Museums and Wikis

From Museums

Contents 1 Why using Wikis? 2 Collaborative communities 2.1 Wikipedia 2.2 MuseumsWiki 2.3 Custom wiki 3 See also 4 Weblinks 5 Further reading

[edit] Why using Wikis?

Museums are institutional custodians of objects and information about cultural heritage. Communication in the world of museums can be seen as predominantly linear: from the research about objects or intangible heritage to exhibitions and specific publications as well as from one generation of museum professionals to the following one. These chains of communication are sometimes isolated from each other but there are often points of contact between them. In fact every exhibition with loans from different museums provides chances of new information exchange. The Wiki↑ technology supports the development of information networks, because Wikis facilitate meaningful linking, efficient discussion and organized collection of information. Existing Wikis like Wikipedia↑ and the MuseumsWiki will be examined regarding the needs and resources of museums, museum communities and museum professionals.

[edit] Collaborative communities

Wikis are social↑ and collaborative↑ software. Therefore the choice to participate in an existing wiki or the decision to create a wiki dedicated to a specific community should consider the target audience.

Wikipedia	MuseumsWiki	Custom wiki
general audience	museum professionals	specific
size, popularity, success	wide spectrum	flexibility
multilingual	international	integration
community, technology, methods	information node	information management

[edit] Wikipedia

Main article: Museum Documentation and Wikipedia.de

[edit] MuseumsWiki

Main articles: A Museums Wiki and About the MuseumsWiki

[edit] Custom wiki

Main article: MediaWiki for a Museum

[edit] See also

• Jens Klump: The Benefits of Cross Linking: The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (International Conference Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21-22, 2007)

[edit] Weblinks

• The Friday Afternoon Seminar (UC Berkeley School of Information), Schedule - Spring 2008 (Thomas Tunsch talked about Cultural heritage: Tradition, Museums and Wikis at The Friday Afternoon Seminar in Berkeley on March 21^st.)
  • Summary
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• Canadian Heritage Information Network. Using Wikis for Project Management
• Annotated bibliography about knowledge building environments

[edit] Further reading

• Geoff Mulgan: A wiki way to rate work and spread scholarship. IN: The Times Higher Education Supplement (29 July 2005).
• Chloe Stothart: Web threatens learning ethos. IN: The Times Higher Education Supplement (22 June 2007).
• O'Donnell, Daniel Paul: If I were "You": How Academics Can Stop Worrying and Learn to Love "the Encyclopedia that Anyone Can Edit". IN: The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe, Issue 10, May 2007, ISSN 1526-1867
• Roberto, Frankie; Looseley, Rhiannon: Museums & Wikis: two case studies. Museums and the Web 2009