Yes! The digitization of collections in U.S. museums and libraries has markedly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to digitize became more urgent due to the pandemic’s restrictions on physical access to collections and the increased demand for online content as people were confined to their homes.
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Below are critical drivers for this increased digitization effort:
Shift to Virtual Engagement: With the physical closure of institutions, there was a sudden need to shift to virtual engagement to maintain a connection with audiences. This led to an expansion of online galleries, virtual tours, and digital exhibits.
Growing Demand for Digital Access: As people relied more on the Internet for entertainment, education, and research, museums, and libraries intensified their digitization efforts to meet the increased demand for digital access to their collections.
Adaptation to New Norms: Institutions began rethinking their service delivery models, recognizing that digital offerings could be a new norm even post-pandemic. This foresight encouraged them to increase their investment in digitization.
Expansion of Online Programming and Services: Programming, such as educational workshops, lectures, and interactive activities, was transitioned to online platforms. Alongside these, digitized collections became central resources for these programs.
Improvement in Digital Infrastructure: Many institutions upgraded their digital infrastructures to host better and present their digital collections, which included enhancing online catalogs, databases, and viewing interfaces.
Increased Funding for Digital Projects: Funding initiatives often pivoted to support digital and virtual projects from private and public sources. Grants and relief funds distributed during the pandemic are sometimes targeted explicitly to enhance digital capabilities.
Collaboration and Open Access: There was a significant movement toward open access, where institutions provided unrestricted access to digital images and data from their collections. Partnerships between institutions for digital projects also saw an upswing.
The impact of the pandemic on digitization initiatives highlighted both the potential and necessity of digital transformation in cultural institutions. As a result, many U.S. museums and libraries are expected to continue to expand and improve their digital presence. It’s also important to note that digital strategies now consider not only accessibility in terms of geographic location and physical ability but also aim to address broader concerns of digital equity and community engagement.
In the digital age, the preservation and accessibility of cultural heritage materials are paramount. Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) are crucial in safeguarding our collective history and knowledge. However, digitizing their vast collections requires significant resources, making funding a critical aspect of digitization projects. In this guide, I’ll explore various sources of financial support available for GLAM digitization initiatives.
Government Grants and Programs
Protecting and converting our history into digital forms is essential. It helps keep our shared past safe for those who come after us. To help with this, government agencies of all sizes, from small towns to Federal agencies, have funding to support these efforts. These resources are significant for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums that work to ensure everyone can access these cultural treasures.
For example, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the U.S. is well-known for helping with projects that put historical and cultural content online. The NEH understands that digitization protects and creates greater access. They fund organizations to digitize their collections online through the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program, giving access to these essential pieces of culture and knowledge. They also support new and creative ways to digitize, like using virtual reality or taking detailed pictures that show parts of artifacts that are usually hidden. Using cutting-edge technology improves how we save and display our cultural history.
In the United States, not only does the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) give financial help to libraries and museums, but other government agencies do, too. For instance:
City or county governments may support by giving money or tax breaks to protect historical sites and records.
Private Foundations
Numerous private institutions actively fund digital access to collections housed within galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. The significant contributions from private foundations in this arena cannot be overstressed.
A prominent example is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which provides and strategically targets grants to support various projects. The purposes of these projects range from promoting the longevity and preservation of cultural heritage to increasing public access through digital means. These grants are critical for initiatives that include but are not limited to digitizing art, historical documents, and various other cultural artifacts [2].
In parallel, the Getty Foundation is another vital contributor in this field. The foundation’s purview extends to fostering a comprehensive understanding and conservation of the world’s artistic and cultural heritage. Among its major endeavors is the support of GLAM institutions through significant funding for digitization projects. The Getty Foundation aids in safeguarding cultural heritage and ensuring that digital archives are accessible. They recognize that digitization efforts by GLAM institutions are essential for cultural preservation in the digital age, offering a means to share precious artifacts with a global audience [3].
In addition, other private entities and philanthropic organizations worldwide continue to acknowledge the critical importance of digitization, contributing resources that enable GLAM institutions to pursue technological advancements, curate comprehensive digital collections, and effectively share the richness of humanity’s cultural legacy with all.
Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit organizations are pivotal in the progression and execution of digitization projects for libraries, archives, and museums. Groups like the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) serve as critical resources, providing much-needed grants and support. This assistance is integral for these cultural institutions to advance their digitization efforts.
CLIR’s aid, from financial grants to scholarly resources, enables the preservation of valuable collections and promotes the dissemination of knowledge. Their role extends to fostering a community of practice where experts in information science, librarianship, and technology can collaborate to solve the pressing challenges of preservation and access [4].
Similarly, the DPLA extends its reach by connecting diverse American cultural and scientific institutions with a platform to digitize and share their collections. This collaboration offers a national-scale impact, allowing anyone with internet access to explore America’s rich heritage. The digital offerings curated by the DPLA aid in educational and research pursuits and enhance the public’s interaction with history, art, and science, thereby democratizing access to information [5].
These organizations contribute significantly to the GLAM sector. They embody the spirit of collaboration essential to the GLAM community, encouraging partnerships across organizations and borders. As stewards of cultural heritage, CLIR and the DPLA are pivotal in ensuring that irreplaceable collections and their knowledge are preserved and made accessible to future generations, fostering an informed and connected society.
Corporate Sponsorship and Partnerships
GLAM institutions must pursue diverse strategies to obtain the necessary resources and support, particularly for digitization initiatives that guarantee the preservation and accessibility of collections for future generations. Museums, galleries, libraries, and archives should seek the support of businesses that recognize the significance of cultural heritage and are willing to contribute to its sustainability.
Partnering with corporate entities may also come with perks, such as branding opportunities at events, exhibitions, and digital spaces where digitized collections become accessible to a global audience. These partnerships could also include the sponsors’ features in promotional materials, providing recognition that can incentivize corporations to contribute generously.
In addition to getting support from big companies, places like museums, galleries, and libraries can benefit by working with tech companies and schools or research groups. These partnerships could give them access to the latest digital technology to scan and preserve old items. Tech companies could offer programs and equipment or create special tools to help with these projects. Working with universities can provide additional knowledge from research to students eager to learn and help.
These partnerships may offer immediate benefits and pave the way for future grants and funding from other sources. When an institution shows a track record of successful collaborations and project completions, it strengthens its case for support from government agencies, non-profits, and international governing bodies dedicated to cultural heritage preservation.
These strategies provide the necessary funding and resources for GLAM digitization projects and ensure that cultural heritage is preserved and shared with future generations in the digital realm. By building a network of supportive partnerships, GLAM institutions become more resilient, adaptable, and able to navigate the challenges of an increasingly digital world.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding platforms have emerged as a vital resource for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM institutions), empowering them to secure funding for digitization projects directly from the general public. Renowned platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe offer a dynamic space for GLAMs to connect with their communities and secure the financial support necessary for digitizing and thus preserving culturally significant materials.
By leveraging these platforms, GLAM institutions can create comprehensive campaigns detailing the significance of their digitization projects. This raises the necessary funds and increases public awareness of the importance of cultural preservation. Funders enjoy a sense of participation and personal investment in the success of projects they contribute to, leading to a stronger relationship between GLAMs and their audiences.
Moreover, crowdfunding campaigns have a dual benefit. On the one hand, they can provide the capital needed to digitize artifacts, documents, and artworks, safeguarding them for future generations. On the other hand, they also serve as a powerful marketing tool, expanding the institution’s reach and engaging a global audience interested in cultural heritage.
Digitization projects funded through such means often increase accessibility to GLAM’s resources. This aligns with the global movement towards open access to information, as digitized materials can be available online for educators, researchers, and the public.
The collaborative nature of crowdfunding reflects a shift in how cultural institutions approach funding and public engagement, fostering a community-oriented approach to preserving our collective history. Institutions also have the opportunity to follow up with their donors, maintain an ongoing conversation through updates, and share the progress of digitization initiatives, thereby strengthening community ties and ensuring sustained interest and support.
Conclusion
Today, digitizing valuable collections from art galleries, libraries, archives, and museums is crucial. This helps keep our shared history safe and allows everyone worldwide to learn more about it. However, we need money to ensure we can make digital copies of these essential cultural items. When GLAMs use all these different ways of raising money, they can ensure that crucial pieces of our culture and history are saved in digital form for everyone to enjoy. It takes careful planning and collaboration to raise the money needed, but keeping our cultural treasures safe for the future is worth it.
