In response to the information on digital cameras, make sure you get one
that corresponds to your needs and can take pictures at a high
resolution. One of the key principles of digital imaging of any kind is
making sure you digitize at a high enough resolution so that you do not
have to redigitize the same artifact a few years down the road. To learn
more about digitizing check out Cornell's excellent tutorial at
http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/
. For a great site on choosing a digital camera that suits your needs look at http://www.shortcourses.com/choosing/contents.htm
In response to Carrie's original question, I'd have to say that the most important technological piece over the last few years for many small to mid-sized museums has been the PastPerfect database. Few other products have done more to standardize how we organize and present our data to ourselves and the public. If you're working on a technology plan, however, I think a more pertinent question to ask would be what we think the most important piece of technology will be for museums in the NEXT five years.
Trevor Jones
Project Coordinator
Illinois Digitization Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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At 05:35 PM 4/17/2001 -0400, you wrote:
While working on our technology plan, my fellow committee members and I
>have often wondered what kinds of technology other museums are using, both
>big and small, so here's our 10 million dollar question: What has been
>the most important piece of technology (be it hardware, software,
>information technology, exhibit technology, etc) adopted by your museum in
>the last year? Last five years?
>
>Any kind of response would be helpful as we try to prioritize our museum's
>needs.
>
>Thanks
>Carrie Ronnander -- [log in to unmask]
>Curator of Collections
>Chippewa Valley Museum