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Page 1: NMC Horizon Report > 2011 Museum Edition · The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition is a coproduction with the Marcus Institute for Digital Education in the Arts (MIDEA), and

Horizon Report > 2011 Museum EditionNMC

Page 2: NMC Horizon Report > 2011 Museum Edition · The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition is a coproduction with the Marcus Institute for Digital Education in the Arts (MIDEA), and

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition is a coproduction with the Marcus Institute for Digital Education in the Arts (MIDEA), and examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in education and interpretation within the museum environment.

Page 3: NMC Horizon Report > 2011 Museum Edition · The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition is a coproduction with the Marcus Institute for Digital Education in the Arts (MIDEA), and

1

Executive Summary 3

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less> Mobile Apps 10> Tablet Computing 14

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years > Augmented Reality 18> Electronic Publishing 22

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years> Digital Preservation 26> Smart Objects 30

Methodology 34

The NMC Horizon Project: 2011 Museum Advisory Board 36

Contents >Clickonatopicorpagenumbertojumptothatpage.

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NMC

The Edward and Betty Marcus Institute for Digital Education in the

Arts (MIDEA) provides timely, succinct and practical knowledge

aboutemergingtechnologiesthatmuseumscanusetoadvancetheir

missions.Learnmoreatmidea.nmc.org

©2011,TheNewMediaConsortium.

ISBN978-0-9846601-1-7

PermissionisgrantedunderaCreativeCommonsAttributionLicenseto

replicate,copy,distribute,transmit,oradaptthisreportfreelyprovided

thatattributionisprovidedasillustratedinthecitationbelow.Toview

a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or

sendalettertoCreativeCommons,559NathanAbbottWay,Stanford,

California94305,USA.

Citation

Johnson,L.,Adams,S.,andWitchey,H.(2011).

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition. Austin,Texas:The New

MediaConsortium.

Cover photograph

©wxin/123RF

InsideFront and Back Cover Photograph

©globalphoto/123RF

Designbyemgusa.com

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition isapublicationoftheNewMediaConsortiumandtheMarcusInstituteforDigitalEducationintheArts.

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he internationally recognized series of NMC Horizon Reports are part of the New MediaConsortium’s Horizon Project, a comprehensiveresearch venture established in 2002 thatidentifies and describes emerging technologies

likely to have a large impact over the coming fiveyears in a variety of sectors around the globe. Thisvolume, the NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition, isacoproductionwiththeMarcusInstituteforDigital Education in the Arts (MIDEA), and examinesemerging technologies for their potential impact onand use in education and interpretation within themuseum environment. The hope is that the report isuseful to museums worldwide, and the internationalcompositionoftheadvisoryboardreflectsthecarewithwhichaglobalperspectivewasassembled.Whilethereare many local factors affecting the adoption and useof emerging technologies in museums, there are alsoissuesthattranscendregionalboundariesandquestionsweallface.Itwaswiththeseinmindthatthisreportwascreated.TheNMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Editionis the second in an annual series of museum-focusedreportscoproducedbytheNMCandMIDEA.

Tocreatethereport,aninternationalbodyofexpertsinmuseums,education,technology,andotherfieldswasconvenedasanadvisoryboard.Thegroupengagedindiscussionsaroundasetofresearchquestionsintendedto surface significant trends and challenges and toidentify a wide array of potential technologies for thereport. This dialog was enriched by a wide range ofresources,current research,andpractice thatdrewonthe expertise of both the NMC community and thecommunities of the members of the advisory board.These interactions among the advisory board are thefocus of the NMC Horizon Report research, and thisreportdetailstheareasinwhichtheseexpertswereinstrongagreement.

Each edition of the NMC Horizon Report highlights sixemerging technologies or practices that are likely toenter mainstream use within three adoption horizonsoverthenextfiveyears.Keytrendsandchallengesthatwillaffectcurrentpracticeoverthesameperiodframethesediscussions.Overthecourseofjustafewweeks,theadvisoryboardcametoaconsensusaboutthesixtopicsthatappearhereintheNMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition.Theexamplesandreadingsundereach

topic area are meant to provide practical models aswellasaccess tomoredetailed information.Whereverpossible,aneffortwasmadetohighlighttheinnovativeworkgoingonamongmuseumsaroundtheworld.Thepreciseresearchmethodologyemployedisdetailedintheclosingsectionofthisreport.

Thereport’sformatisconsistentfromyeartoyearandedition to edition, and opens with a discussion of thetrendsandchallengesidentifiedbytheadvisoryboardas most important for the next five years.The formatof the main section of this edition closely reflects thefocus of the NMC Horizon Project itself, centering ontheapplicationsofemergingtechnologies,inthiscaseformuseumsettings.Eachsectionisintroducedwithan

ExecutiveSummary

3

TEach edition of the NMC Horizon Report highlights six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use within three adoption horizons over the next five years.

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overviewthatdescribeswhatthetopic is, followedbyadiscussionoftheparticularrelevanceofthetopictomuseumeducationandinterpretation.Severalconcreteexamples of how the technology is being used aregiven. Finally, each section closes with an annotatedlistofsuggestedreadingsandadditionalexamplesthatexpandonthediscussioninthereport.Theseresources,along with countless other helpful projects andreadings,canallbefoundintheglobal,socialdatabase—theNMCHorizonProjectNavigator (navigator.nmc.org).AlltheephemeraoftheNMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition, including the research questions andpreview,canbedownloaded for freeon iTunesU (go.nmc.org/itunes-u).

