Last week, the New York Times ran a story about museums, Web 2.0 and user participation in collections: Online, It’s the Mouse That Runs the Museum. It mentions a few museums that encourage visitor contributions of objects, information and/or opinions, including one I'm looking forward to seeing: "the Museum of Afghan Civilization, an entirely Web-based institution scheduled to make its debut later this year."
The article refutes the idea that inviting user participation is inviting chaos, and points out that rather than threatening curatorial authority, it enhances it - museums are still clearly providing the narrative and expertise for their collections, but they're doing it in a way that earns respect. Here's a good quote from Michael Edson, Smithsonian's new-media director: "I think the public genuinely does want the Smithsonian to assert its authority, but in this epoch authority and trust will be granted to institutions differently — through transparency, speed and a public orientation." Yes!
And Nina Simon is quoted a few times as well: "There’s a difference between having power and having expertise. Museums will always have the expertise, but they may have to be willing to share the power." Yes!
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