In an era where technology has become synonymous with progress, digitizing cultural heritage materials has sparked a digital renaissance, opening doors to vast repositories of knowledge and creativity. Galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs) worldwide are undertaking ambitious digitization projects, creating a wealth of digital content transcending geographical boundaries and time constraints. In this article, we delve into the magnitude of digital content being generated through these transformative initiatives.
The Scope of Digitization Efforts
Image generated using AI technology, “Digital Renaissance” 2024.
GLAM institutions—galleries, libraries, archives, and museums—are at the forefront of preserving cultural heritage through digitization efforts. The digitization process involves converting physical materials like ancient manuscripts, which may contain everything from historical accounts to literary works of art, to digital formats that can be easily accessed and shared globally. Historical documents, which often hold legal, administrative, or personal information, provide invaluable insights into the past and inform our understanding of historical events and daily life in bygone eras.
In addition to printed materials, priceless artworks are also being digitized, which not only helps preserve their visual details for future generations but also enables a broader audience to appreciate pieces that might otherwise be inaccessible due to geographical or physical constraints. The digitization of artwork also aids in the study and authentication of these pieces by art historians and scholars.
Archaeological artifacts, ranging from simple domestic utensils to complex structures uncovered during excavations, tell the story of human history and evolution. Digitizing these items can help reconstruct ancient civilizations and understand their culture and provide a digital repository that can outlast their physical lifespans.
With over 200 million items already digitized, this number is expected to grow annually. This global endeavor not only preserves the past for future generations but also democratizes access to knowledge and cultural experiences, regardless of an individual’s location or background [1]. This digitization drive ensures continuity of knowledge and provides an inclusive platform for people worldwide to connect with cultural artifacts that are part of our shared human heritage.
Libraries: Unlocking the Written Word
Libraries have long been revered as the guardians of human thought and knowledge, offering invaluable information repositories stretching back centuries. The advent of digitization has revolutionized these venerable institutions, metamorphosing the way we access and preserve this treasure trove of written wisdom. In an era where digital technology permeates all aspects of life, the digitization efforts by libraries across the globe are a testament to the evolving landscape of knowledge sharing and archival preservation.
One of the most notable examples of these efforts is the large-scale digitization projects undertaken by world-renowned libraries, such as the British Library and the Library of Congress. These institutions have embraced the digital challenge, committing extensive resources towards digitizing their vast collections. Their efforts have resulted in converting millions of manuscripts, books, and documents into digital form, which has several profound implications for the accessibility and sustainability of our global heritage.
Firstly, digitization makes rare and often fragile works available internationally. Scholars and researchers from remote locations can now delve into texts without the need to travel vast distances. Consequently, this democratizes access to information and facilitates interdisciplinary research by providing a broader scope of reference materials easily obtainable from scholars’ workspaces [2].
Secondly, the fragile nature of many historical documents necessitates a solution to ensure their longevity, as paper and parchment are susceptible to deterioration over time. Digitization is a modern-day form of preservation, ensuring that even if the original work is lost to time or catastrophe, its contents remain part of the human record, accessible to future generations.
Moreover, digitizing library archives supports educational outreach, allowing primary sources to be incorporated into teaching materials and curricula. This enriches the learning experience and cultivates an appreciation for the depth and breadth of human intellectual history.
Golden threads of our shared past, once locked away in the silent halls of libraries, now leap across the digital divide to touch screens in every corner of the world. This transformation underscores the commitment to safeguarding and sharing knowledge, which is fundamental to the mission of libraries. As they adapt to the changing landscape of information consumption, our relationships with these institutions continue to deepen, underscoring the enduring importance of libraries as custodians in our interconnected digital world.
Archives: Preserving the Past
Archives serve as guardians of our collective memory, preserving numerous historical records, photographs, and audiovisual materials that constitute the bedrock of our understanding of the past. Beyond mere storehouses of aged papers and artifacts, they provide the seminal primary sources essential for piecing together historical narratives and cultural heritages.
One of the critical technological advancements revolutionizing the archival field is digitization, converting analog information into digital formats. Digitization initiatives, spearheaded by national and local archives, have led to the digital reproduction of millions of documents, photos, and audio recordings. These digitized artifacts become accessible to the public through online databases and repositories.
For genealogists, these digitized resources are invaluable. They allow individuals to trace their lineage, discover ancestral stories, and piece together family histories with a detail previously deemed impossible. Online archives have transformed genealogical research from a time-consuming and often arduous physical task into an efficient, sometimes instantaneous, endeavor.
Historians also reap considerable benefits from digitization projects. The availability of digital materials enriches the research landscape, allowing for broader comparative studies and the ability to manipulate and analyze data in novel ways. Critical primary sources, once accessible only by visiting an archive in person, can now be reviewed and scrutinized virtually anywhere in the world.
Educators can also leverage these digital collections to bring history to life within the classroom. Interactive learning experiences can be crafted using historical documents, eliciting a more engaging and dynamic approach to education. Furthermore, digitized archives allow students to conduct research and projects that were once the sole province of academics with physical access to the archives.
In conclusion, digitization initiatives by archives present a growing wealth of data that is an indispensable resource for genealogists, historians, educators, and anyone interested in the past. These initiatives preserve and breathe new life into our collective memory, ensuring that even the most delicate and ancient documents can be accessible now and for future generations [3].
Museums: Bringing Art and Culture to the Masses
The digitization of museum collections represents a significant leap forward in the democratization of culture and education. Museums around the globe are increasingly investing in the digital preservation of their collections to enhance the accessibility and engagement of diverse audiences with cultural heritage, irrespective of geographical barriers.
From ancient artifacts that tell the stories of civilizations long gone to contemporary artworks that spark dialogue about current societal issues, these digital archives serve as virtual treasure troves for history buffs, researchers, artists, and the general public. Through initiatives such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s digital archive, online visitors can journey through time and space, exploring myriad exhibitions at the click of a button.
The advantages of digitizing museum collections are manifold:
Accessibility: Remote visitors can explore collections without the limitation of physical distance, broadening the museum’s reach to a global audience.
Conservation: High-resolution imaging allows for delicate items to be cataloged and examined without potential damage from handling and light exposure.
Education: Digitized collections often contain extensive descriptions, providing context and educational material facilitating self-directed learning.
Interactivity: Virtual tours and digital exhibits can incorporate interactive elements, engaging visitors in a more immersive experience than traditional displays.
Preservation: Digital archives safeguard against the loss of cultural artifacts due to deterioration, providing a permanent record for future generations.
In conclusion, as museums continue to digitize their collections, the potential for engagement, education, and preservation of our shared cultural heritage grows exponentially. Embracing technology in this way benefits the museums themselves and enriches the cultural fabric of society globally.
Galleries: Showcasing Artistic Masterpieces
Galleries are increasingly harnessing the power of digitization to broaden their reach and share their treasures with a more extensive, international audience. With high-resolution images, viewers can now explore the intricacies of artworks from the comforts of their homes. These images offer a remarkable level of detail, presenting an opportunity to observe the subtleties of brushwork, the richness of color, and the complexity of textures that were once only perceivable in person.
Digitization initiatives are not only expanding access but are also helping to preserve the cultural heritage for future generations. By creating digital archives, galleries ensure the longevity of artworks vulnerable to the ravages of time and environment. In addition, these digital collections serve as a valuable resource for educators, students, and researchers, providing a platform for study and analysis that is unbound by geographical or temporal constraints. Furthermore, digitization facilitates greater interactivity and engagement with art. Users can zoom in on specific aspects of a painting, compare works from different periods or artists, and even take virtual tours of exhibitions. This level of interaction fosters a deeper understanding and connection with art, promoting an enriched appreciation that traditional viewing methods may not be able to replicate.
Through digitization, art becomes a dynamic entity, continually accessible and inviting exploration. As the technology progresses, we can anticipate even more immersive experiences that will further democratize art appreciation and education.
Galleries are not just preservationists of history but also pioneers in the digital realm, shaping the future of how art is consumed and enjoyed. High-resolution images of artworks allow art enthusiasts to examine brushstrokes, details, and textures with unprecedented clarity, effectively transcending physical boundaries and enriching the appreciation of artistic masterpieces [5]. The potential of these digital advancements is boundless, heralding a new era for the art world.
The Impact of Digitization
The digitization of GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) collections represents a monumental shift in how we access and interact with cultural heritage. By embracing digital technologies, these institutions have broken through the physical barriers that once limited exposure to historical, artistic, and cultural materials. This transformation has effectively democratized access, allowing individuals from various geographical locations and diverse socio-economic backgrounds to explore, learn, and engage with history, art, and culture in previously unimaginable ways.