Key TrendsThe technologies featured in each edition of the NMCHorizon Report are embedded within a contemporarycontextthatreflectstherealitiesofthetime,bothinthesphereofmuseumeducationandintheworldatlarge.Toassurethiscontextwaswellunderstood,theadvisoryboard engaged in an extensive review of currentarticles,interviews,papers,andnewresearchtoidentifyand rank trends that were currently affecting thepracticeofmuseumeducationandinterpretation.Oncedetailed, the list of trends was then ranked accordingtohowsignificanteachwaslikelytobeformuseumsinthenextfiveyears.Thehighestrankedofthosetrendshad significant agreement among the advisory boardmembers, who considered them to be key drivers ofmuseum technology adoptions for the period 2011through2016.Theyarelistedhereintheorderinwhichtheadvisoryboardrankedthem.

1 Increasingly, visitors and staff expect a seamless experience across devices.Whetherviewingobjects

ingalleryspaces,orderingtickets, interactingwiththeonlinestore,orsimplybrowsingthemuseum’swebsite,visitors expect museums to provide a wide range ofdigitalresourcesandcontent,andwanttheexperienceofinteractingwiththatcontenttobeconsistentacrosstheirdevices.Virtualvisitors inparticularexpect tobeable toperformtypical tasksonlinequicklyandeasilyirrespectiveofthedevicetheymayhaveathand—butthis is especially true of visitors to the physical spaceas well, where it is common to see people interacting

withtheirsmartphonesastheydecidewhichpartofthegallerytovisitnext.

2 Collection-related rich media are becoming increasingly valuable assets in digital

interpretation. Museums are beginning to see thevalueindevelopingformalstrategiesforcapturinghigh-quality media documentation at every opportunity.Curators and content specialists are working moreclosely than ever with educators and technologists toembrace the opportunities provided by using digitalresourcestoenhancemultimodallearningbothonlineand in the galleries. Video, audio, and animations areno longer seen as afterthoughts in interpretationbut increasingly as necessary components of aninterpretive plan. This trend is beneficial to museumprofessionalsandvisitorsalikeasitencouragesadeeperunderstandingofobjects,ideas,andaudiences.

3 The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is

increasingly challenging us to revisit our roles as educators. Accesstoeducationalmaterialsofallkindshas never been so easy or so open as it is today, andthistrendisonlyincreasing.Themodelofthemuseumcuratorormuseumeducatorwhostandsinfrontofanobjectandinterpretsmeaningforapassiveaudienceissimplynolongerrealisticinthisworldofinstantaccess.Museum professionals must respond by changingtheirrolestoreflectthenewneedtoguideandcoachvisitors in finding, interpreting, and making their ownconnections with collections and ideas. Museums arealso more willing now to see themselves as learners,takingadvantageofuser-generatedcontenttoenhancetheoverallunderstandingofcollections.

4 There is a growing chorus of voices advocating a more active role for visitors in shaping what

museums do.Aspeoplebecomeaccustomedtotoolsthatallowthemtodothingsthatpreviouslyrequiredagreatdealofexpertise(i.e.,videoediting,orpublishingtotheweb),theybegintoappreciatethecreativeskillsinvolvedinactuallyproducingscienceorartorthelike.“Makers”areanemergingcategoryofmuseumvisitors,especiallyforsciencemuseums,whowanttonotonlyappreciatewhattheyseeintechnical,historicalorother

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contexts, but to also understand how it was created.“Maker”experiences,whichengagevisitorsofallagesin individual and collective experiences of tinkering,making,anddiscoveryareagrowingtrend,andthereisaroleforallcategoriesofmuseumsinsupportingandencouragingsuchexperiences.

5 Digitization and cataloging projects continue to require a significant share of museum resources.

Museums are distinguished by the content they keepand interpret. There is an increasing understandingamong museum professionals that visitors expectto be able to readily access accurate and interestinginformation and high-quality media. This requiresmuseums to plan strategically for the digitization andcataloging of collections. These projects frequentlyrequire sacrifices in terms of scarce resources (money,personnel,andtime)inordertomeetlong-termgoals.

6 Expectations for civic and social engagement are profoundly changing museums’ scope, reach, and

relationships. Moreandmore,museumsareintegratingemerging technologies and approaches such as socialmedia, open content, and crowd sourcing as a meansof engaging their communities both internally andexternallyonadeeperlevel.Embracingtheseinnovationsmeans that museums are providing patrons with moreimmersive opportunities to become part of the art.Increasingly,peoplewhoareunabletomakeaphysicaltrip to a museum are able to access its collections andrespond and contribute meaningfully to conversationsabout what may be happening in the physical space,redefiningwhatitmeanstobeamuseumpatron.

Significant ChallengesAny discussion of technology adoption must alsoconsider important constraints and challenges, andtheadvisoryboard drewdeeplyfromacarefulanalysisof current events, papers, articles, and similar sources,aswellasfrompersonalexperienceindetailingalonglist of challenges museums face in adopting any newtechnology. Several important challenges are detailedbelow, but it was clear that behind them all was apervasive sense that individual museum constraintsarelikelythemostimportantfactorsinanydecisiontoadopt—ornottoadopt—agiventechnology.

Even institutions that are eager to adopt newtechnologies may be critically constrained by thelack of necessary human resources and the financialwherewithal to realize their ideas. Still others arelocated within buildings that simply weren’t designedto provide the radio frequency transparency thatwirelesstechnologiesrequire,andthusfindthemselvesshut out of many potential technology options.Whileacknowledging that local barriers to technologyadoptionsaremanyandsignificant,theadvisoryboardfocuseditsdiscussionsonchallengesthatarecommontomuseumsandthemuseumcommunityasawhole.Thehighestrankedchallengestheyidentifiedarelistedhere, in the order in which the advisory board rankedthem.

