Mobile Apps For Museums

This collection of thoughtful essays and insightful case studies by leading practitioners is intended to help guide the museum in its planning and strategy as it explores this exciting new terrain. Mobile Apps for Museums examines the promise and potential of mobile apps in expanding exponentially the museum's audience

This book explores how digital culture is transforming museums in the 21st century. Offering a corpus of new evidence for readers to explore, the authors trace the digital evolution of the museum and that of their audiences, now fully immersed in digital life, from the Internet to home and work. In a world where life in code and digits has redefined human information behavior and dominates daily activity and communication, ubiquitous use of digital tools and technology is radically changing the social contexts and purposes of museum exhibitions and collections, the work of museum professionals and the expectations of visitors, real and virtual. Moving beyond their walls, with local and global communities, museums are evolving into highly dynamic, socially aware and relevant institutions as their connections to the global digital ecosystem are strengthened. As they adopt a visitor-centered model and design visitor experiences, their priorities shift to engage audiences, convey digital collections, and tell stories through exhibitions. This is all part of crafting a dynamic and innovative museum identity of the future, made whole by seamless integration with digital culture, digital thinking, aesthetics, seeing and hearing, where visitors are welcomed participants. The international and interdisciplinary chapter contributors include digital artists, academics, and museum professionals. In themed parts the chapters present varied evidence-based research and case studies on museum theory, philosophy, collections, exhibitions, libraries, digital art and digital future, to bring new insights and perspectives, designed to inspire readers. Enjoy the journey!

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on User Science and Engineering, i-USEr 2018, held in Puchong, Malaysia, in August 2018. The 32 papers accepted for i-USEr 2018 were selected from 72 submissions with a thorough double-blind review process. The selected papers illustrate how HCI is inclusive and omnipresent within the domains of informatics, Internet of Things, Quality of Life, and others. They are organized in the following topical sections: design, UX and usability; HCI and underserved; technology and adoption; human centered computing; HCI and IT infrastructure; and HCI and analytics.

For the first time, the U.S. museum profession's current operating standards in areas from public accountability to facilities and risk management are available in a single publication. This guide is an essential reference work for the museum community, presenting the ideals that should be upheld by every museum striving to maintain excellence in its operations. An introductory section explains how virtually anyone associated with museums will find the book valuable, from trustees to staff to funders and the media. It is followed by a full outline of the standards, including the overarching Characteristics of Excellence and the seven areas of performance they address. Throughout the book is commentary by Elizabeth E. Merritt, former director of AAM's Museum Advancement and Excellence Department and founding director of AAM's Center for the Future of Museums. "Insightful commentary by Elizabeth Merritt rings loud and clear and accompanies a concise compilation of policies, practices and plans for managing museums in the twenty-first century. Every museum professional should look to National Standards and Best Practices for U.S. Museums for direction in museum administration and collection stewardship, education programs and exhibitions." -- Tim White, assistant director for collections and operations, Yale Peabody Museum; president, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections Also available from Amazon as a Kindle e-Book: National Standards & Best Practices for U.S. Museums

Location Aware: Mobile Applications as an Interpretive Tool Lauren M. Messenger The goal of this research was to describe the ways that the specific technologies available to smartphones, such as location awareness, afford new opportunities and strategies for interpretation of exhibit content and audience engagement. On-site analysis guided by principles of interpretation and design, and interviews with museum app developers, suggest that museum apps are considered effective as interpretive tools when the smartphone technology is used in a way that serves the content being presented. All of the institutions surveyed were interested in creating mobile apps that focused on augmenting the experience that visitors might have through traditional interpretation or exhibit content, rather than imitating it. A survey of professionals indicates that a more complete understanding of the audience of museums apps is still required within the field for there to be certainty about their effectiveness and impact as interpretive tools.

Due to the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence technologies, schools, museums, and art galleries will need to change traditional ways of working and conventional thought processes to fully embrace their potential. Integrating virtual and augmented reality technologies and wearable devices into these fields can promote higher engagement in an increasingly digital world. Virtual and Augmented Reality in Education, Art, and Museums is an essential research book that explores the strategic role and use of virtual and augmented reality in shaping visitor experiences at art galleries and museums and their ability to enhance education. Highlighting a range of topics such as online learning, digital heritage, and gaming, this book is ideal for museum directors, tour developers, educational software designers, 3D artists, designers, curators, preservationists, conservationists, education coordinators, academicians, researchers, and students.

Museums in the Digital Age: Changing Meanings of Place, Community, and Culture showcases how the use of technology in museums should be understood as factors directly related to the museums’ notion of community, local culture, and place, whether these places are in mid-America, urban metropolises, or ethnically diverse and underserved communities. Here, museum expert Susana Smith Bautista brings more than twenty years of experience in cultural institutes in Los Angeles, New York, and Greece to propose a social understanding of why museums should be adopting technology, and how it should be adapted based on their particular missions, communities, and places. This book is timely because we are in the midst of the digital age, which is rapidly changing due to rapidly changing developments in technology and society as well, with social adaptations of technology. Theory is always racing to catch up with practice in the digital age, but theory remains a critical - and often neglected - component to accompany the practical application of technology in museums. In order to illustrate these points, the book presents five case studies of the most technologically advanced art museums in the United States today: The Indianapolis Museum of Art The Walker Art Center The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art The Brooklyn Museum Each case study ends with a Lessons Learned section to bring these points home. While the case studies focus on museums in the United States, and also on art museums, this book is relevant to all types of museums and to museums all over the world, as they equally face the challenge of incorporating technology into their institutions. Although these case studies are all well-established and well-endowed museums, Bautista reveals valuable insight into the difficulties they face and the questions they are asking which are relevant to even the smallest museum or community cultural center.

Augmented reality (AR) can be an artistic choice or an experience augmentation for museum patrons. The Knight Foundation analyzed how museums are adapting to digital demands noting it is "vast" and "complicated." The following collection from contributors to the Arts Management and Technology Laboratory offers perspectives on how museums are adapting to AR and similar digital disruptions.