In an age where information is paramount, digital platforms and online repositories are crucial gateways to knowledge. These resources are more than mere containers of information; they are dynamic and interactive platforms that encourage users to consume content and create and share their own interpretations and contributions. The implications for education are profound, as students and researchers can now tap into a wealth of primary sources and artifacts that were once inaccessible, fostering a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of history and culture.
The digital landscape has facilitated an environment ripe for creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Artists, scholars, and technologists can now work together, often across continents, on projects that weave the threads of historical and modern elements. Interactive exhibits, virtual reality experiences, and augmented reality applications elevate the user experience, bridging the gap between the past and the present.
This ongoing digital revolution within GLAM institutions not only preserves and protects our cultural heritage for future generations but also ensures that the vast array of human experiences reflected within these collections continues to inspire and educate. The reach of digital initiatives, often supplemented by social media and community engagement programs, extends the influence of these cultural repositories, solidifying their role as essential pillars in the architecture of our shared global knowledge base.
Conclusion
The digitization of galleries, libraries, archives, and museums represents a monumental effort to preserve and promote our shared cultural heritage in the digital era. By digitizing millions of items, GLAM institutions ensure that future generations can access the rich tapestry of human knowledge and creativity that defines our collective identity. In summary, digitizing cultural heritage materials is not just a technological feat; it is a testament to our commitment to preserving and sharing the richness of human culture with the world.
[1]
IFLA
We inspire, engage, enable and connect the global library field
[2]
Digitisation and Cataloguing
This section contains the guidance documents, templates and forms required by grant holders and their project teams to assist with: surveys, digitisation, cataloguing and submitting a Methodology Report. The documentation for reporting on the progress of the project and requesting further grant payments are to be found here.
[3]
National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
[4]
Thomas J. Watson Library Digital Collections
The Watson Library Digital Collections provide access to The Met’s rare and unique research materials from both the library’s collection and other departmental collections.
[5]
Image Collections
The library’s department of image collections is a study and research center predominantly for photographic images of Western art and architecture. . It is one of the largest of its kind. Its holdings number more than 16 million photographs, slides, negatives, microforms, and digital images.
Introduction Oral history has long been recognized as a powerful tool for preserving and sharing diverse perspectives, experiences, and narratives. As technology advances, oral history programs are significantly transforming through digitization. This essay explores the state of oral history programs and the impact of digitization on their preservation, accessibility, and scholarly engagement.
Preservation One of the primary benefits of digitization for oral history programs is enhanced preservation. Traditional oral history recordings, often stored on analog formats like tapes or CDs, are susceptible to degradation over time. Digitization offers a solution by converting these recordings into digital formats, such as MP3 or WAV files, which are more stable and easily replicable.
According to the Oral History Association, digitization “extends the life of the original recording by creating copies that can be easily reproduced without any loss in quality” (Oral History Association, n.d.). Institutions and organizations worldwide are investing in digitization efforts to ensure the long-term preservation of oral history collections for future generations.
Accessibility Digitization also plays a crucial role in improving the accessibility of oral history content. Digital archives allow for broader dissemination of oral history materials, eliminating geographical barriers and enabling remote access. Researchers, historians, students, and the general public can now explore and engage with oral history recordings from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, digitization facilitates the creation of online platforms and databases that provide user-friendly interfaces for searching, browsing, and accessing oral history content. For example, the Smithsonian Institution’s Oral History Program offers an online portal where users can explore various oral history interviews covering multiple topics and themes (“Oral History Collections,” n.d.). By making oral history content more accessible, digitization democratizes knowledge and promotes inclusivity in historical research and scholarship.
Scholarly Engagement
In addition to preservation and accessibility, digitization has transformed scholarly engagement with oral history materials. Digital platforms offer tools for indexing, transcribing, and annotating oral history recordings, making it easier for researchers to analyze and interpret the content. Moreover, advancements in natural language processing and machine learning have enabled the automated transcription of oral history interviews, reducing the time and resources required for transcription. These transcriptions enhance searchability and facilitate linguistic analysis and qualitative research methods. Scholars can now conduct comprehensive studies and extract valuable insights from large-scale oral history collections more efficiently and accurately. Furthermore, digitization has fostered collaboration among institutions, researchers, and communities, enabling sharing of resources, expertise, and best practices in oral history.
Conclusion
In conclusion, digitization has revolutionized oral history programs, offering unprecedented opportunities for preservation, accessibility, and scholarly engagement. By converting analog recordings into digital formats, oral history collections are preserved for future generations, ensuring longevity and accessibility. Digital platforms provide users with tools for searching, browsing, and analyzing oral history content, enhancing scholarly research and engagement. As technology evolves, digitizing oral history programs will remain essential in preserving cultural heritage, promoting historical understanding, and fostering dialogue across diverse communities.
References
Oral History in the Digital Age – Oral History Association
Oral History in the Digital Age (https://ohda.matrix.msu.edu) connects you to the latest information on digital technologies pertaining to all phases of the
Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums Revolutionize with AI Technology
In the digital age, cultural institutions such as museums, archives, galleries, and libraries are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to enhance operations, improve visitor experiences, and preserve valuable collections. This article will explore the importance of AI in these institutions and how they are leveraging this innovative technology.
Importance of AI in Museums, Archives, Galleries, and Libraries
AI is crucial in helping cultural institutions adapt to the ever-evolving digital landscape. It enables them to digitize their collections, provides personalized recommendations for visitors, streamlines conservation efforts, enhances search capabilities in archives, preserves delicate materials, conducts data analysis for researchers, offers virtual reality (VR) tours, allows for artwork authentication in galleries, and improves cataloging and organization in libraries.
How AI is Being Used
Digitization of Collections: AI technology allows museums to digitize their collections, making them more accessible to a global audience. By creating digital archives, institutions can preserve and showcase their artifacts, artworks, and historical documents in a virtual space.
Recommendations for Visitors: AI algorithms analyze visitor preferences and behaviors to provide personalized recommendations, creating more engaging and customized museum experiences. This can include suggesting specific exhibits, events, or collections based on individual interests.
Conservation Efforts: AI assists in conservation efforts by analyzing environmental conditions, detecting potential risks to artifacts, and monitoring conservation processes. This proactive approach helps institutions better preserve and protect their valuable collections.
AI Applications in Galleries
Galleries are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) technology to transform how they engage with visitors, authenticate artwork, and create immersive experiences that captivate audiences. From virtual reality tours to artwork authentication, AI applications in galleries are revolutionizing how art is experienced and appreciated. Explore the innovative uses of AI in galleries and its profound impact on the art world.
Virtual Reality Tours: AI-powered virtual reality (VR) tours allow gallery visitors to explore exhibitions and artworks in a fully immersive and interactive digital environment. By combining AI algorithms with VR technology, galleries can transport visitors to different eras, locations, and artistic styles, providing a unique and engaging way to experience art beyond physical boundaries.
Artwork Authentication: AI technology is revolutionizing the process of authenticating artwork by analyzing details such as brushstrokes, materials, and composition to determine the authenticity of pieces in gallery collections. By utilizing AI algorithms for image recognition and analysis, galleries can verify the provenance and authenticity of artworks, safeguarding the integrity of their collections.
Enhanced Audience Engagement: AI applications in galleries enhance audience engagement through interactive exhibits, augmented reality experiences, and personalized content recommendations. By tailoring experiences to individual preferences and behaviors, galleries can create immersive and interactive environments that resonate with diverse audiences and foster a deeper appreciation for art and culture.
Predictive Analytics and Exhibition Planning: AI algorithms analyze visitor data, trends, and preferences to predict audience behavior and optimize exhibition planning. By leveraging data analytics and machine learning algorithms, galleries can curate exhibitions that resonate with their audience, increase visitor engagement, and drive attendance through personalized and targeted programming.
Art Market Insights: AI technology provides galleries with valuable insights into the art market, trends, and pricing dynamics. By analyzing market data, auction results, and art sales trends, galleries can make informed decisions on acquisitions, valuation, and marketing strategies, enabling them to navigate the competitive art market landscape confidently.
AI applications in galleries are revolutionizing how art is experienced, authenticated, and appreciated, providing new opportunities for audience engagement, exhibition planning, and market insights. As galleries continue to embrace AI technology, they are shaping a more dynamic and immersive art world that leverages innovation to engage audiences, preserve cultural heritage, and foster creativity and appreciation for art and culture.
AI Technology in Libraries
Libraries are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to revolutionize organizing, accessing, and sharing information with patrons. From improving cataloging systems to enhancing research capabilities, AI applications in libraries are reshaping the way knowledge is curated and accessed in the digital age. Explore the transformative role of AI in libraries and its impact on the future of information management and access.
