This dissertation provides an ethnographic account of the ongoing and evolving relations between the construction of nation and cultural production at the Museo Nacional de Antropología (MNA, or the Museo) in Mexico City. The MNA plays a key role in the production, reproduction, and dissemination of representations of Mexico’s pre-colonial past and its existing indigenous populations as components of contemporary Mexican nationhood. Historically, the Mexican state has used anthropological knowledge to inform and implement policies enacted to cement the ties of an ethnically diverse population to the nation, define and preserve national patrimony, and promote heritage as an economic resource. The dissertation explores the MNA as an arena for the expression of the tensions generated by these sometimes disparate agendas. I argue that the MNA, rather than simply reproducing and maintaining official understandings of the relationships between citizens and nation, also provides a space for the negotiation and transformation of these relationships. / text

No description available.

This article offers an analysis of the process of error recovery as observed in the development and use of collections databases in a university museum. It presents results from a longitudinal case study of the development of collaborative systems and practices designed to reduce the number of errors found in the museumâ s databases as museum employees packed and moved their collections over a period of five years. Drawing upon a specific set of eighteen months worth of records documenting error rates and error management techniques, this article identifies three factors that influenced the ability of museum staff members to recover from errors found in their collections databases. The article concludes by examining the potential impact of these factors on the design of future collections databases in order to shed light on the wider issue of error recovery procedures in all information organizations.

The collections of art museums have been assembled over hundreds of years and described, organized and classified according to traditions of art historical research and discourse. Art museums, in their role as curators and interpreters of the cultural record, have developed standards for the description of works of art (such as the Categories for the Description of Works of Art, CDWA) that emphasize the physical nature of art as artefact, the authorial role of the creator, the temporal and cultural context of creation and ownership, and the scholarly significance of the work over time. Collections managers have recorded conservation, exhibition, loan and publication history, along with significant volumes of internal documentation of acquisition and storage, that support the custody and care of artefacts of significant cultural value. But the systems of documentation and classification that support the professional discourse of art history and the management of museum collections have failed to represent the interests, perspectives or passions of those who visit [use?] museum collections, both on-site and online. As museums move to reflect the breadth of their audiences and the diversity of their perspectives, so must museum documentation change to reflect concerns other than the traditionally art historical and museological. Social tagging offers a direct way for museums to learn what museum-goers see in works of art, what they judge as significant and where they find or make meaning. Wi thin the steve collaboration(http://www.steve.museum), a group of art museums is collectively exploring the role of social tagging and studying the resulting folksonomy (Bearman & Trant, 2005; Chun, Cherry, Hiwiller, Trant, & Wyman, 2006; Trant & Wyman, 2006). Analysis of terms collected in the prototype steve tagger suggests that social tagging of art museum objects can in fact augment museum documentation with unique access points not found in traditional cataloguing. Terms collected through social tagging tools are being compared to museum documentation, to establish the actual contributions made by naïve users to the accessibility of art museum collections and to see if social classification provides a way to bridge the semantic gap between art historians and art museumsâ publics.

This paper presents results from twenty-one semi-structured interviews with museum information professionals (MIPs) who were asked about their experiences working with information resources, tools, and technologies. Interviews were analyzed to determine 1) the challenges MIPs face as they adapt to changing technical capabilities and strive to meet the changing needs and expectations of museum users; and 2) the coping mechanisms MIPs employ on the job that enable them to deal effectively with those challenges. The paper presents the results of this analysis, exploring how MIPs cope with the changing nature of information work in museums by relying on thirteen different strategies, including assessing new technologies in relation to the museumâ s core mission, helping museum professionals embrace new ideas about information access and provision, and promoting internal practices that encourage the sharing of information and the integration of information science into museum work. The paper discusses the implications of these challenges and strategies for current and future MIPs, and assesses their impact on changing perceptions, roles, and research for information professionals in museums as they work to meet the information needs of all museum users.

While a growing number of the digital reference services in libraries have become part of collaborative reference networks, other entities that serve similar information-seeking needs such as special collections and museums have not joined these networks, even though they are answering an increasing number of questions from off-site patrons via the Internet. This article examines the differences between questions asked electronically of traditional reference services and those asked of special collections services; it further explores how a better understanding of digital reference in special collections will facilitate the development of the tools and models needed to create a bridge between digital human intermediation at general academic libraries, special collections, and museums.

This version of the report contains a hyperlinked table of contents to improve navigation. / This report describes the results of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded study to investigate the use of technological or policy tools to control patron access to or use of digital collections of cultural materials created by U.S. archives, libraries and museums. The technological and policy tools serve primarily to control copying or other reuses of digital materials. The study had the following goals: 1. Assess what technical and policy tools cultural institutions are employing to control access to and use of online digital collections. 2. Investigate motivations for controlling access to or use of collections (e.g., copyright, privacy, protecting traditional restrictions, income generation etc.). 3. Investigate discouragers to the implementation of access and use control systems (e.g., preference for open collections, lack of resources, institutional mission, etc.). 4. Gauge interest in implementing technical systems to control access to and use of collections. 5. Determine what types of assistance IMLS could provide. 6. Identify institutions with innovative controlled online collections for follow up case studies on policy, technical and managerial details.

This report describes the results of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded study to investigate the use of technological or policy tools to control patron access to or use of digital collections of cultural materials created by U.S. archives, libraries and museums. The technological and policy tools serve primarily to control copying or other reuses of digital materials. The study had the following goals: 1. Assess what technical and policy tools cultural institutions are employing to control access to and use of online digital collections. 2. Investigate motivations for controlling access to or use of collections (e.g., copyright, privacy, protecting traditional restrictions, income generation etc.). 3. Investigate discouragers to the implementation of access and use control systems (e.g., preference for open collections, lack of resources, institutional mission, etc.). 4. Gauge interest in implementing technical systems to control access to and use of collections. 5. Determine what types of assistance IMLS could provide. 6. Identify institutions with innovative controlled online collections for follow up case studies on policy, technical and managerial details.

No description available.

Today there are hundreds of historic house museums open in communities across the country. Many of these museums recognize a noted historical character or event while others are noted for their architectural styling and detail. How should these museums care for their collections and interpretations to keep their standards high and to attract visitors? The case studies look at how several museums in east central Indiana operate and manage under different types of ownership, including state, county, and city governments, foundations, and historic groups. From interviews and visitations these museums were analysed as to how they coped with finances, day to day operations, traffic, collections and maintenance policies. The histories and future goals of each site were also researched and documented. Conclusions were drawn after these case studies were finished as to what were the best methods of management in order to achieve a high quality historic house museum. / Department of Architecture