit CSTM CN

How: browsing vs. searching Survey

How: advanced search Survey

How: search strategies Survey

How: search engine keywords 9
musée des sciences et de la technologie 9 canadian museum of science and technology 10 mv william carson 10 mv bonavista 10 musée des sciences et technologies 10 history of canadian technology 10 cn &quot;&quot;science and technology&quot;&quot; 10 canadian technology history 10 canada science and technology museum gallery 11 canadian railway history 12 history of technology in canada 13 turcot roundhouse 13 ojibwa 14 mv ambrose shea 16 musée des sciences et de la technologie du canada 17 canadian technology 22 cn images of canada 30 science and technology museum 31 museum of science and technology 43 canada science and technology museum 5 m.v. william carson 5 m.v. ambrose shea 5 great western railway+ontario+locomotive 5 champlain and st. lawrence railroad 5 canada science & technology museum 6 science & technology museum 6 scenic views 6 m.v. marine nautica 6 images of canada 6 canadian science and technology museum 6 canadian science and technology 6 canadian museum of science and technology archive cn collection 6 '1927 and canada' 7 www.imagescn.technomuses 7 railways in canada 7 museum of science and tech 7 moose mountain mine 7 canada images 8 science and tech museum 8 museum science and technology

How: searching on-site

Categorizing search terms CN Gallery,
CN Image Gallery, imagescn Variations on &quot;CN Images of Canada Gallery&quot; Web site name industry, agriculture, fishing, lightning, mountain, steel, The Great Depression, World War Two Curatorial area, activities, phenomenon, geographic features, materials, events, etc. Subject list of trains at the science and tech museum, article on the technological development in Canada in the 1850s A search string that was phrased as a question or expression of specific information sought Question / info Calgary, Fort Garry, St. Lawrence River City, province, landmark, fort, park, or proper name of a geographic feature Place women, youth, Ojibwa, Canadian, firefighters, Churchill, Bing Crosby A person, a people, a nation, a race, demographic categories, profession People locomotive, canoe, streetcars, MV Bluenose Tangible things, articles that could be museum collection artifacts (may be a proper name) Object National Science and Technology Museum, Canadian Museum of Science and Technology Variations on “Canada Science and Technology Museum” Museum Name photo, drawing, painting, video, jpg, tiff, image, essay The type of resource being sought Media 1930’s, 50’s, 1939, Pioneer days, The Great Depression, World War Two Dates or periods of time, including events that definitively mark a given period Date Canadian National, Kodak, CBC Names of companies, often manufacturers or operating companies Company CN005007 The number assigned by CSTM when cataloguing the image Catalogue No Nonsense, garbled, cannot determine Ambiguous Examples Definition Category

Types of searches Off-site searches
On-site searches Place

Interest in user contributed content

Impacts

Impact: Facilitators “ My husband
and I are from the MS Gulf Coast and work with youth in our city. We are hosting a retreat in a few months and have been looking for images to utilize as illustrations in our teaching. I ran across this picture in the gallery and it really caught my attention.” Farmer sowing seeds Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada ca. 1920 CN003942

Impact: Explorers “ Found good
pictures and history. Discovered that there is a lot on line that I must make time to explore.&quot; View of a Cape Breton fishing fleet Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada 1926 Subject: Fishers / Fishing boats CN000602

Impact: Professionals University of Toronto,
building Toronto, Ontario, Canada Subject: University of Toronto (Toronto, Ont.) / Toronto (Ont.) / Trees / College buildings CN005890 “ Our intent is to frame them and hang them inside a Starbucks that I am renovating on College Street. We are trying to incorporate more locally relevant art into our stores. I think these prints would look fantastic.“

Impact: Hobbyists “ I am
interested in learning more about photo number CN002614 in your CN Collection on your website. I was wondering if you had any information regarding the actual train in the photo... Any information would be greatly appreciated, as I am attempting to build a prototypical CNR passenger train for my model railroad.” A Canadian National Railways passenger train crosses the Cove Bridge London, Ontario, Canada Subject: Canadian National Railways / Steam locomotives / Railroad bridges / Railroads -- Passenger-cars / Coal / London (Ont.) CN002614

Impact: Spiritual Pilgrims “ My
grandfather was a CNSS Capt of Canadian Cruiser in 1937, the ships Official Number: 150463 This ship was Sunk by German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer 21 Feb 1941 06-36S 47-18E Indian Ocean All of the 36 crew were taken prisoner. One man later escaped from the POW camp to Spain. The date your photo was taken says 1947, but ship was sunk 1941. Any info on this would be appreciated.” Cargo ship MV Canadian Cruiser unloading molasses Montréal, Québec, Canada 1947 Subject: Cargo ships / Molasses / Canadian National Steamship Company, Limited CN001563

What next?

Online collection experiences <ul><li>Object experiences
</li></ul><ul><li>Outside the visitor; </li></ul><ul><li>The “real thing” </li></ul><ul><li>e.g. Object aesthetics; </li></ul><ul><li>Functional needs </li></ul><ul><li>Cognitive experiences </li></ul><ul><li>Gaining information; </li></ul><ul><li>Interpretive/intellectual </li></ul><ul><li>e.g. Information resource; </li></ul><ul><li>Learning resource </li></ul>Introspective experiences Imagining, reflecting, connecting; Inward, private feelings e.g. Personal memories; Spiritual Pilgrims Social experiences Interaction is most satisfying e.g. Sharing an object; Stories of an object; “ Social Objects”

Thank You <ul><li>Brian Dawson </li></ul><ul><li>[email_address]
</li></ul>