1 Content production has failed to keep up with technology in an era when audiences expect to

consume information whenever and wherever they want. Museums too often face additional costs torepurposeinformationcreatedformuseumcatalogsorevenwebsitesastheytrytomeetdemandsofcontentfromthegrowingarrayofpotentialmediaformats.Itisnotenoughtodayforamuseumtoputcontentintowebandprintforms—alsoneededareelectronicversionsofmajorpublicationscraftedforKindles, iPadsandotherelectronic publication readers. Added to that is theneed for social media content, which is often in shortvideoformat,orshortmultimediapieces.Thechallenge,one that faces content producers in every sector, notjustmuseums,istorevampproductionworkflowsandcontent licenses so that they simultaneously supportanypossibleuse.Thepressureonmuseumstodothiswill increaseasthecommercialpublisherscontinuetosolvetheirownsimilarissues,creatingexpectationsforotherpartsoftheeconomy,includingmuseums.

2 A comprehensive digital strategy has become a critically important part of planning for long-

term institutional sustainability. Such a strategyshould include not only traditional elements of atechnologyplan(e.g.,hardware,software,networks,etc.)but also e-forms of marketing, philanthropy, revenuegeneration,aswellascriticaltaskslikedigitization,digitalpreservation,andlongtermtechnologyinfrastructure.This plan should“future-proof” the museum to every

5ExecutiveSummary

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extentpossible,byensuringthattheyhaveaccountedforallinfrastructureneeds.Additionally,itisclearthatamuseumcannotsimplyplanawebpresenceasitmighta brochure or catalog — a museum’s digital presencetoday includes not only a web site, but also socialmedia, mobile tools and apps, interaction with onlinecommunities, electronic fundraising, online sales, andmuchmore.Allmustbeaddressed,whichmeansnewskillsetswilloftenberequired.

3 Funding for technology projects, even those for interpretation and exhibition, continues to

fall outside core operational budgets. The recentrecession virtually brought to an end what had beena promising trend in museums allocating ongoingoperationalfunds(asopposedtocapitalorprojectfunds)forbothexperimentalandongoingtechnologyprojects.Museums need institutionalized strategic planninginitiativesfortechnologyinfrastructureandtechnology-relatedprojects,andinformationtechnologystaffneedbetter skills and opportunities to communicate theimportance of a proper digital strategy. Open lines ofcommunicationandacommonvocabularymightgiveadministratorsaclearerunderstandingofexactlywhatshould be operationalized rather than left to projectfunds.

4 Boards of Trustees and executive management too often do not recognize the importance of

technology in generating financial or mission return on investment. Integratingandrecognizingtheroleoftechnologyingarneringvisitors,keepingtheirinterest,and in financial support of the enterprise is criticalto every museum’s success in the world today. Thereis a prominent fear amongst Boards of Trustees andexecutivemanagementteamsthatthecostofinvestingin emerging technologies (training, implementation,etc.)willnotberepaid.However,practicalandcreativeapplications such as distance learning courses, digitalcollections,apps,andmorehave theprovenability togenerate new audiences and potential new revenuestreams — and the costs of training are falling at thesametimeasnew,easier-to-usedevicesbecomemorethenorm.

5 In many cases, museums may not have the necessary technical infrastructure in place to

realize their vision for digital learning. IntheUnitedStatesalonetherearecloseto17,000 institutionsthatself-identify as museums; many of these institutionshavefewstaffandfewerresources.Whileitispracticallyimpossiblenottorecognizethevalueofdigitallearningin today’s connected world, the reality for museumsis that the vast majority of institutions do not havethe necessary technical infrastructure to successfullypursue goals for digital learning, and often have littletimetodedicatetoarticulating,muchlessrealizingtheirvision. Museums that do have resources may have tochooseto reallocate funds fromnon-digitaleducationefforts in order to implement the necessary technicalinfrastructure.

6 Greater understanding is needed of the relationships, differences, and synergies

between technology intended to be used within the museum and public-facing technology such as websites, social media, and mobile apps. Toofew in museum administration see the opportunitiesthat virtual museum visitors might be bringing forfundraising, philanthropy, and specialized marketing.The dichotomy between the physical and virtualmuseumvisitorisblurringrapidly,andbothaudienceshavehighexpectationswithregardtoonlineaccesstoservicesandinformation.Still,thenotionthatmuseumsmustprovidecomprehensiveinformationandservicesonline is a genuine challenge, especially for smallermuseums. For larger institutions, however, providingsuch services has risen to an expectation from thevisitingpublic.

7 Improving the ability to measure impact using new digital technologies is a largely unmet

but critical need. Museums are good at traditionalprogram evaluation, but determining the impact ofnewtechnologiesonknowledge,attitudes,andskillsismorechallenging,especiallywhenmuseumeducatorsareattemptingtomeasurethesuccessoftechnologiesthat may be as yet unfamiliar to them. At the sametime,thereisalsoabitofthe“chickenandtheegg”inunderstanding the rapidly changing technologicalenvironment. A balance must be struck between

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trying new things, and the very prudent and sensibledesire to invest in proven strategies. There must bedemonstrationprojectstoevaluate;insomecases,thedata to establish efficacy are simply not yet available,andothercriteria,suchasadesiretobefirsttomarketwithanewidea,mustbeallowedroominthedecisionframework.These trends and challenges are a reflection of theimpact of technology in almost every aspect of ourlives.Theyareindicativeofthechangingnatureofthewaywecommunicate,accessinformation,connectwithpeers and colleagues, learn, and even socialize.TakentogetherinthecontextoftheHorizonProjectresearch,they provided the advisory board a frame throughwhich to consider the potential impacts of nearly 50emergingtechnologiesandrelatedpracticesthatwereanalyzed and discussed for potential inclusion in thiseditionoftheHorizon Report.Sixofthosewerechosenaskey;theyaresummarizedbelowanddetailedinthemainbodyofthereport.