Improved Cataloging and Organization: AI technology automates and streamlines the cataloging and organization of library resources, making it easier for patrons to search and access materials. By utilizing AI algorithms for metadata analysis, content categorization, and recommendation systems, libraries can enhance the discoverability and accessibility of their collections, enabling users to find relevant information efficiently.
Text Analysis for Researchers: AI tools facilitate text analysis and data mining for researchers, enabling them to extract insights, identify patterns, and conduct in-depth analysis of textual materials such as books, journals, and manuscripts. By leveraging natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, libraries can offer researchers advanced search capabilities and access to knowledge repositories.
Virtual Reference Services: AI-powered virtual reference services provide immediate assistance to library users, answering questions, providing recommendations, and guiding patrons on research inquiries. By integrating chatbots, virtual assistants, and AI-driven search engines, libraries can offer personalized support, enhance user engagement, and provide efficient and convenient access to information resources.
Enhanced Data Analytics: AI technology enables libraries to leverage data analytics for insights into user behavior, collection usage, and resource optimization. By analyzing usage patterns, circulation data, and patron interactions, libraries can make informed decisions on collection development, resource allocation, and service improvements, ensuring that resources meet their users’ evolving needs.
Predictive Modeling and Recommendation Systems: AI algorithms predict user preferences and behaviors to generate personalized library resources, services, and program recommendations. Using machine learning and collaborative filtering techniques, libraries can offer tailored recommendations, anticipate user needs, and enhance user satisfaction and engagement.
AI technology is reshaping libraries’ landscapes, enabling them to enhance information organization, streamline research capabilities, and provide personalized user experiences. As libraries embrace AI innovation, they optimize resource management, improve user services, and foster knowledge discovery and access in the digital era. By leveraging the power of AI, libraries are transforming into dynamic hubs of information and knowledge that empower users to explore, learn, and engage with the vast world of information.
The Role of AI in Archives
Archives play a vital role in preserving and sharing historical documents, records, and artifacts with significant cultural and historical value. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, archives are leveraging AI tools to digitize, organize, and protect these invaluable materials.
Digitization and Preservation: AI technology is revolutionizing the process of digitizing and preserving archival materials by automating digitization workflows, enhancing image quality, and improving metadata tagging. Through AI-powered tools such as optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning algorithms, archives can efficiently digitize and archive documents, photos, and manuscripts, ensuring their long-term preservation and accessibility for future generations.
Enhanced Search and Discovery: AI algorithms enhance search capabilities in archives by intelligently categorizing, indexing, and analyzing vast collections of documents and records. By implementing AI-powered search engines and recommendation systems, archives can provide users faster and more accurate access to historical information, enabling researchers, scholars, and the public to discover hidden insights and connections within archival materials.
Risk Assessment and Preservation Planning: AI tools are utilized in archives to assess environmental risks, monitor conservation conditions, and plan preservation strategies for delicate and vulnerable materials. By analyzing ecological data, detecting potential risks, and predicting deterioration patterns, AI technology helps archives safeguard their collections and implement proactive conservation measures to prolong the lifespan of historical artifacts and documents.
Data Analysis and Research Insights: AI technology empowers archives to analyze and extract insights from vast amounts of historical data, enabling researchers to uncover trends, patterns, and correlations within archival collections. Archives can use AI-powered data analysis tools to facilitate in-depth research, historical analysis, and knowledge discovery, providing valuable insights into the past and enriching scholarly investigations in various fields.
Ethical Considerations and Data Privacy: As archives incorporate AI technology into their operations, ethical considerations regarding data privacy, security, and bias must be carefully addressed. Archives must adhere to strict data protection protocols, transparency guidelines, and ethical practices to ensure the responsible and equitable use of AI tools in archives, safeguarding the integrity and privacy of historical materials and user data.
AI technology is pivotal in transforming archives by digitizing, organizing, and preserving historical materials, enhancing search capabilities, facilitating research insights, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of archival collections. As archives continue to harness the power of AI, they advance the preservation and accessibility of historical knowledge, empowering researchers, scholars, and the public to delve deeper into the annals of history. By embracing AI innovation, archives preserve our shared heritage and open new avenues for exploration, discovery, and appreciation of our cultural legacy.
The Role of AI in Museums
In the digital age, museums leverage artificial intelligence (AI) technology to revolutionize how they preserve, engage with, and share their collections with a global audience. From digitizing artifacts to enhancing visitor experiences, AI reshapes how museums operate and connect with patrons. AI technology empowers museums to digitize their collections, analyze visitor behavior, optimize exhibition layouts, personalize experiences, and streamline operations. By harnessing the capabilities of AI algorithms, museums can offer immersive virtual tours, provide interactive exhibits, deliver personalized recommendations, and enhance accessibility for all visitors
Digitization and Preservation: AI enables museums to digitize artifacts, artworks, and historical documents, preserving them in a digital archive for future generations to access and admire. Through advanced image recognition and data analysis, AI helps museums catalog and organize their collections efficiently, ensuring the preservation of cultural heritage for years to come.
Enhanced Visitor Experiences: AI algorithms analyze visitor preferences, interactions, and feedback to create personalized experiences that cater to individual interests. From recommending relevant exhibits to providing interactive content, museums can engage with visitors on a deeper level and create memorable and immersive experiences that resonate with diverse audiences.
Optimizing Operations: AI technology streamlines museum operations by automating inventory management, scheduling, and visitor analytics tasks. By analyzing data and generating insights, museums can make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, and improve overall efficiency, leading to a more seamless and organized visitor experience.
Driving Innovation and Engagement: AI fosters innovation in museums by enabling the development of interactive exhibits, augmented reality experiences, and immersive storytelling methods. By integrating AI-powered technologies, museums can engage visitors in new and exciting ways, spark creativity, and foster a deeper connection with cultural heritage and artistic expression.
As AI technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for its application in museums are limitless. From AI-generated art to predictive analytics for exhibition planning, museums are at the forefront of utilizing AI to push the boundaries of creativity, accessibility, and engagement. By embracing AI innovation, museums are shaping a dynamic and inclusive cultural landscape that captivates audiences and fosters a deeper appreciation for art, history, and culture.
Benefits of Using AI in Cultural Institutions
Increased Accessibility for Visitors and Researchers: AI technology improves accessibility to cultural institution resources by providing enhanced search capabilities, personalized recommendations, and virtual experiences. Visitors and researchers can easily navigate vast collections, access relevant information, and engage with cultural materials from anywhere in the world.
Enhanced Preservation and Conservation Efforts: AI tools aid in preserving and conserving artifacts, artworks, historical documents, and delicate materials within museums, archives, galleries, and libraries. By monitoring environmental conditions, detecting risks, and automating conservation processes, institutions can prolong the lifespan of their collections and ensure their long-term sustainability.
Improved Visitor Experiences: AI technology enhances visitor experiences by offering personalized recommendations, interactive exhibits, virtual tours, and engaging content. Cultural institutions can tailor experiences to individual preferences, create immersive environments, and provide educational opportunities that captivate and inspire visitors of all ages.
Challenges and Limitations of AI in Cultural Institutions
Privacy Concerns: Adopting AI technology in cultural institutions raises privacy concerns regarding the collection, storage, and use of visitor and user data. Institutions must implement strict privacy policies, data protection measures, and transparency practices to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI technologies.
Data Bias: AI algorithms may unintentionally perpetuate bias and discrimination, especially in image recognition, language processing, and recommendation systems. Cultural institutions must continuously monitor and mitigate bias in their AI systems to uphold fairness, diversity, and inclusivity in their operations.
Maintenance Costs: Implementing and maintaining AI technology within cultural institutions can incur significant costs related to software development, hardware infrastructure, training, and ongoing support. Institutions must carefully assess their budgetary constraints and resource allocations to ensure the sustainable integration of AI technologies.
Conclusion
AI technology transforms cultural institutions’ operations, collections, and visitor experiences. By harnessing AI’s power for digitization, conservation, data analysis, and audience engagement, museums, archives, galleries, and libraries can adapt to the digital age and meet the evolving needs of their audiences.
As AI technology advances, the potential for its application in cultural institutions is vast and promising. From enhancing virtual experiences to improving data analytics, AI can revolutionize how museums, archives, galleries, and libraries interact with their collections and engage with their audiences. By embracing AI innovation, cultural institutions can unlock new opportunities for creativity, research, and accessibility, shaping a more dynamic and immersive cultural landscape for future generations.
