Why using Wikis?[]
Museums are institutional custodians of objects and information about cultural heritage. Communication in the world of museums can be seen as predominantly linear: from the research about objects or intangible heritage to exhibitions and specific publications as well as from one generation of museum professionals to the following one. These chains of communication are sometimes isolated from each other but there are often points of contact between them. In fact every exhibition with loans from different museums provides chances of new information exchange. The Wiki↑ technology supports the development of information networks, because Wikis facilitate meaningful linking, efficient discussion and organized collection of information. Existing Wikis like Wikipedia↑ and the MuseumsWiki will be examined regarding the needs and resources of museums, museum communities and museum professionals.
Collaborative communities[]
Wikis are social↑ and collaborative↑ software. Therefore the choice to participate in an existing wiki or the decision to create a wiki dedicated to a specific community should consider the target audience.
Wikipedia | MuseumsWiki | Custom wiki |
---|---|---|
general audience | museum professionals | specific |
size, popularity, success | wide spectrum | flexibility |
multilingual | international | integration |
community, technology, methods | information node | information management |
Wikipedia[]
MuseumsWiki[]
Custom wiki[]
See also[]
- Jens Klump: The Benefits of Cross Linking: The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (International Conference Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21-22, 2007)
- Social software and museums
- Museums and Wikis wiki
- Wikimedia@MW2010
Weblinks[]
- The Friday Afternoon Seminar (UC Berkeley School of Information), Schedule - Spring 2008 (Thomas Tunsch talked about Cultural heritage: Tradition, Museums and Wikis at The Friday Afternoon Seminar in Berkeley on March 21st.)
- Canadian Heritage Information Network. Using Wikis for Project Management
- Annotated bibliography about knowledge building environments
- Liam Wyatt: Making Wikipedia “GLAM-friendly”
Further reading[]
- Geoff Mulgan: A wiki way to rate work and spread scholarship. IN: The Times Higher Education Supplement (29 July 2005).
- Chloe Stothart: Web threatens learning ethos. IN: The Times Higher Education Supplement (22 June 2007).
- O'Donnell, Daniel Paul: If I were "You": How Academics Can Stop Worrying and Learn to Love "the Encyclopedia that Anyone Can Edit". IN: The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe, Issue 10, May 2007, ISSN 1526-1867
- Roberto, Frankie; Looseley, Rhiannon: Museums & Wikis: two case studies. Museums and the Web 2009
- Dan Cull: Socialized Learning (Bibliography)