How can small museums use both aural and visual devices to ...
Technology for Small Museums
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Technology for the Small Museum Kaia Landon [email protected] Assistant Director and Curator of Collections Mesa Historical Museum Museum Association of Arizona Annual Conference May 14, 2009
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Presentation by Kaia Landon (from the Museum Association of Arizona 2009 Annual Conference)
Transcript of Technology for Small Museums
Technology for the Small Museum
Kaia [email protected]
Assistant Director and Curator of CollectionsMesa Historical Museum
Museum Association of Arizona Annual ConferenceMay 14, 2009
First, a quote from the American Association for History Computing 2009 Conference: “Turns out that not too many jobs ask you to write a 7- to 10-page research paper.” --- Jeff McClurken @jmcclurken on Twitter
Framework for Choosing Technologies
• Start from problems, work toward solutions• What are your goals?• Does it fit with your strategic plan?• What’s the hoped-for ROI for the project?
More tech is not necessarily better
Issues to Consider
• Cost• Necessity• Demand• Scope• Complexity• Maintenance• Image
• Availability• Maturity• Transition• Opportunity
Lin Nelson-Mayson, AAM 2006, as in The Digital Museum: A Think Guide
Top Ten Technologies
1 Word processing Software2 Website/email3 Credit Card Capabilities*4 Collections Software*5 CRM*6 Digitization Tools7 Social Media*8 Scheduling Software (facilities, people, events)9 Network/Intranet/Shared files10 Event Planning/Ticketing
Credit Card Capabilities
If you accept money, you need to accept credit cards.
In Person
• Talk to your bank, do web search• May have to buy terminal ($50-$500+)– What features do you need?– Will it work with your phone lines?– Can it integrate with other software (i.e.,
Quickbooks)?• Discount fees (usually <3%)• Monthly fees ($10-$30)• Set-up fees (free to ???)
On the Web
• Google Checkout• Paypal
• Custom through bank
Abbreviations to Know
SAS = Software as a Service
FOSS = Free and Open Source Software
Collections Software
PastPerfect/TMS/Embark/Re:Discovery
FOSS Alternatives:– Collective Access www.collectiveaccess.org– Archivist’s Toolkit www.archiviststoolkit.org
Archivist’s Toolkit
Online Exhibits
Option A = Code your own in HTML/XML/Flash= can be VERY time consuming, requires high
degree of knowledge of technology, can be a lot of work to change
Option B = Find software to do it for you!
HTML/PHP Web Design Software
• Dreamweaver ($$$, steep discount through TechSoup (cost is $35))
• Kompozer (free!)• CMS options (free, but +tech expertise)– Wordpress– Drupal– Joomla– Plone
Drupal Example
Flash
Requires Adobe Flash ($$$) + lots of tech knowledge
Or there are numerous online tools to help you build flash presentations – many are free, but may include branding/ads you can’t get rid of, and are not easy
Museum Alternatives
• Omeka• Open Museum• Arizona Memory Project• ContentDM• Pachyderm• Open Exhibits (planned – doesn’t yet exist)
Omeka
Pachyderm
Digital Asset Management (DAM)Some FOSS options:
• Gallery• Razuna• Montala• OpenEdit
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• PastPerfect• CiviCRM• eTapestry• Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge• Many options
Low Cost Donor Management Report (NTEN) http://nten.org/research/download_idealware_dms?sid=20089
SOCIAL MEDIA
Listen First!
If you’re going to use Social Media, it’s a good idea to start by listening– Learn what people are saying about you– Learn how the platform works
Google Alerts
MYSPACE
All the Rest
• YouTube• Flickr• ArtBabble
• Ning• SecondLife• Steve.museum
• Wikis• Widgets
QUESTIONS?
