The following section provides examples of ways to make the most of technologies under each of the high level digital objectives.
Promoting access to collections, resources and information
- Digital provides new environments for resources to be made available to the public who can’t or won’t visit museums, libraries and archives themselves
- It enables organisations to bring together resources from within and outside the sector for the public, e.g. Directgov, NHSDirect etc
Deepening participation and empowering the public
- Digital environments allow museums, libraries and archives to experiment with greater user participation and two-way communication. For example, by allowing the public to tag objects, make their own collections and interact with curators, archivists and librarians online
- Digital technologies can empower the public by: letting them conduct their own interpretations of collections and resources, providing staff with additional information, and enabling digital objects to be taken out of museum, archive and library spaces and into the public’s own personal digital spaces
Inspiring learning and sharing knowledge
- The museums, libraries and archives sector can inspire people to get online and develop digital skills through their exciting collections and content
- They can also promote digital skills among the public through facilitated activities and the UK Online centres available in public libraries
- Once online, the sector can create a variety of exciting, interactive learning resources that will inspire teachers and learners of all ages, give them a new perspective on collections and make them feel truly involved
- Online environments also provide excellent opportunities for museums, libraries and archives to communicate with other experts and professionals to enhance their understanding of their collections and also tap into the amateur expertise that exist online
Collections care and management
- Digital environments provide new opportunities and challenges for collections care and management, from new collecting strategies and new ways of virtually reconstructing objects, to the digital preservation expertise that needs to be developed to manage these new collections
Promoting Efficiency
- Digital technologies can provide more cost-effective and integrated business processes, resulting in greater efficiencies e.g freeing up staff from administrative tasks so that they can engage in other activities
- Remote access can reduce space needed for housing resources enabling it to be freed up for other purposes
Extended outreach, visibility and profile for the sector
- Digital environments provide excellent opportunities for museums, libraries and archives to market their services. However, creating a website is not necessarily the best or most effective way to market services. Collaborating with an online aggregator or directory service will get the message out to many more people.
- Digital activities can join the sector up with other organisations in the geographical area to promote tourism and raise the profile of the area.
In order to maximise these benefits, MLA has developed a number of digital values and principles which guide the digital activities that we fund.