Technologies to Watch The six technologies featured in the NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition are placed along threeadoption horizons that indicate likely time framesfor their entrance into mainstream use for museumeducation and interpretation. The near-term horizonassumesthelikelihoodofentryintothemainstreamformuseumswithinthenexttwelvemonths;themid-termhorizon, within two to three years; and the far-term,withinfourtofiveyears.ItshouldbenotedattheoutsetthattheNMCHorizon Reportisnotapredictivetool.Itismeant,rather,tohighlightemergingtechnologieswithconsiderablepotentialforourfocusareasofeducationandinterpretation.Eachofthesixisalreadythetargetofworkatanumberofinnovativeorganizationsaroundtheworld,andtheprojectsweshowcasehererevealthepromiseofawiderimpact.

Near-term HorizonOn the near-term horizon — that is, within the next12months—aremobileappsand tablets.These twotopicshavebecomepervasiveineverydaylife,atleastin the developed world, and museum audiences haveever-increasingexpectationsofbeingableto learnon

these devices whenever and wherever they may be.Thisyear,forthefirsttime,tabletshavebeenseparatedfrommobilesasadistinctcategory,preservingmobilesasacategoryfortypicalhand-helddevicesdesignedtomakecalls.

> Mobile Apps are the most relevant features ofmobiles for museums right now. Mobiles appearedonthenear-termhorizonintheNMC Horizon Report: 2010 Museum Edition, with an emphasis on always-connected Internet devices using 3G and similarcellularnetworks.Thisyear, thedriving interest is in“apps” — particularly apps that take advantage ofrecentdevelopmentsinlocationawarenessandGPS.Museumsandgalleriesarenowabletodesignmobileexperiencestailoredtothephysicallocationoftheirvisitors.Theintroductionofnearfieldcommunication(NFC) capabilities to some new mobile devicesensures that this technology will remain interestingforsometime.

> Tablets present new opportunities to enhance in-and out-of-gallery experiences in ways simply notpossiblewithotherdevices.High-resolutionscreensallowusersoftabletssuchastheiPadtoeasilysharecontent with each other and pore over images andvideosonthescreen.Aspeopletendtousetabletstosupplementandnotreplacesmartphones,tabletsareviewedaslessdisruptivetools—nophoneringing,no incoming text messages, etc. — which makesthemidealtoolsforlearningopportunities.Docents,for example, are beginning to use tablets on smallgrouptoursinsteadofrelyingoninformationkiosks,andmuseumsareexperimentingwithiPadappsthatarechild-friendlyforfamilydays.

Mid-term HorizonThesecondadoptionhorizonissettwotothreeyearsout,wherewewillbegintoseewidespreadadoptionsof two technologies that are growing in popularitywithin the museum community: augmented realityandelectronicpublishing.Museumeducatorsarguablyhavealwaysbeeninthebusinessofaugmentingreality,creating bridges between objects, ideas, and visitors,but augmented reality technologies are now allowingthis to happen more fluidly and easily than ever.

7ExecutiveSummary

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Electronicpublishingallowsmuseumstosharecontentwith their patrons while reaching an entirely differentaudience. By establishing e-publishing workflows,museums can easily update their e-books and releasedifferentversionsofpublicationswithouthavingtogothroughthecostlyandarduousprintcycle.

> Augmented Reality has become somethinganyonecanuse, thanks to theconvergenceof threetechnologies — GPS, video, and pattern recognition— and the application opportunities seem endless.Already on a path of convergence with mobiletechnology, augmented reality is not bound to thedesktop,butisalsoaportabletoolfordiscovery-basedlearning that can enhance the information availabletopatronswhenvisitinggalleries,exploringoutdoorinstallations,orinteractingwithreal-worldobjects.

> Electronic Publishing has fostered both newopportunitiesandnewchallengesformuseums.NewdigitalformatssuchasHTML5areenablingmuseumsto disseminate dynamic, multimedia content acrossa wide variety of devices, alleviating the timeand resources it takes to create multiple formats.Museums are increasingly expected to experimentwiththesenewforms,andwiththesortsofpublishingworkflowsthatarepartofthecommercialpublishingworld.

Far-term HorizonOnthefar-termhorizon,setatfourtofiveyearsawayfrom widespread adoption, are digital preservationand smart objects. For years, museum professionals

havebeenexploringwaystoconservedigitalobjectsanddocumentsthatareinperilofbecomingobsolete,due to rapidly changing technologies. While thetheory of digital preservation is increasingly wellestablished,thepracticeisslowintakingrootamong

cultural heritage institutions. Smart objects — themechanismsbehindVintCerf’s“InternetofThings”—arealreadywellestablished inthecommercialsectorand range along a continuum from QR codes on thesimplest end to near field communication (NFC) onthemorecomplexend.Theentirespectrumhasclearapplications for museums, and it is only a matter oftime before the Internet ofThings begins to includeobjects in museum collections. These technologytopics do not yet have well documented projectexamples or museum-specific research, but the highlevelofinterestfoundinbothareasindicatesthattheyareworthfollowingclosely.

> Digital Preservation is not a new subject, butits systematic application in practice is. A gooddeal of research in the 1990s served to provide asolid theoretical basis for the field, but museumprofessionals still face major challenges in not onlykeeping up with technology as it evolves, but alsoin taking steps to “future-proof” digital objects,documents, and works of art. Over the next fiveyears,asmoreprofessionalsbecomebettereducatedin this area of conservation, museums will begin tosystematically incorporate preservation metadatawhen they digitize their collections, so that eachpiece of digital content is supported by importantdetailsthatwillfacilitateitslong-termpreservation.