Links of Interest
VIVERSE Virtual World Guide | Top 6 AI Art Galleries You Need to Visit
Welcome to the futuristic world of AI-generated art galleries! With Mid-Journey and other AI art generators, you can dive into the fascinating realm of decorating virtual Worlds and become a part of immersive 3D spaces like never before. Unleash your artistic creativity in the virtual world and explore the limitless possibilities of AI-generated art with a bit of guidance and practice.
This article discusses the impact of artificial intelligence on libraries and library professionals, covering topics such as information organization, library operations, user services, data and AI literacy, and library analytics.
How the National Archives is using AI to make records more accessible in the digital age
The National Archives is using AI to help with public records requests, among other efforts to make its holdings more accessible, said Colleen Shogan,
How Are Museums Using Artificial Intelligence, And Is AI The Future Of Museums?
If you’ve talked to Siri or Alexa, you’ve used AI. But what can artifical intelligence do for museums? in this article we look at best practice from museums around
Digitizing the World’s Largest Library and Museum
DIGITIZING COLLECTIONS Library of Congress v. Smithsonian Institution Summary The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution are renowned cultural institutions in the United States and arguably the world’s largest library and museum. The Library of Congress holds 171 million items, and the Smithsonian houses over 156 million artifacts. Both cultural repositories have undertaken significant digitization projects to make their collections more accessible to a global audience. The Library of Congress has embarked on an extensive digitization initiative to preserve and provide access to its vast collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, and other materials. The Library of Congress offers online…
The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution are renowned cultural institutions in the United States and arguably the world’s largest library and museum. The Library of Congress holds 171 million items, and the Smithsonian houses over 156 million artifacts. Both cultural repositories have undertaken significant digitization projects to make their collections more accessible to a global audience.
| Library of Congress
The Library of Congress’s mission is to engage, inspire, and inform the Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. To accomplish that mission, the Library is adopting a digital-forward strategy that harnesses technology to bridge geographical divides, expand our reach, and enhance our services. This document describes how we will secure the Library’s position in an increasingly digital world as we realize our vision that all Americans are connected to the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress has embarked on an extensive digitization initiative to preserve and provide access to its vast collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, and other materials. The Library of Congress offers online access to millions of digitized items, including historical documents, maps, and music recordings, through its website and digital platforms. Users can explore the Library’s digital collections, conduct research, and access educational resources from anywhere in the world.
Similarly, the Smithsonian Institution has prioritized digitization efforts to enhance public access to its diverse collections across various museums, research centers, and libraries. The Smithsonian’s digitization projects encompass multiple disciplines, including art, history, science, and culture. Through the Smithsonian’s online portals, visitors can explore digital exhibitions, view high-resolution images of artifacts, and access educational resources that showcase the institution’s rich cultural heritage.
The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution’s digitization projects aim to democratize access to cultural heritage and promote lifelong learning. By leveraging digital technologies and online platforms, these institutions can reach a broader audience, engage with diverse communities, and foster a deeper appreciation for the importance of preserving and celebrating cultural history.
Overall, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution’s digitization projects demonstrate their commitment to harnessing technology to make their collections more inclusive, interactive, and impactful in the digital age.
COMPARISON: Library of Congress versus Smithsonian A detailed comparison of the digitization projects between the Library of Congress (LoC) and the Smithsonian Institution reveals common objectives and individual strategies that reflect the unique nature of each institution’s collections and goals.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (LOC)
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Scope and Content
The LoC has one of the world’s most comprehensive literature collections, historical documents, and cultural artifacts. Its digitization efforts are expansive, covering materials such as books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and music.
The Smithsonian’s collections are incredibly diverse, reflecting its numerous museums and research facilities. The content ranges from natural history specimens to cultural artifacts to artworks.
Collections
Its collections house millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts. Specific numbers from previous years have cited over 171 million total items, including more than 32 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 70 million manuscripts; the most extensive rare book collection in North America; over 3.6 million recordings, encompassing music and spoken word.
The Smithsonian Institution’s collections are vast and varied, given its encompassment of multiple museums and research complexes. The total number of objects in the Smithsonian’s collections is around 156 million artifacts, works of art, and specimens. The breakdown includes 145 million specimens and objects at the National Museum of Natural History, millions of objects in the National Air and Space Museum collections, and vast arrays of objects at the American History and American Art Museums, among numerous other entities within the Smithsonian system.
Digitization Approach
The LoC’s digitization approach is multifaceted, including high-resolution scanning, metadata creation, and careful preservation. The LoC has several ongoing digitization projects focusing on different types of media and subjects. For example, the American Memory project provides free and open access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music documenting the American experience.
The Smithsonian has engaged in mass digitization using conveyor belts and robotic cameras to process large volumes of artifacts quickly. It has also been involved in 3D digitization efforts for more complex objects. The Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office (DPO) coordinates efforts across 19 museums, nine research centers, and the National Zoo.
Access and Use
The LoC provides access to digitally archived materials through its website, which includes curated collections and searchable and indexed exhibits. It also offers researchers bulk access to data through various APIs and data dumps.
The Smithsonian provides online access to its digitized collections through the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives and individual museums’ websites. It also encourages public participation through transcription and digitization projects where users can transcribe handwritten documents or update the metadata for digital assets. The Smithsonian has made a significant portion of its data available under open access policies, which allows anyone to use and download the content without permission or fees.
Impact and Outreach
An essential aspect of the LoC’s digitization work is its aim to support educational endeavors. It provides resources for teachers, students, and researchers, promoting digital literacy and historical understanding. Digitized collections are accompanied by comprehensive user guides and intended to serve a broad array of users, from academic researchers to the general public.
The Smithsonian aims to “reach one billion people yearly with a digital-first strategy.” Its robust educational outreach program includes online lesson plans, virtual field trips, and interactive games, focusing on K-12 education.
Challenges and Strategies
Given the scale of its collection, one of the main challenges for the LoC is prioritizing which materials to digitize. They often focus on materials of the highest public interest or those most at risk of deterioration.
One key challenge for the Smithsonian is digitizing 3D objects from its vast natural and cultural history collections. This is a more complex process than digitizing 2D documents. The Smithsonian uses cutting-edge 3D capture technology and has pioneered this technology in a museum context. It has also been active in crowdsourcing efforts to engage the public in digitization projects.
The LoC and Smithsonian Institution have successfully digitized historical and cultural artifacts. While their overarching goals are similar—to preserve, digitize, and make accessible their vast collections for education and research purposes—each institution leverages its unique strengths and faced distinct challenges:
The LoC strongly focuses on historical textual documents and has developed expertise in digitizing these resources and audio and visual materials. Due to its multidisciplinary collections, the Smithsonian has a broader scope of digitization techniques, including 3D digitization for natural history and cultural objects. Both institutions have made considerable efforts to ensure that their digital content is as accessible as possible, considering both user engagement and technical accessibility standards. Outreach and engagement strategies reflect their public service mandates, emphasizing educational resources and community involvement. The LoC focuses more on the American experience, while the Smithsonian’s digitization includes American and non-American content reflective of the Institution’s diverse collections.
In summary, while both institutions aim to democratize access to knowledge through digitization, their projects are shaped by their distinct holdings and institutional missions. Their efforts complement a larger picture of cultural heritage preservation and accessibility in the digital era.
ACCESSIBILITY Both the Library of Congress (LoC) and the Smithsonian Institution acknowledge the importance of making their digital collections accessible to all users, including those who are blind or have low vision and those who are hard of hearing.
Library of Congress (LoC) Accessibility Initiatives
Smithsonian Institution Accessibility Initiatives
For Users Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision
The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) is a program of the LoC that provides braille and talking books and magazines for those who have difficulty reading standard print. The LoC website is designed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ensuring that digital collections can be navigated and read by screen readers used by blind users. The LoC also provides accessible reading rooms and specialized equipment for visitors with vision impairment who access physical locations.
The Smithsonian Institution provides a variety of tools and services to make its websites and digital content accessible, such as descriptive audio tours and screen-reader-friendly websites. They employ alternative text for images, and some venues within the Smithsonian offer tactile exhibits or braille materials for onsite programs, events, and exhibitions, which also translate into their digital domain.
For Users Who Are Hard of Hearing
The LoC provides real-time captioning and interpretation of American Sign Language (ASL) for live events. Many of the recorded lectures, webcasts, and other educational materials include captions or transcripts to make their content more accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Smithsonian videos are, wherever possible, captioned to accommodate users who are hard of hearing. For many of the Institution’s virtual exhibits and online educational resources, transcripts are provided for audio components. The Smithsonian also strives to include Sign Language interpretation in its programming and may offer assistive listening devices for in-person and possibly digital formats.
