Kay ---
 
>I would like to start a discussion on museums and the internet.
 
        This discussion is one that has made the rounds numerous
times on this listserver/newsgroup.  Which is good.  Each time
we have the discussion, the technology has changed and the
possibilities for using the Internet has expanded.  It is an
exciting time.
        The Internet is a medium, just like pencil and paper,
envelopes and stamps, magazines, newspapers and the such.  It
is a medium that may well change our conception of the nature of
information; its ramifications are potentially endless.  Have you
noticed the proliferation of "pay by ATM's" in stores?  Pretty
soon, it seems, money will become more liquid than solid.  ATM's
are part of sophisticated networks that are in some ways similar
to the Internet.
        But a medium only takes you so far.  Museums should not
put the cart before the horse and think that the Internet is some
sort of panacea without even knowing its (rather large) limitations.
More importantly, museums should be aware that the technology should
be subserviant to the message.  Thats is, museums need to figure out
what it is they want to do and say on the Internet first, not the other
way around.  The latest batch of tools to make information on-line
, like the Web and gopher, have the potential to incorporate
sound, video, and images... I expect more integration in the
future.  I am sure more interesting things will be coming down the
Internet pike soon.  Thats part of the excitement, and possibly the
worry.
 
Cheers,
 
Robert Guralnick   | Museum of Paleontology   | University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720 | [log in to unmask] | (510) 642-9696