> Smart Objects are a category of small devices ormethodsthatenablethreethings:first,theyallowanobjecttobeassignedauniqueidentifier;second,theyareabletoattachsmallbitsofinformation,suchasitsage, shelf life, environmental data like temperatureor humidity, and much more. Third, they are ableto communicate the status of that information ondemand, whether optically or via electromagneticfrequencies. Advancements in smart objecttechnology are bringing very low cost sensors andproximity-basedcommunications intothespotlight.Asthesenewmicro-devicesbecomecommonplace,museums will be able to easily monitor conditionsin the gallery, in storage, and in real time. Smartobjecttechnologyisbecomingmoreintegratedwithmobilephones,andtheecommercepotentialofnearfieldcommunicationwillallowvisitorstoseamlessly

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition8

Digital preservation is not a new subject, but its systematic application in practice is.

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make a purchase from the gift shop, and even have it shipped home with a click on their NFC-enabled mobiles.

Each of these technologies is described in detail in the main body of the report, where a discussion of what the technology is and why it is relevant to museum education and interpretation may also be found. Given the practical focus of the report, a listing of examples of the technology in use, especially in museums, is a key component of each of the six main topics. Our research indicates that all six of these technologies, taken together, will have a significant impact on museums and other cultural institutions within the next five years.

The NMC Horizon Project Since March 2002, under the banner of the NMC Horizon Project, the New Media Consortium has held an ongoing series of conversations and dialogs with hundreds of technology professionals, campus technologists, faculty leaders from colleges and universities, museum professionals, teachers and other school professionals, and representatives of leading corporations from dozens of countries. In the ensuing years, these conversations have provided the insights on emerging technology that are published annually in the NMC Horizon Report series.

In 2008, the NMC embarked on a new series of regional and sector-based companion editions of the NMC Horizon Report, with the dual goals of understanding how technology is being absorbed using a smaller lens, and also noting the contrasts between technology use in one area compared to another. This report, the NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition, is the second in the series focusing on museum education and interpretation. To date, companion editions have been prepared that center on Australia and New Zealand, tertiary education in the UK, Iberoamerica, the K-12 sector, and small- to medium-sized businesses. The flagship NMC Horizon Report, focused on higher education, is translated into multiple languages every year. Over all editions, the readership of the reports is estimated at more than one million worldwide, with readers in some 100 countries.

Like the university-focused effort from which it emerged, the museum project used qualitative research methods to identify the technologies selected for inclusion in the report. The process began with a survey of the work of other organizations, a close examination of topics previously detailed in the NMC Horizon Report series, and a review of the literature with an eye toward spotting interesting emerging technologies.

The 42 members of this year’s advisory board were purposely chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the museum sector; key writers and thinkers from education, business and industry rounded out the group. They engaged in a comprehensive review and analysis of research, articles, papers, blogs, and interviews; discussed existing applications, and brainstormed new ones; and ultimately ranked the items on the list of candidate technologies for their potential relevance to museum education and interpretation. This work took place entirely online and may be reviewed on the project wiki at museum.wiki.nmc.org.

The effort to produce the NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition began in August 2011 and concluded when the report was released in November 2011, a period of just over four months. The six technologies and applications that emerged at the top of the final rankings — two per adoption horizon — are detailed in the chapters that follow.

Each of those chapters includes detailed descriptions, links to active demonstration projects, and a wide array of additional resources related to the six profiled technologies. Those profiles are the heart of the NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition, and will fuel the work of the NMC Horizon Project throughout 2011-2012. For those wanting to know more about the processes used to generate the NMC Horizon Report series, many of which are ongoing and extend the work in the reports, we refer you to the report’s final section on the research methodology.

9Executive Summary

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obile phones — distinct from new sorts of larger format mobile devices such as tablets — have as a category proven more interesting and more capable with each passing year. According to a report

from mobile manufacturer Ericsson, by 2015 80% of people accessing the Internet worldwide will be doing so from a mobile device. At the 2011 Mobile World Congress, Google CEO Eric Schmidt noted that for every baby born that year, 30 Android phones would be activated. Mobiles are becoming better understood by museums; there has been a significant amount of time spent finding creative ways to incorporate them both in the physical space and as a tool to help patrons stay connected to exhibits from a distance. As museums become more adept at developing and using mobile apps, their utility and pervasiveness is only due to increase. Current examples of mobile apps used in museums span functions from interpretation and education, to marketing and promotion, to specialized apps tied to specific exhibitions.

Overview Over 1.2 billion new phones are produced every yearin what has proven to be an unprecedented flowof continuous enhancement and innovation in thecapabilities of handheld devices. With each passingyear, mobiles have become more convenient, morepowerful, and more useful; their communicationcapabilities include the Internet, multimedia, games,sensor and motion technologies, and locationawareness. An outgrowth of this explosion of newdevices is that museum visitors expect to be able tousethemanywhere—includingthepublicspacesandgalleries at museums. Indeed, practically every visitorwho walks into a museum or gallery today is carryingasmartphone.

The new classes of mobiles are increasingly “always-connected”devicesthatmakeaccessingwebresourceson the Internet as simple as sending a text message,and it was their ability to seamlessly connect via 3Gand similar cellular networks that placed them on thenear-term horizon in last year’s report.This year, theyreappearbecausetheircapabilitiesarebeingexpandedingeometrictermsthroughtheproliferationofmobileapplications—“apps”—thatextendthecapabilityandutilityofmobilesinaseeminglyinfinitevariety.