Both institutions are committed to improving their accessibility features on an ongoing basis, recognizing that access to information is a right that must be available to all. They strive to follow best practices in digital accessibility, such as those outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Additionally, they both seek to continually update their accessibility tools and resources, gathering feedback from communities with disabilities to guide their efforts in making their digital and physical spaces inclusive to all visitors.
Links of Interest
Museums, Exhibits, and Digital Technology
As we begin the new year in 2021, the COVID-19 public health crisis continues to impact the museum sector: intermittent closures, widespread layoffs, and a scramble to create engaging visitor experiences, inside and outside the museum. This article explores digital technology solutions that have helped museums with visitor engagement during the crisis.
Digitization Strategy
The Digital Research team and others at The New York Public Library have undertaken special projects with the goal of improving access for all, which you can read more about here.
Since COVID-19, museum social media managers have been heroes for their institutions. During the shutdowns, social media managers sustained museum operations virtually and changed how they prioritize digital content. The focus on social media during COVID-19 provided a new understanding of the “digital experience.” In many cases, this period established new relationships with audiences worldwide.
The impact of COVID-19 on digital data practices in museums and art galleries in the UK and the US – Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications – The impact of COVID-19 on digital data practices in museums and art galleries in the UK and the US
COVID-19 and the Shift to Digital
Social media management for US museums and libraries is a critical component of their communication strategy, never more than during the past few years of COVID-19 and sociopolitical unrest throughout the country. They relied heavily on meeting platforms to host virtual meetings, events, and programs. They scrambled to create videos inside exhibit spaces, produce new online exhibits, and expanded social media to promote and market their programs.
4 Ways Museums Can Successfully Leverage Digital Content and Channels during Coronavirus (COVID-19)
In the age of coronavirus (COVID-19), museums are facing unprecedented difficulties and uncertainty. In the past weeks, three-quarters of museums have shut down, starting with behemoths like the Me…
As with the American Alliance of Museums article, I outlined in my previous blog, as COVID-19 forced museum closures, museums sharpened their focus on digital experiences. Accordingly, more resources shifted in the direction of digital, increasing reliance on the social media staff.
Pandemic First Responder and Virtual Social Worker = Museum Social Media Hero
Museums depended upon their social media channels as never before. These staff members became the only front-line workers for cultural institutions during closures. They were the first responders for their institutions. As riots erupted after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, museum social media heroes adapted messaging to fit the needs of their communities and, in some cases, bear the brunt of bad press about their institutions. In early 2019, AAM re-published an article from 2016 to help museums respond when caught in the crosshairs of socio-political debate.
In Polarized Times
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of membership with the Alliance. Click here to learn more about membership! How can museums better respo…
As a member of the Facebook group “Museum Social Media Managers,” I observed from the sidelines as the social media managers became first responders during the COVID shutdowns. Thanks to my participation in the group, I experienced how overwhelmed many felt working in this new paradigm. Their work became even more complicated as social unrest bubbled to the surface and the messaging from these leaders became even more critical to museum leaders. They were thrust into the role of “hero” for their institutions.
Post COVID-19 Digital Era in Museums
Looking back over the past three years, I wondered what museum leaders learned, if anything, during the pandemic. I also began to consult with technology platforms like Smartify, Verbit, and 3Play Media. I began to do some internet research to see how they did.
My research found many articles and blog posts about how museums pivoted to digital. Most wrote success stories about adapting to the new reality of virtual engagement. Plenty of blog posts document some of the best responses to the pandemic closures from other writers about the cultural sector.
But an interesting blog popped up when I searched from the end user’s perspective more broadly, not specific to museums.
Pandemic Social Media Heroes
Last year’s lockdown was tough but these five social media heroes helped me get through it.
The Cowboy Museum, not surprisingly, is included in this blogger’s list of top 5 blogs during COVID. I wasn’t surprised because the same museum came up many times in blogs about how to use social media in new ways.
Art Museums and the Digital Visitor
For this study, the following art museums will be examined: Guggenheim Museum (NYC), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Musée du Louvre (Paris), Museo del Prado (Madrid), Museum of Modern Art (NYC), Norton Museum (West Palm Beach, FL), Peréz Art Museum Miami, and the Tate (London).
My process will examine the digital footprint of various cultural institutions from websites, mobile access points, and social media outlets. I will explore the branding continuity, social media links, and the corresponding pages. Finally, I will question access to resources and the prioritization of digital content. How do museums value the work of their social media managers as operations return to normal? Are museums now producing more digital content? Where is that digital content? And finally, is the content accessible to all?
Websites and Social Media Links
When I looked at the websites of some of the most prominent museums to see how their websites promoted their social media channels, I noticed the social media links were always at the bottom of the page. I couldn’t understand why museums placed these important engagement links at the bottom of the page. Unusual because most digital visitors are on some form of social media, and chances are they’d connect on their favorite platform for updates.
Guggenheim (top)
Guggenheim (bottom)
Met Museum (top)
Met Museum (bottom)
Louvre (top)
Louvre (bottom)
Prado (top)
Prado (bottom)
MoMA (top)
MoMA (bottom)
Norton (top)
Norton (bottom)
PAMM (top)
PAMM (bottom)
Tate (top)
Tate (bottom)
To view the full gallery with observations, click on the grey background of any image.
When I researched the best practices for designing a website and where social media icons should be on any website, I learned that most blogs suggest that the icons/links should be at both the top and the bottom of a website, allowing the visitor to connect on social media immediately, rather than having to scroll the page to find the links to social outlets.
If museeum social media managers are heroes and serve as first responders to the digital visitor, why do institutions bury the links to these important content creators? The museum social media manager is an unsung hero in the post-COVID-19 paradigm. Still.
Social Media Channels
This study examines the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube channels for the same group of art museums. Most present consistent branding across all the platforms where users can find their content. The social media pages don’t always reestablish the brand. For the most part, the branding of each social media outlet looks like the other in terms of branding.
Guggenheim Museum
Metropolitan Museum
Musée du Louvre
Museo del Prado
Museum of Modern Art
Norton Museum
Peréz Art Museum Miami
Tate Modern
To view the full gallery with observations, click on the grey background of any image.
I thought by looking at the likes, followers, and subscribers to the four platforms, one could see which ones were more successful. I’ve included some estimates of annual income to help understand resources available to each institution.
From the data below, Twitter seems to be the most effective platform regarding the number of followers for the Guggenheim, the Met, the Prado, the Norton, and the Tate. However, the Louvre, MoMA, and PAMM all fare better on Instagram.
Museum
Facebook Likes
Instagram Followers
Twitter Followers
YouTube Subscribers
Annual Revenue
Guggenheim
834K
2.6m
3.4m
42.1K
$78.8m
Metropolitan
2m
4.2m
4.3m
334K
$1.5B
Louvre
2.6m
4.9m
1.5m
98.3K
€244m
Prado
1.1m
1m
1.3m
151K
€35m
MoMA
2.1m
5.6m
5.3m
480K
$523m
*Norton
22K
25K
29.7K
1.6K
$27m
PAMM
84K
125K
33.7K
3.1K
$16m
Tate
1.2m
4.1m
4.7m
323K
€94m
*CowboyMuseum
106K
78.3K
270K
10K
$27m
*Compare the Norton and the Cowboy museums.
I added the same data for the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to see how it stacked up with similar-sized organizations. What do they do to garner over 200,000 Twitter followers?
How did the Cowboy Museum’s social media numbers surpass the Norton Museum of Art’s numbers by nearly tenfold?
Spotlight: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
So what did the Cowboy Museum do with its Twitter account during the pandemic? The marketing team took the opportunity to empower the charismatic Tim Tiller, the museum’s head of security, to take over the Twitter account during closures.
Meet The Security Chief Making A Cowboy Museum’s Social Media Feeds Extra Delightful
Through the coronavirus pandemic, security guard Tim Tiller is often at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum solo, keeping an eye out for anything amiss — and finding just the right selfie.
Read More
www.npr.org
This creative response caught on fire across Twitter, creating a media frenzy about his friendly and refreshing posts. Here is a museum that learned how to use social media during the pandemic to go beyond sustaining audiences. The Cowboy Museum used its resources, including the security team, to grow beyond its existing audiences.
Website
I examined their post-COVID digital footprint and made a tiny discovery. Unlike the art museum websites I examined, the Cowboy Museum has social media links at the top and bottom of the homepage. In addition, when the digital visitor scrolls on a computer browser, all four social media icons become colorful and float down the right side of the webpage. Eureka!
powered by Advanced iFrame
If you are viewing this website on a mobile device, the floating icons feature is disabled.
