-----------------------------------------------------------------------
INFORMATION - THE HIDDEN RESOURCE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Seventh International Conference of the MDA.
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. - 6 - 10 November 1995
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Theme
-----
This conference starts from the premise that museums have four kinds of
information:
 
        * collections
        * buildings
        * staff
        * information
 
>From this perspective, information becomes a key resource to be considered
from a strategic, not just a technical perspective. At the same time,
information technology is gradually transforming our whole understanding of
access.
 
Over the next decade technology will dissolve many of the barriers to access
for museums. Many are eagerly seizing these new opportunities, seeing their
role as information providers in the broadest sense, and involving everyone,
from the Board down, in decisions about information.
 
This conference will bring together experts, users and providers of inform-
ation to share their knowledge and experience to the mutual benefits of all.
 
Audience
--------
 
The conference will be of particular interest to all users of museum inform-
ation including:
 
        * Senior managers
        * Curators
        * Documentation Specialists
        * Education Staff
        * System Designers
        * Exhibition Designers
        * Researchers
 
Structure
---------
 
Following two days of theme related workshops the conference will be spread
over three days.
 
Content
-------
 
Day One:        Constructive appraisal of collections management information
                systems in a selection of museums by a range of users:
                * The Museum Director              * The Curator
                * The Documentation Specialist     * The Education Officer
                * The Public                       * The Researcher
                * The Designer                     * The Auditor
                * The Tourism/Marketing Officer
 
Day Two:        Looks at a variety of issues in the use of information and
                technology. There will be three strands:
 
                1) Technical
 
                   Communicating with and using information
                        i)      On-line databases
                        ii)     Global research via electronic highways
                        iii)    Collaborative databases
                   Issues of Interface
                        iv)     Standards
                        v)      Presenting oral history
                        vi)     Gallery design and interfaces
                   Cognitive aspects of information
                        vii)    The metaphor of the interface
                        viii)   Estimating pre-knowledge
                        ix)     Words and more words
 
                2) Management
 
                   Information and tourism
                        i)      The influence of visitor surveys
                        ii)     Visitor profiling and fund raising manage-
                                ment
                        iii)    Remote kiosks
                        iv)     International museum marketing
                   Information and the management of buildings
                        v)      Information for disaster planning
                        vi)     Maintaining storage locations
                   Cost
                        vii)    The $/ value of information
 
                3) Futuristic
                   Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and
                   electronic surrogates
                        i)      What is an electronic surrogate?
                        ii)     Uses and potential
                   Information for interactives
                        iii)    Using contextual information in interaction
                        iv)     Producing multimedia systems
                        v)      Education and the interactive experience
                        vi)     Remote access to museums
                   The information needs of a historic house
                        vii)    Restoration information
                        viii)   Conservation information
                        ix)     Content management
                        x)      Historical information
                        xi)     Contextual information
                        xii)    Day to day management
                        xiii)   Grounds maintenance
 
Day 3:          Looks at some of the underlying themes from:
 
 
                        * The strategic perspective
                        * Resource allocation
                        * The long term development of skills
 
CALL FOR PAPERS
 
We are looking for people to carry out critical appraisals for day one, or
who wish to present papers during day two or three of the Conference, If
you are interested, please send a provisional title and a 100 word
abstract, together with your contact details, to the address below. The
deadline for proposals is 24 October 1994. Successful speakers will be
expected to provide the full paper (including illustrations) by 1st May
1995.
 
***************************************************************************
 Tony Gill                         e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 Technical Outreach Manager
 Museum Documentation Association
 Lincoln House, 347 Cherry Hinton Road,         Tel:    +44 223 242848
 Cambridge CB1 4DH, UK                          Fax:    +44 223 213575
***************************************************************************