Museums of the Future: The Impact of Technology on Museum Practices
Author(s)
Anderson, Maxwell L.
Abstract
The impact of the computer chip and networked databases is radically reshaping the on-site museum experience as well as providing remote access to information and commodities and inviting participation in the museum’s mission. The museum community is slowly awakening to the potential of networked information, in merchandising, ticketing, and licensing content. It must pick up the pace, not only in order to prevent obsolescent experiments, but also to stave off commercial alternatives masquerading as educational ones. The only viable course is for like institutions in the museum community to come together and examine how these new tools can be used to collaborate. Spirited competition among web sites is a myopic approach to combating the tidal wave of commercial interests that are channeling their energies into the so-called leisure industry. Museums are places of leisure for the public, but behind the gallery walls they are an amalgam of research institutes, scientific laboratories, storage facilities, educational facilities, community centers, and small businesses providing dining and merchandising alternatives. The sooner they harness their collective potential through new technologies, the better equipped they will be to serve their educational mandates while navigating through a world of diminishing attention span and free time.
