The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) (www.chin.gc.ca) has
recently undertaken a study of free automatic translation tools available
on the Web. The full report will be available shortly on the Web site, in
both English and French, under "Creating and Managing Digital Content" -
see: Web Site Development. Briefly, the results indicate that although some
of the tools produce translations that can be understood, the relatively
poor quality of the translations could reflect badly on museums if they
were used for information that would remain on the site indefinitely.
Furthermore, the software only translates what is visible on the screen,
thus excluding pop-ups. This, of course, limits access to a site by people
with visual impairments.

The report suggests providing a link from a museums's Web site to automatic
translation tools, allowing a site visitor to decide whether to use them.
This could be particularly useful for somewhat ephemeral information, such
as descriptions of temporary exhibitions or of one-time events.

Wendy Thomas
Professional Programs
Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN)
www.chin.gc.ca

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