Distinct from tablets such as the iPad and SamsungGalaxy,mobilesareinmanywaysamaturetechnology,but they keep evolving and converging with otherdevices. Museum professionals have long exploredcreative applications of mobiles, at times lamentingtherelativelysmallscreens,butrecognizingthathigherresolution displays have alleviated much of the earlyconcerns related to screen size. With the advent ofapps, there has been a burst of truly creative energyas museums use mobiles to extend the museumexperience to locations both within and beyond thegallery. The ease with which a developer can accesstoolslikevideo,locationsensing,motionawareness,andmore is generating a wide variety of museum-specificapplicationsthatareverydifferentthanthetraditionalaudio tour. One of the earliest of these, “Streets ofLondon,”alloweduserstotakeavideoofalocationandsee historical facts, photos, and more overlaid on thescreenatlocationsalloverthecity.

Newappsareusinglocationawarenesstoreachouttopatrons who may be nearby the museum, at a coffeeshop or other location, to let them know about newexhibits or other timely news. A new collaborationbetween Google and the Getty museums uses thephotographic and search capabilities of mobiles toprovideusersasimplewaytoaccessandsavedetailed

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition10

MobileAppsTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

M

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Apps that utilize location awareness help personalizetheexperiencefortheuser,providinginsightandnewinformation around every corner. The PowerhouseMuseumrecentlylaunchedaprojecttobuildanindoormobile app with location-based tracking (go.nmc.org/xdeke) that will deliver customized content to visitorsbased on their location, as well as providing spatialanalytics to the museum for consideration when theyplantheirnextexhibits.

Though many museums now have several years ofexperiencewithmobilesbehindthem,thetechnologycontinues to evolve rapidly. Most museums are stillexperimentingwithwaystoutilizemobileapps,evenas

otherindustrieshavefoundmyriadwaystodoso.  Theemergenceofawidevarietyofapps,alongwithsomenotably creative initial experiences, have opened thethinking in many museums to the potential of thedevice for other sorts of experiences beyond simplyaccessing deeper information about an exhibition orobject. Museums need strategies for mobile content,just as they have strategies in place for use of thegalleries, programming, marketing, and web content.Intheshortterm,museumsmaystruggletofindgooddevelopersconversantinthepotentialofmobiles,butone thing is clear: the more robust mobile devicesandappsbecome,themoreimportanttheywillbeformuseums.

A sampling of mobile applications includes thefollowing:

> Education and Interpretation. Mobile gamesare increasingly seen as an engaging way to fosterlearningexperiencesoutsidethemuseumthatrelateto current exhibits or collections therein. The first

11Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

background information by taking a photo of apainting,sculpture,orotherartwork.Similarly,theappcantranslatewalllabelsfromaphotoaswell.Theapp,“Google Goggles,” is free, and currently includes morethan350piecesofart.

Relevance for Museum Education and InterpretationConversations surrounding mobiles and the utilityof smartphones for museums are often less aboutthe devices themselves and more about the varietyof content and services that they deliver. The rangeof technologies converging in mobile devices is verybroad, as is the variety of ways they can be applied:GPS and compasses allow sophisticated location andpositioning;accelerometersandmotionsensorsenablecompletelynewformsofcontrolandinteraction;digitalcaptureandeditingbringrichtoolsforhigh-resolutionvideo,audio,andimagecaptureandevenediting.Moreandmore,mobileappsmakeuseofallthistechnology,and the apps that museums are creating are noexception.

Overthepastcoupleofyears,museumshaveprimarilyseen mobile apps as serving one of two purposes: toprovidesupplemental informationaboutanexhibitorthe museum itself; or as a mobile guide through thecollectionorgalleryspace.Bothserveasextensionsofthephysicalspace;creatingopportunitiesforpeopletobecomepatronsnomatterwheretheymaybe.Muséedu Louvre’s free iPhone app is a good example of anappthatcontainsextremelydetailedinformationaboutmanyoftheirexhibits,andincludesrobustimages(go.nmc.org/gddts). Not only is it informative, but it alsoserves as compelling promotion for people to visit.London National Gallery’s app (go.nmc.org/vnzvd)allows users to browse by artistic themes, includinglightandvanity,andcontains250videoandaudioclips.

Museumsarejustbeginningtoexplorewaystoweaveinmoreinteractiveandsocialfeatures,likeallowinguserstorecommendspecificcollectionsorworksofarttotheirfriends.Whilemuchemphasishasbeenplacedonappsthat expand the experience outside of the museum,there has also been considerable thought on how touse them in-gallery, especially in science museums.

As museums become more adept at developing and using mobile apps, their utility and pervasiveness is only due to increase.

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foraysintothishavetypicallyused“Scavengr,”whichis a tool for developing quests or alternate realitygames,toextendthemuseumbeyonditswalls.

> Exhibits and Collections. Museums are exploringhowmobilescanbeusedtoestablishandrecognizethe identity of visitors and provide location-basedservices that anticipate the wants and needs of

visitors, such as allowing them access to additionalcontent, or even simple tasks such as makingpaymentsorfindingtheirwaytoanexhibit.

> Marketing and Communications. Multimedia mobileappshavebecomeanincreasinglyusefultacticto promote a new collection or wing of a museum.They offer a more interactive peek at what’s new todriveinterestincurrentandprospectivepatrons,andultimately, more traffic to their physical spaces. The“Explorer” app by the American Museum of NaturalHistory,forexample,iscomprisedofallthemuseum’scollections and provides users with recommendedtours.

