Digital curation in museums

Published date20 March 2017
Pages32-39
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-12-2016-0154
Date20 March 2017
AuthorJoyce Ray
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information user studies,Metadata,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet
Digital curation in museums
Joyce Ray
Department of Museum Studies, Johns Hopkins University,
Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a perspective on the development of digital curation
education and practice in museums in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach Methods used include: a historical overview of the development of
digital curation, originally as a field of practice primarily in the sciences and then as a field of study; a case
study of the adaptation of a digital curation curriculum (DigCCurr) framework developed in schools of library
and information science (LIS) to a museum studies program; and a discussion of trends in digital curation
practices in museums.
Findings The case study (the digital curation certificate program of Johns Hopkins Universitys
museum studies program) describes a successful adaptation of the LIS DigCCurr framework in a museum
studies program.
Practical implications Findings could help to advance the museum field through the integration of
digital curation education, practice and research.
Social implications By adopting and supporting digital curation practices, education and research,
museums can reach and engage more online users seeking information about museum collections.
More online users may also become onsite visitors.
Originality/value There is little existing literature on digital curation education in museum
studies programs.
Keywords Digital libraries, Higher education, Technological change, Case studies, Museums,
Digital preservation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This paper presents a perspective on the development of digital curation education and
practice in museums in the USA through: an overview of the development of digital
curation, originally as a field of practice primarily in the sciences and then as a field of
study; a case study of the adaptation of a digital curation curriculum (DigCCurr) framework
developed in schools of library and information science (LIS) to a museum studies program;
and a discussion of trends in digital curation in museums that could help to advance the
museum field through the integration of digital curation education, practice and research.
Origins of digital curation
The term digital curationwas introduced in 2001 at a meeting in London sponsored by the
Digital Preservation Coalition and the British National Space Centre. The invitational event,
billed as Digital Curation: digital archives, libraries and e-science seminar,was designed to
begin a conversation between library and information management specialists and
managers of scientific data on approaches to the management of research data for future
reuse. According to Neil Beagrie, [a] contribution to this successful dialogue was the careful
selection of the term digital curationused for the seminar.He said that the new term
benefited from some existing usage of the term curationby both the library and museum
sectors, and the biological sciences. In all three sectors the term implies not only the
preservation and maintenance of a collection or database but some degree of added value
and knowledge(Beagrie, 2006). Despite this early recognition of the role of museums in
curation, however, museums were evidently not represented at the seminar, and it would be
years before a significant number of museum professionals became active participants in
the larger digital curation community.
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 35 No. 1, 2017
pp. 32-39
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-12-2016-0154
Received 16 December 2016
Accepted 18 December 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
32
LHT
35,1

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