Plenary talk: Images on the path to the digital museum

Abstract

At first glance, a museum may appear to be a nice place to visit a painting or some dinosaur bones. However, museums are much more than warehouses of valuables. Museums typically present their holdings as collection or exhibits, supported by a common narrative, in an aesthetically pleasing environment. It is this integrated presentation of holdings that provides us with the museum experience that we expect. To support the creation of these presentations, museums engage in the gathering, creation, and organization of information about their holdings. In this task, I will discuss how imaging technology has been used, primarily in IBM related projects, to help museums organize and present their holdings. Indeed, some current computer systems may be envisioned as imperfectly presenting digital exhibits. Is the digital museum far behind? The companion talk will feature example images that have served museums in various ways.