And they are now honoring the social media staff by promoting them as much as possible. The floating icons encourage the digital visitor to engage via social media – a small detail but an important component of understanding the digital experience during COVID, and extending the lesson into their future.
Social Media
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
CONCLUSION
Museum social media managers are heroes.
As museums return to “normal” operations with post-pandemic reopened spaces, digital remains a more critical part of operations. Most will continue to offer live, remote, and hybrid events as a result of learning how the closures of their physical spaces.
Museums and libraries are now actively engaged in creating born-digital content usually placed on their social media outlets. However, their websites aren’t only connected one way. So if I visit your website, I can find your social media page.
Digital Experiences Beyond COVID
Social media allows you to target new audiences and develop them into potential donors or museum members. Why not have the experience beginning digitally and include your social media outlets at the top? Make them something that is very useful and helps you to build your audience.
Another benefit of connecting social media outlets to your website is creating an entirely new audience. Allowing the visitor to encounter the most recent content from your home page is a great idea. It will keep visitors apprised of what is coming and what is happening in the museum currently.
It would be great to create a website that is interactive with your social media content so that when a new video is posted on YouTube, it also appears on your web page. But on the website, there is no direct content from social media outlets. There’s a disconnect.
As we begin the new year in 2021, the COVID-19 public health crisis continues to impact the museum sector: intermittent closures, widespread layoffs, and a scramble to create engaging visitor experiences, inside and outside the museum. This article explores digital technology solutions that have helped museums with visitor engagement during the crisis.
2020 was all about digital engagement.
From business meetings on Zoom to family and friends on FaceTime, the planet has shifted to virtual experiences for professional and personal connections like never before.
Zoom profits double as revenues skyrocket
The popular video conferencing app has seen a 458% jump in customer growth compared with last year.
Similarly, museums were forced to address their ability to engage audiences from a distance like never before. Prior to COVID, museum websites provided mostly general information like a directory listing for the real experience, its exhibits and programs. After being forced to close their physical spaces, the digital realm for museums came into sharper focus.
Audience engagement with museums in 2020 was overwhelmingly digital.
“Virtual museum tours” in 2020.
Did it peak in March? According to Google, “virtual museum tour” was one of the most popular search terms in March 2020, at the onset of COVID-19 in the US. However, the search term hit its peak in the third week of March, and interest began to wain after just one week.
Once closures became widespread, digital resources were prioritized to provide access to exhibits and programs during closures. YouTube and 360º technology were used to create virtual tours of the museum. Web sites were built to host new digital exhibits. Finally, some new platforms have created ways to use technology both inside and outside the museum with greater ease.
Museums 360º
One of the most immediate responses from the smallest to the grandest of museums was to create virtual visits using 360º photos.
Interior 360º image of Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Here the virtual visitor experiences what is sometimes a strange 2D version of space.
Virtual visitors learned quickly that the experience cannot compare to the awe-inspiring feeling one gets when experiencing Frank Lloyd Wright’s spiraling galleries in the Guggenheim, I.M. Pei’s dramatic glass pyramid entrance to theLouvre, or Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel inside the enormous Vatican museums.
The results fall flat, and the sense of being in the space is lost in translation. There is little, if any, didactic interpretation. Navigation can be difficult from platform to platform, and the visitor may end up staring at a close-up of the marble floor without exit.
Guggenheim Museum, New York
Louvre, Paris
Vatican Museums, Vatican City
The zoom features are helpful, but without intuitive navigation or a “virtual tour guide,” the overall experience is disappointing. This technology is best left to the real estate industry.
YouTube Videos
Another digital resource used to recreate the real visitor experience is YouTube. Though not a new resource for museums, the production of new videos from museums small and large increased substantially during 2020.
The Met 360° Project: Great Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, many museums used 360º videos to guide virtual visitors through the museum using videos on YouTube.
While offering a more structured way to direct visitors through virtual spaces than the 360º technology above, the experience is still not the same as standing in front of great art.
However, YouTube provides museums with a platform for content that can be used to engage new audiences in unique and targeted ways. Three examples below include MoMA‘s virtual view of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” with Anna Deavere Smith’s reading of a letter from the artist to his brother, Theo. The Rijksmuseum created a series of YouTube videos called “Is It Art?” which examine contemporary artistic creations with more traditional art forms from the museum’s collections as a way of drawing younger audiences into the decisions of labeling them “art”. Finally, London’s National Gallery used YouTube to create a 5-minute meditation with Odilon Redon’s painting as its visual background.
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The National Gallery, London
All of these videos deliver content to audiences far and wide. Their success depends on their dissemination. Most museums use their social media outlets to market this content.
Online Exhibits
Less pervasive but equally important are online exhibits. These digital stories provide virtual visitors with learning opportunities outside the museum.
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
For the curator and educator, these exhibits provide ways to organize and present collections in an evergreen format with the ability to edit and update content as the exhibit ages. The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery‘s exhibit “First Ladies of the United States” is a great example of this type of exhibit.
Free from the limitations of physical space, these exhibits allow museums to create more robust learning resources for the public. They often feature artworks that may not be visible to the public, even when open.
Many of these digital experiences incorporate audio and video media. Some use creative ways of presenting the information. What is unique about these exhibits is the lack of a physical exhibit. The experience is designed to be completely virtual. The Museum of Modern Art organized an online exhibit about drawing in the 20th Century as the permanent online exhibit reflecting the museum’s real exhibit which was on view from November 21, 2010, to February 7, 2011. The Smithsonian Renwick Gallery was forced to close Janet Echelman’s “1.8 Renwick” exhibit shortly after it opened in 2020. It created a website to show the exhibit online until it reopens in 2021. The Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum used a website to curate content for “Willi Smith – Street Couture” an exhibit that lives on thanks to digital communications.
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, NYC
The success of these online exhibits depends on each site’s accessibility and navigation. They can require substantial resources, including hours of research by curators, the scripting by educators, and time for production by technology teams. Their visibility depends upon the integration of the museum’s digital and marketing strategies.
Spotlight: The Queen and The Crown
One of the best examples of an online exhibit is the Netflix and Brooklyn Museum exhibit “The Queen and The Crown”.
Netflix and the Brooklyn Museum
Drawing on the popularity of “The Crown,” the exhibit launched just a few days before the 2020 season premiere.
The exhibit resolves the usual spatial and navigational issues experienced in most virtual exhibits with short video clips and intuitive navigation. There is quiet music playing in the background, and the swooping noises help reassure successful navigation. The mannequins with the dresses can spin around, as the arrows indicate. It has a very smooth transition from a 360º museum experience to an online exhibit providing the visitor with a unique way to engage and learn.
Using pop-up pages for details, the site sound effects in the background add to the sense of a reverberant museum hall. Overall, this online exhibit is one of the best of its kind.
Smartify Virtual Tours
Guided tours lead by a docent or museum device audio guides were standard experiences before COVID-19 began to shut down museums everywhere.
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
Like the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, many museums have created audio tours of specific exhibitions. Most large art museums provided handheld devices in several languages. With the onset of COVID, docent-led tours and handheld devices have become obsolete. The health crisis has also made museums acutely aware of the risks involved with interactive exhibits – from audio guides to touch screens.
Smartify is a digital channel that delivers museum content to users’ devices via a web app as well as a mobile app. Started five years ago, the company currently hosts over 120 museum partners from around the world.
Prior to COVID-19, Smartify was focused on the mobile experience. The scan-to-learn technology allows users to scan the artwork to learn more on smart devices. With COVID-19, the company expanded the delivery of content to a web app so that the tours could be more easily disseminated through digital channels and social media outlets.
Using cloud-based software, museums are able to upload their digitized collections into the platform and then transform their content into meaningful stories using the tour building features. Tours can be designed for the general public, like the National Portrait Gallery’s tour above and they can be delivered in as many languages as the museum wants. Or, they can create audience-specific experiences using customized tours.
For example, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art used Smartify to create a wonderful ASL tour for its deaf communities using videos of sign interpreters. TheBritish Museum created a tour exploring LGBTQ histories using its collections.
Finally, one of the best things about the Smartify platform is its universality. Once a museum reopens, the visitor can still use Smartify inside the museum to access the tours and more. The Belvedere Museum in Vienna used Smartify to replace its handheld devices when it reopened in the summer of 2020 in an effort to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
The British Museum, London
Belvedere Museum, Vienna
The resulting experience via the Smartify platform is well-designed and allows for media files to be added, making use of YouTube videos and external content to add to the robustness of the content.
Conclusion
In retrospect, museums have used as many resources as possible to continue to connect with their communities. From 360º virtual tours to Smartify, each platform adds new ways to reach audiences with their content whether on a laptop at home or on a mobile device inside a museum.
