WG 1.1 – What is a Virtual Museum – Terms of Reference
WG1.1
Collected definitions available for virtual museums as an input for the discussion, taking account of definitions provided in important earlier work, such as the V-MUST project, including linked definitions, such as those for Intangible Heritage, which take into account recent conceptual developments (for example, the documentation of the human body and its movement). The definitions were to be be set in an overall framework for the definition of digital cultural heritage and where possible, a hierarchy of relevant definitions established
WG 1.1 formulated an initial working definition for a Virtual Museum. This definition was further discussed. and published prominently on the ViMM platform, inviting further contributions from the VM/VCH community throughout the project duration.
WG 1.1 then transitioned this definition towards a draft list of types of Virtual Museums, eventually leading to a developed typology. This process took account of relevant aspects such as historic sites, digital collections, tangible and intangible, curators and audiences, benchmarks and connections with conservation etc.
An online survey was designed and conducted in order to elicit comments to enrich the working definition (and any linked definitions), and draft typology and to collect examples of types of Virtual Museum.
The outputs at each stage were published on the ViMM platform and contributions invited from the whole community. The typology includes a name and description for each type, linked to examples which will continue to grow until the end of the project, before which further revision of the typology will be considered.
Topics
- Create a list of definitions related to virtual museums for further discussion.
- Create a list of types of virtual museums.
- Provide a list with virtual museums examples.
The outcomes of this work will include:
- Definition of Virtual Museum – supported by linked definitions within a hierarchy of digital cultural heritage.
- State of the Art Survey results.
- Typology of Virtual Museums.
Working Group members:
- Susan Hazan – CHAIR
- Cristina Vannini
- Spyros Vossinakis
- Cettina Santagati
- Sarah Whatley
- Michael Freundt
- Lizzy Jongma
- Daniel Pletinckx
- Nadezhda Povroznik
- Stella Sylaiou
- Rob Davies
The first online meeting of WG1.1 was held on 12/04/17, chaired by Susan Hazan. It was agreed to start by collecting all available definitions of a Virtual Museum e.g. from Wikipedia, V-MUST, ICOM and from emerging developments in 3D. Also to bring together related material such as the Charters of London and Seville. Creating a definition ‘soup’ in this way would help the WG place Virtual Museums in a hierarchical structure or ‘thesaurus’ of definitions in the broader area of Digital Cultural Heritage. It would also underpin the development of a typology of Virtual Museums, a later goal of the Working Group. In this context, the position of longer-established museums, as traditionally defined, could be related to that of newer types of provider or service, also considering themselves as bona fide Virtual Museums.
Is the opportunity to join the group open still?
I think there is room for one more member of the ‘core group’. Would you in principle be able to come to a meeting in Slovenia on 22 May?