The paper examines the development of expertise and the multidimensional forces at work in the process. A qualitative study involving 12 participants at four museums found that expertise development is a cyclical and fluid process and impacted by content, context, and audience. Two areas comprised the focus of this research: (1) the process of…

The papers in this collection focus on the role of university museums and their organization, management, governance, and finance. The chapters in section 1, "Roles and Challenges," are: (1) "University Museums in the 21st Century--Opening Address" (Lyndel King); (2) "The Dual Role of University Museums: Its Influence on Management" (Vanessa…

This document briefly highlights how the Institution of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) supports all types of libraries and museums in the United States. Short lists of statistics on library connectivity, patrons, school library funding, and reference librarian services, and on museum visitors, museum services, and museum holdings are provided.…

Streaming audio and video present new challenges and opportunities for museums. Streaming media is easier to author and deliver to Internet audiences than ever before; digital video editing is commonplace now that the tools--computers, digital video cameras, and hard drives--are so affordable; the cost of serving video files across the Internet…

This paper describes an electronic guidebook, "Sotto Voce," that enables visitors to share audio information by eavesdropping on each others guidebook activity. The first section discusses the design and implementation of the guidebook device, key aspects of its user interface, the design goals for the audio environment, the eavesdropping…

In the last 5 years, there has been at times heated debate not only about how best to present digital and specifically networked art in an institutional context but also whether to do so at all. Not all of the discussion revolves around issues of physical interfaces to such works, but their onsite presentation is a critical concern for both…

European travel can provide an intimate view of the implements and locales of great discoveries in physics for the knowledgeable traveler. The four museums at Cambridge, London, Remscheid-Lennep, and Munich display a full range of discovery apparatus in modern physics as outlined here. (Author/TS)

Presented are a description of the history of the presidential papers in the United States, the development and functions of the presidential library system, and a brief look at future developments. (39 references) (Author)

The names and addresses of historical farms, villages, museums, and parks in each of the 50 states are listed as resources for introducing students to history. (AM)

Investigates a museum exhibition design assumption that visitors develop conceptual understanding of a science topic after utilizing a cluster of conceptually related exhibits which lack explicit concept labeling. Also investigated whether visitor concept development could be enhanced through the addition of explicit labeling of the intended…

The effect of humor on retention of information was examined at the planetarium at Ohio's Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH. Results showed that the visitors who saw a humorous show retained less of the instructional material and scored lower on the test than the visitors who saw a nonhumorous show. (Author/DKM)

Presents two reports, one from the National Endowment for the Humanities that discusses public-private partnerships, federal-state partnerships, and preservation and access projects, and includes a directory of state humanities councils; and one from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Library Programs that describes state programs,…

Presents the Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections that was developed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services with other organizations to guide museums and libraries in digitization collection practices. Highlights digital collections, digital objects, and metadata, and discusses reusability, persistence,…