What is important for museums in 2021 is to continue to develop and deliver content via as many channels as possible. The ability to manage resources while providing a great visitor experience requires attention to the continued impact that COVID-19 will have on our lives into the new year and beyond. As they continue to evolve with their partners’ needs, digital platforms like Smartify provide museums with the best tools for any scenario.
Smartifyis a free app that scans art and provides access to content in museums and galleries. Smartify users can also use it to build a personal art collection from some of the world’s best museums. Additionally, the augmented reality (AR) feature allows users to see the art in their homes.
Smartify works in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s Hall of Presidents. Pictured here is the portrait of President Barrack Obama.
I first learned about the museum app Smartify at the Smithsonian National Portrait Galleryin front of the portrait of President Barrack Obama. There was a sign to download an app. I could deploy as a scanner on my iPhone to learn more about the Presidential portraits. I quickly downloaded it and scanned the art, and it worked. What a thrill!
A few weeks later, I created a partnership between Smartify and the Historical Society of Washington, DC., where I was the executive director. The platform was a perfect solution for the new museum. The goal was to deliver information about the history of the Carnegie Library to personal mobile devices. The app can be used throughout the DC History Center. Plans include expanding the content to allow scans of sculptures in and around the building.
Scan Art Not QR Codes – Behind the App Technology
This app eliminates the need to scan QR codes. It uses technology to recognize the art itself. This technology works on smartphones and mobile devices. And it is an art guide that provides information instantly. It works across venues and is easy to use. Smartify is a social enterprise that serves a global community of art venues, artists, and art lovers. It’s the one app you can use to scan artwork to discover content for museums around the world.
Case Study: Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square
Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Squareis a history exhibit about the 1903 Carnegie Library in Washington, DC. Produced in partnership with Apple, the permanent exhibition is in the Carnegie Gallery on the lower level. Originally called the “bicycle room” when it opened, the room was meticulously restored in 2019 by Apple.
Carnegie Gallery, Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square
With dramatic ceramic ceilings by Rafael Guastavino, the exhibit space includes sixteen images. They benchmark moments from the building’s 115-year history. These include conceptual designs, blueprints, and other images from the 70 years as the public library. The exhibit concludes with the 2018 renovations by Apple.
The complete history is available at the DC History Center website. Here, learners can find the full and unedited version of the history of the 1903 Beaux-Arts building. The website includes the history of the selection of Washington, DC, as the site for the new capital city and Peter L’Enfant’s design of the District.
To enhance the minimal content on the exhibit walls, the Historical Society partnered with Smartify to deploy additional historical images and text to visitors’ mobile devices. Visitors scan any one of the 16 images to gain access to more information. The partnership with Smartify resulted in increased visibility of the DC History Center and allows visitors to support the organization with memberships and donations.
Created over five years, the DC History Center, an urban history center in the US, opened on May 11, 2019. The center includes a library and a museum and is operated by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1898, the society has long struggled to find the “right-size” home to support its mission in Washington.
The Historical Society closed in 2011 due to a lack of funding and was without a director for three years. After a two-year search, the Historical Society hired John Suau. Under his leadership, a beautiful new destination for DC history was created. The American Architecture Awards recently named Apple’s transformative restoration of the Carnegie Library the best restoration of 2020. With the support of technology, its transition into a 21st-century urban history center is finished.
Digital Communications
Rebranding the organization
Creating a new digital footprint with a cost-efficient blog website enabled easier integration with other digital marketing tools.
The organization was rebranded as @dchistory to strengthen the brand consistently across Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Exhibits
Creating new exhibits enlivened community participation and engaged artists and photographers in the Historical Society’s work.
For the Record: Artfully Historic D.C.
(April 22 – June 19, 2015) – Premiere edition of the “For the Record” series captured scenes of the District’s most endangered buildings, as identified by the DC Preservation League.
reVISION::THINKING BIG
(September 23 – December 18, 2015) – Exhibit focused on five recent mixed-use projects including The Yards, The Wharf, Burnham Place at Union Station, Capitol Crossing, and the McMillan Sand Filtration site.
DISTRICT: Chris Earnshaw
(January 7 – February 26, 2016) – Explores D.C. during the 1960s and 1970s through the extraordinary eye of photographer Chris Earnshaw.
EXPOSED DC
(March 11-25, 2016) – The 10th annual Exposed DC Photography Show
For the Record: Changing D.C.
(April 15 – July 16, 2016) – For the Record second annual juried exhibit of artworks that capture Washington’s changing urban landscape.
For the Record: The Art of Lily Spandorf
(November 21, 2015–July 3, 2016) The exhibit explores the artwork of Austrian-born watercolorist and journalist Lily Spandorf (1914-2000).
District II
(November 19, 2016 – February 12, 2017) – DISTRICT II examines the streets of downtown D.C. through the lens of local chroniclers Bill Barrett, Chris Earnshaw, and Joseph Mills.
For the Record: Picturing DC
(November 9, 2017 – March 4, 2018) – Third and final edition of For the Record: Picturing D.C. focused on neighborhoods in each of Washington, D.C.’s eight wards.
The Pilot District Project, 1968–1973
(March 31, 2018–JANUARY 15, 2019) – This exhibition explores the Pilot District Project (PDP), a local experiment in community policing after the riots in 1968.
DC Hall of History
(Opened May 11, 2019) – Includes a panoramic timeline of the history of the District, a map of local DC history, and topical display cases featuring historic collections.
The Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square
(Opened May 11, 2019) An exhibit about the history of the iconic landmark 1903 Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C.
THE BIG PICTURE
(Opened May 11, 2019) – An interactive and larger-than-life exhibit of over 70 panoramic images from the early 1900s through the 1990s.
For the Record is one example. This was a crowd-sourced exhibit program about documenting the built environment of contemporary Washington, D.C. A group of museum curators juried the exhibition. It rapidly grew into one of the local community’s most engaging exhibits. From 2017 through May 2019, the Historical Society vacated the Carnegie Library to restore it.
During the restoration, community partners played a crucial role. The Newseum, the National Building Museum, and the George Washington University Museum provided program and operation space. This allowed for continued engagement with the local community.
Public Programs
Partnerships with community organizations are an important part of the new DC History Center. These partners enhance programs and bring new and diverse audiences to the new DC History Center. In 2014, the society partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). They hosted the final edition of “Saving Our African American Treasures.”
The DC History Center produced numerous public programs, including tours, workshops, and speaker series. The annual DC History Conference partnered with the DC Public Library and the George Washington University Gelman Library. It worked with the National Archives. The University of the District of Columbia also collaborated. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History was included as well.
Community Partnerships
Community partnerships expanded the organization’s reach by establishing strategic alliances with local organizations. Partnerships include the Capital Pride Alliance and the DC Public Library. Other partners are the DC Preservation League, the George Washington University Museum, the National Archives, and the National Building Museum.
Collaborative relationships were formed with museum colleagues at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum. Additionally, we connected with colleagues at Smithsonian Associates. We also reached out to the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The Historical Society developed a long-term strategic partnership with the DC Office of Planning. This partnership helped to develop HistoryQuest DC. It is an interactive map with historical data on approximately 127,000 buildings in Washington, DC.
The map offers many layers of information for the user. The website provides historical data on individual buildings. It also links to information about properties on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fundraising and Grants
A complimentary program, the Visionary Historian Award, was established to create a second fundraising event recognizing local historians.
Together, the award programs increase the organization’s visibility and elevate the brand across the city. The events raised 10-15% of the organization’s annual budget. Augmented support from DC government agencies like the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and HumanitiesDC bolstered public support. Project grants from the Office of Planning also contributed. Overall, public support increased by more than 2300%.
Corporate Partnerships
Apple and the Carnegie Library Restoration
DC History Center
This new facility includes three exhibit galleries, a research library, a retail store, offices, and state-of-the-art collection storage facilities. From rebranding to a successful partnership with Apple, the DC History Center is now a 21st-century cultural hub. It welcomes all visitors for free, advancing the mission of the Historical Society.
The new Apple Store opening tomorrow at the Carnegie Library is absolutely beautiful. Also Awesome – the beautiful new DC History Center
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Will An Apple Store Improve Carnegie Library? – The Kojo Nnamdi Show
The Carnegie Library in downtown D.C. was once home to a short-lived museum on local history. Now, a flagship Apple store might move in.
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Selma Thomas, Museum Consultant
John brought both vision and good management to the Historical Society and with his professional background and contacts, turned an archaic institution into a vibrant player in the city’s cultural scene.
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