Multi‐disciplinary content management in “Darwin Country” – a case study
| Date | 01 June 2002 |
| Published date | 01 June 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720210473010 |
| Pages | 14-24 |
| Author | Peter D.A. Boyd |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Multi-disciplinary
content management
in ``Darwin Country'' ±
a case study
by Peter D.A. Boyd, Collections
Manager and Darwin Country Project
Coordinator, Shrewsbury Museums
Service
Keywords: Knowledge management systems,
Web sites, Information management
Abstract: ``Darwin Country'' is a website
project giving access to images and information
about the archives, paintings, decorative arts,
archaeology and scientific collections of
Shrewsbury Museums Service and its partners.
By April 2002 the website had about 9000
pages and 6000 images. It is grant-aided by the
Resource IT Challenge Fund and the West
Midlands Regional Museum Council. This
database-driven website utilises open-source
software to provide multi-disciplinary content in
a ``knowledge-net'' environment created and
maintained through a Content Management
System. However, the author argues that
``Content Management'' is actually a process
that involves more than a piece of software and
should start with a vision and formulation of a
strategy.
Introduction
In 1999, the DCMS/MGC IT Challenge Fund
invited applications from museums for the
creation of innovative ICT projects that would
provide content for lifelong learners based on
material in museum collections. In September
1999, the author put together an application for
Shrewsbury Museums Service to lead a project
named ``Cradle of Science, Technology and the
Better Life'' supported by two museum partners,
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the
Wedgwood Museum.
The project was one of 11 projects to be
successful in attracting grant-aid from the Fund
and work started in February 2000. The West
Midlands Regional Museum Council (WMRMC)
also assisted funding of the project in the first
phase until March 2001 and subsequently for the
periods April 2001-March 2002 and April 2002-
March 2003.
After the formation of Resource (the cross-
domain body for museums, libraries and archives)
in April 2000, the IT Challenge Fund became
known as the ``Resource IT Challenge Fund''.
The first stage of the project (February 2000 to
March 2001) focussed on the scientific,
technological and social history of part of the
West Midlands of England during the 18th and
19th centuries, illustrated by the archives,
paintings, decorative arts, archaeology and
scientific collections of the partner museums.
The scope of Darwin Country was extended after
March 2001 to include multi-disciplinary three-
dimensional and two-dimensional items from a
wider range of periods. By April 2002 the website
had about 9000 pages and 6000 images. This
paper is based on a presentation,given to the Joint
LITC/LAMIT Conference ``Content Management
for Information Professionals'' at South Bank
University, London on 11 April 2002. It provides
an update on the development of the website as
described in Boyd (2002) and further explores the
concept and mechanisms of Content Management
examined in Boyd (in press).
Key aims
Key aims of the project (which became the first
stage of Darwin Country) were:
.To use Information and Communication
Technology to create an inter-disciplinary
introduction to scientific, technological
and social development in part of the West
Midlands centred on the Shrewsbury-
Ironbridge-Wedgwood triangle during the
18th and 19th centuries.
.To use Information and Communication
Technology to enable life-long learners to
explore the history of the period through
the archives, paintings, decorative arts,
archaeology and scientific collections of
the main partners and other participants in
the project.
#MCB UP Limited, ISSN 0305-5728, DOI 10.1108/03055720210473010
14 Ð VINE, Volume 32 Number 2 2002, Issue 127
To continue reading
Request your trial