Defining Virtual Museums
You may be wondering, what is a virtual museum?
You may be wondering, what is a virtual museum?
Before proceeding, take a moment and reflect. What do you think a virtual museum is? How would you define the term virtual museum? Where does your knowledge of virtual museums come from?
Before proceeding, take a moment and reflect. What do you think a virtual museum is? How would you define the term virtual museum? Where does your knowledge of virtual museums come from?
As with the term museum, you will find several definitions all varying slightly in minute ways. Below is a variety of information meant to help create an understanding of what virtual museums really are.
As with the term museum, you will find several definitions all varying slightly in minute ways. Below is a variety of information meant to help create an understanding of what virtual museums really are.
The image below was created using a word cloud generator by inputting several definitions of the term virtual museum from popular sources . The words virtual and museum, and all variations, were removed in order to emphasize the actual definitions. The larger the word appears in the cloud, the more often the term was used. Notice the importance of words like new, digital, collections, content, experience, and access.
The image below was created using a word cloud generator by inputting several definitions of the term virtual museum from popular sources . The words virtual and museum, and all variations, were removed in order to emphasize the actual definitions. The larger the word appears in the cloud, the more often the term was used. Notice the importance of words like new, digital, collections, content, experience, and access.
“A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.”
“A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.”
A virtual museum is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum, in order to complement, enhance, or augment the museum experience through personalization, interactivity and richness of content. Virtual museums can perform as the digital footprint of a physical museum, or can act independently, while maintaining the authoritative status as bestowed by ICOM in its definition of a museum. In tandem with the ICOM mission of a physical museum, the virtual museum is also committed to public access; to both the knowledge systems imbedded in the collections and the systematic, and coherent organization of their display, as well as to their long-term preservation. As with a traditional museum, a virtual museum can be designed around specific objects (akin to an art museum, natural history museum), or can consist of new exhibitions created from scratch (akin to the exhibitions at science museums). Moreover, a virtual museum can refer to the on site, mobile or World Wide Web offerings of traditional museums (e.g., displaying digital representations of its collections or exhibits); or can be born digital content such as net art, virtual reality and digital art. Often, discussed in conjunction with other cultural institutions, a museum by definition, is essentially separate from its sister institutions such as a library or an archive. Virtual museums are usually, but not exclusively delivered electronically when they are denoted as online museums, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseums or web museums.
A virtual museum is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum, in order to complement, enhance, or augment the museum experience through personalization, interactivity and richness of content. Virtual museums can perform as the digital footprint of a physical museum, or can act independently, while maintaining the authoritative status as bestowed by ICOM in its definition of a museum. In tandem with the ICOM mission of a physical museum, the virtual museum is also committed to public access; to both the knowledge systems imbedded in the collections and the systematic, and coherent organization of their display, as well as to their long-term preservation. As with a traditional museum, a virtual museum can be designed around specific objects (akin to an art museum, natural history museum), or can consist of new exhibitions created from scratch (akin to the exhibitions at science museums). Moreover, a virtual museum can refer to the on site, mobile or World Wide Web offerings of traditional museums (e.g., displaying digital representations of its collections or exhibits); or can be born digital content such as net art, virtual reality and digital art. Often, discussed in conjunction with other cultural institutions, a museum by definition, is essentially separate from its sister institutions such as a library or an archive. Virtual museums are usually, but not exclusively delivered electronically when they are denoted as online museums, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseums or web museums.
As virtual museums increase in number and technologies allow for more and more possibilities, the benefits of virtual museums are also growing in amount and in strength. As mentioned in this video, one of the important benefits is the increased access provided by virtual museums. As you explore this site, you will undoubtedly encounter other benefits as well as a few drawbacks.
As virtual museums increase in number and technologies allow for more and more possibilities, the benefits of virtual museums are also growing in amount and in strength. As mentioned in this video, one of the important benefits is the increased access provided by virtual museums. As you explore this site, you will undoubtedly encounter other benefits as well as a few drawbacks.
References
References
Encyclopedia Britannica (March 27, 2017). https://www.britannica.com/topic/virtual-museum
New World Encylcopedia. (n.d.) https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Virtual_museum
Polycarpou, C. (January 10, 2018) The ViMM Defintion of a Virtual Museum. The Virtual Multimodal Museum. https://www.vi-mm.eu/2018/01/10/the-vimm-definition-of-a-virtual-museum/
V-MusT. (n.d.) http://www.v-must.net/virtual-museums/what-virtual-museum