Mobile Apps in PracticeThefollowinglinksprovideexamplesofmobileappsinuseinmuseumsettings.

Balboa Park’s Mobile Apps go.nmc.org/zievxBalboa Park’s collection of mobile apps containseverything from turn-by-turn directions to immersiveadventure games. Using location awareness, the“BalboaParkontheMeridian”appguidesuserstoothersimilarculturaldestinationsaroundtheU.S.

Explore 9/11 go.nmc.org/ehhkfThis app from the National September 11th MemorialandMuseumisamobileguidetounderstanding9/11through the eyes of those who witnessed it.The appfeaturesasevenstopwalkingtourof theareaaroundthe World Trade Center, accompanied by audio andphotonarration.

Mobile Guide go.nmc.org/lcqmeAided by the IMLS Museums for America grant, TheNelson-Atkins Museum of Art created a mobile-optimized website that allows users to more easilybrowsecollectionsandotherpertinentinformationontheirsmartphones.

MuseumMobile go.nmc.org/efgzfAn outgrowth ofTate Modern’s Handheld ConferenceWiki, The MuseumMobile Wiki is a free, public spacefor museum professionals to share best practices andnewideasontheuseofmobiles.Italsoincludeshelpful“MobileInterpretation&Strategy”worksheets.

A Picture Worth a Thousand Linksgo.nmc.org/urtlu“GoogleGoggles”haspartneredwiththeGettyMuseumstoenablevisitorstosnappicturesofpaintingsontheirsmartphones to access insightful information on thework of art. This new tool is intended to supplementaudioguides.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreaboutmobiles.

Mobile for Museumsgo.nmc.org/tnltm(Sharon Leon, George Mason University, 2010.) ThedirectorofpublicprojectsattheCenterforHistoryandNewMediaassessesthecurrentstateofthemobileformuseums field.The article also makes research-basedsuggestions for museum professionals consideringmobileintegration.

With the advent of apps, there has been a burst of truly creative energy as museums use mobiles to extend the museum experience to locations both within and beyond the gallery.

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Mobile Media for Cultural and Historical Heritage, Guidelines and Pilot Projectsgo.nmc.org/jokod(JasperVisser,TheMuseumoftheFuture,2May2010.)Thisblogpostdescribessomeguidelines formuseumstaff to consider when planning a mobile project.Theguidelines emerged from a brainstorming meetingof theEuropeanstaff fromDutchDigitalHeritage, theDutch Museum Association, the Stedelijk Museum(Denmark)andtheBeeldenGeluid.

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Integrated Mobile Strategygo.nmc.org/olpit(Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog, 26 January 2011.) BethKanter’s interview of the Senior Manager of OnlineCommunications at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. TheaquariumworkedcloselywithfoodservicecompaniesandrestaurateurstodevelopaniPhoneapppromotingsustainableseafood.

Multimedia Tour Guides on Your Smartphonego.nmc.org/wpkee(Sam Grobart, The New York Times, 16 March 2011.)Thisarticlediscussesthesuccessfultransitionsofsomemuseums from kiosks to multimedia tours optimizedfor smartphones for visitors who are seeking moreinformationoncollections.

The Museum Is Mobile: Cross-Platform Content Design for Audiences on the Gogo.nmc.org/edekv(NancyProctor,Museums and the Web 2010: Proceedings.Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics, 31 March2010.)Thispaper,presentedatMuseumsandtheWeb2010, takes an in-depth look at how museums candesignmobileprojectsfortheirinstitutions.

Smartphones and Apps Research Findings go.nmc.org/anyeh(Lynda Kelly, AustralianMuseum.net, 12 August 2011.)The Australian Museum conducted research on theirvisitors’ use of smartphones and apps to gain insightintothedemographicsofpeoplewhoareusingmobilesand howthey arebeingused.One interestingfindingwaspeoples’differentdefinitionsofasmartphone.

Museums are just beginning to explore ways to weave in more interactive and social features, like allowing users to recommend specific collections or works of art to their friends.

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n the past year, advances in tablet computers have captured the imagination of educators and museum professionals around the world. Led by the incredible success of the iPad, which in 2011 was selling at the rate of more than 3 million units

a month, other similar devices such as the Samsung Galaxy and Sony’s Tablet S also have begun to enter this rapidly growing new market. In the process, tablets (a form that is distinct from tablet PCs) have come to be viewed as not just a new category of mobile devices, but indeed a new technology in their own right, one that blends features of laptops, smartphones, and earlier tablet computers with always-connected Internet, and thousands of apps with which to personalize the experience. As these new devices have become more used and understood, it is clear that they are independent and distinct from other mobile devices such as smartphones, eReaders, or tablet PCs. With significantly larger screens and richer gestured-based interfaces than their smartphone predecessors, they are ideal tools for sharing content, videos, images and presentations because they are easy for anyone to use, visually compelling, and highly portable.

OverviewLedbythecategory-definingphenomenonthat is theApple iPad, tablets have earned their own emergingniche, completely distinct from mobiles. According toa recentstudy fromcomScore, the iPadnowaccountsfor 97% of all tablet-based web traffic in the U.S. and46.8% of all mobile web traffic. Similar statistics showtablets are increasingly the device of choice not justfor web browsing, but also social networking andnews. Competing models, including Motorola’s Xoomand Samsung’s Galaxy Tab have not yet enjoyed thesuccess of the iPad, but together, these companieshave solidified tablets as the new family of devices towatch.Immenselyportable,tabletsarewellpositioned

toreplacemagazinesinprint,andiOS5evenincludesa newsstand that allows quick and easy access tonewspapers and magazines — and new subscriptionswithameretouch.Tabletsservease-readers,photoandvideorepositories,webbrowsers,andgameplatformswithinstantaccesstothousandsofapps—allinaslim,lightweight,portablepackagethateasilyfitsinapurseorbriefcase.

