Thanks for the links. I appreciate this network greatly. This thread brings to mind metadata and its use with digital media files. I've been using metadata template editor with Adobe Bridge which flows nicely through file systems recognizing various formats and allowing one to batch append metadata to multiple files. Lots of information can fit *around* the file so that before it is even opened/played one may learn alot about its provenance, background (hidden links and info tidbits therein perhaps). Intricate and very interesting to me. Dynamic (meta)data entry. (Are there people hiring to do this type of work?) Is there a standard metadata format used by *most* museums in digital file management? @Tufani ________________________________ @tufani ~ ________________________________ From: Nina Simon <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 5:29:17 PM Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Collection Indexing via Social Media? Dream big, make it happen! I agree with David Lewias that Flickr can be a great system for this kind of thing. Many museums are using it in this way. The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has had some great luck with people in the Flickr community identifying and providing more information about artifacts via photos the institution has posted (see this example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/3229542853/). But it's not all luck. If your institution doesn't have a big "name" on its own, you can't expect knowledgeable people to just discover your images. The way to use Flickr effectively is to tag your images clearly for searchability and reach out to groups of people whose affinity makes them a natural fit for your content. A quick search reveals several Flickr groups related to Oaxacan/Mexican textiles and crafts. Let those people know you need their help. As for your own portal, it's definitely doable but can be expensive. If you want to go in this direction, I recommend you get in touch with David Klevan at the US Holocaust Museum and talk about their Children of the Lodz Ghetto project (http://online.ushmm.org/lodzchildren/), which invites people to do simple database-based research on names. The portal took a lot of resources to design, and even more importantly, it takes a good amount of staff time to shepherd and operate. The nice thing about using a third party community site like Flickr is that you don't have to design the tools or establish the community ethics--those are already dictated by that community. Finally, you can never go too far in rewarding people for their contributions, thanking them, and cheerleading them to continue. As in all participatory endeavors in life, social encouragement is probably the single greatest factor that transforms an occasional or first-time participant into an enthusiastic, committed member of the team. Nina Nina Simon Museum 2.0 - www.museumtwo.com 831.331.5460 [log in to unmask] 1040 Mystery Spot Road Santa Cruz, CA 95065 skype, twitter, flickr, facebook: ninaksimon On Feb 15, 2011, at 6:36 AM, Dan Bartlett wrote: Hello All: > > > >The Logan museum has a collection of over 300 objects, extensive field notes >(hundreds of pages in 5 very thick binders) and (eventually we hope) up to 3000 >images. These are the life’s work of an avocational anthropologist. She >collected textiles, mostly from across Oaxaca, between 1949 and the mid-1990s. >We have been discussing how to process this collection into a unified, indexed >whole. All of the collection objects have been photographed and each page of the >notebooks has been scanned. We would like to create an index linking specific >pages in the notebooks to specific objects in the collection. It would allow >researchers to search for a village name (for example) and get back results >relating that village to specific objects and notebook pages. The index would >eventually be launched on line using our existing collections management >software. > > >One idea is to create a web portal and use the power of social networking to >allow people interested in Oaxacan textiles do the indexing for us. We would >post the materials on line, create a portal and forms for linking key words and >specific objects to notebook pages, and manage the online indexing by engaging >with affinity groups and interested individuals in an environment that allows >participants and museum staff to work together in a social and collaborative >online environment. > > >My question is whether anyone knows of similar indexing projects done either >in-person and in-house, or by way of social networks on line. In either case >what were the strengths and weaknesses of the approach? What advice on setting >up the systems can you give? Are we crazy to even consider this? And thanks to >Nina Simon for the inspiration (or insanity, whichever it is). >Dan >-- >Dan Bartlett >Curator of Exhibits and Education >Instructor of Museum Studies >Logan Museum of Anthropology >Beloit College >========================================================= Important Subscriber >Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . >You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one >line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message >should read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff >Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).