The results of the questionnaire, hosted on the Museophile discussion forums
website in 2002, on the use of online discussion forums by museum
professionals are now available. See:

Web-based Discussion Groups at Stake:
The Profile of Museum Professionals Online
http://www.museophile.sbu.ac.uk/pub/jpb/mw2003b.pdf

Roxane Bernier (Université de Montréal, Canada) and
Jonathan Bowen (London South Bank University, UK)

Presented at MW2003: Museums and the Web 2003, Charlotte, USA, 19-22 March
2002.
See also a related paper on online museum discussion forums:
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2003/papers/bowen/bowen.html

Abstract

Online forums aim at stimulating debates and reflection on all relevant
cultural topics as well as providing answers for museum professionals
working in specialized areas (e.g., arts, science, natural history,
education, web design). The main objective of this paper is to concentrate
on the relevance of individuals interacting virtually within a knowledge
process from which to judge the value of web-based discussion groups.
However, little is known about how museum-related forums target their
audience and which subjects are of real interest to them. It is worthwhile
exploring the benefits of digital networking, not only to investigate the
resources available, but also to learn if they are an effective practical
experience for professional queries. According to the results of a recent
international survey on web museum forums, the authors have investigated the
sociodemographic profile of users and their preference in terms of
information such as content sought and favourite web-based discussions
(electronic mailing lists, newsgroups and online forums). The outcome of the
collected data should be useful in further binding together the worldwide
museum community as there is great scope for enlivening interactions through
diversified topic areas and therefore help with empowering individual
knowledge in various fields of expertise.

--
Prof. Jonathan Bowen, Professor of Computing
London South Bank University, CISM, Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Email: [log in to unmask]  URL: http://www.sbu.ac.uk/~bowenjp/
Museophile Limited: http://www.museophile.com/
Personal:
Email: [log in to unmask]    URL: http://www.jpbowen.com/

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