Screentechnologyhasadvancedtothepointthattabletsareexceptionallyeffectiveatdisplayingvisualcontentsuch as photographs and video; similar advances ingesture-based computing have moved tablets farbeyondthepointandclickcapabilitiesoftouchscreens,and tablets are engagingly intuitive devices to use.Thesecombinationsof featuresareespeciallyenticingtomuseums,andagrowingnumberofinstitutionsareexperimentingwithtablet-basedideas.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s RooftopGardenapp(go.nmc.org/nnfqu),forexample,provides360-degree views of the garden, commentary aboutthe sculptures, plan drawings, remarks from SFMOMADirectorNealBenezraonthefinishedspace,andmuchmore — the app even lets users tweet about theirexperience as they are having it.These types of socialmedia enhanced experiences allow users to sharetheir thoughts on the experience they are having,and generate word of mouth for the museum at thesame time.The portability and rich feature set tabletsbringoffersmuseumsa freshnewway to thinkaboutsupplementingphysicalexhibits.

Relevance for Museum Education and InterpretationWhilemuchof theemphasiswithmobiles iscurrentlyon creating opportunities for patrons outside of thephysical space, the appeal of tablets is their potential

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TabletComputingTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

I

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toenhancein-galleryexperiences.Tabletsaredesignedtobeeasilypassedaround,andtheirlargerscreensizeslend themselves as excellent tools for small-groupexperiences. When users view content on tablets, thetechnology tends to disappear and what remains isclear,high-resolutionedge-to-edgeimagery.

Tablets are excellent for docent tours in particular —andtheyarechild-friendly.Built-ingeolocationcanhelpvisitors with wayfinding and provide proximity-basedlinkstocontent;largedisplayareasandapplicationsmakethe devices ideal for addressing issues of accessibility;and, with an evolving set of features developed witheach new release of the devices and their operatingsystems,thelistofpotentialbenefitscontinuestogrowsteadily.The devices provide a comparatively elegant,smallwaytodelivervideopreciselywhereitisneeded,and can easily hold a considerable library of content.Therangeofinterpretivepossibilitiesfortheserelativelyinexpensive, dependable, easy-to-use multimediadeliverydevices isonlybeginningtobeexplored,butthepotentialiseasytosee.

Addingtotheirinterpretivepromise,theeasilyportabletabletscansupportindividualexhibitsandthemuseumasawholeatonce.Thedesignandinstallationindustryhasbeenquickoffthemarktorecognizethepotentialformuseums,andtherearealreadydozensofdifferentcommercial mounts available for “installing” thesedevicesinmuseums,suchastheiPadKioskMount(go.nmc.org/rzqmj).

MuseumsarecurrentlyinvestigatingwaystoutilizeiPadsto create products that supplement their exhibits andmakethemfeelmorepersonal.TheSouthwestSchoolofArtiscreatingamobilepodcastingstudiowiththehelpofaniPadandaniPadcameraadapterkit.Thepodcastswill include conversations with the artists behind theexhibits and provide viewers with a more intimateperspectiveof theirwork.TheSidRichardsonMuseumisalsotakingadvantageoftheusefulnessoftabletsbycreatingiPadvideosthatserveastourguidesforselectpaintings.Visitorscaneasilycarrythehand-helddevicewiththemastheymovethroughthespacetolearnnewinformationabouttheartworkinfrontofthem.

A sampling of tablet computing applications includesthefollowing:

> Education and Interpretation. Tablets presentmuseums with new avenues for interpretive andeducational media that take advantage of their

large screens and gesture-based interfaces. TheAmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory’sDinosaurapp,forexample,usesthehigh-resolutioncapabilitiesofthe iPadtosharesomeof itsextensivecollectionofdinosaurfossilsandrenderingsofprehistorictimes.

> Exhibitions and Collections. Anumberofmuseumsare experimenting with the use of iPads and othertabletsasin-galleryresourcesthateitherextendtheexhibitoraddwaysforvisitorstoexploretheconceptsondisplayinmoredepth.TheNewWalkMuseum&ArtGalleryinLeicester,England,forexample,isusingiPadstoprovidevisitorstoanexhibitionofworksbyGerhard Richter with visual interpretations by fourdigitalartists.

> Marketing and Communications. Appsthathighlightaspectsofmuseums’collectionsorupcomingexhibitionsareincreasinglybeingseenasawaytogenerateinterest—andvisits.TheMuseumofModernArt,forexample,hascreatedanappthatallowsuserstofindoutaboutcurrentandupcomingexhibitions,filmschedules,andprogram dates, plan a tour, or browse or search thethousandsofartworksinthecollection.

15Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

Screen technology has advanced to the point that tablets are exceptionally effective at displaying visual content such as photographs and video.

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Tablet Computing in PracticeThe following links provide examples of tabletcomputinginuseinmuseumsettings.

Drawing the Buddhago.nmc.org/mylbqAs part of their Family Day series, the San AntonioMuseum of Art designed a set of hands-on activitiesaroundtheiPadwhereparticipantsusedadrawingapptocreatetheirperceptionsofBuddha.Participantsarethen able to print out these drawings and take themhome.

Go Figurego.nmc.org/fmjgjThe University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art’sexhibit, Go Figure, incorporates several wall-mountedtablets that are pre-loaded with curatorial videos thatfeaturetalksfromtheartists,enablingpatronstogetamorepersonalsenseofthepeoplebehindtheobjects.

Me Draw on iPadgo.nmc.org/omefgThis exhibit at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Artfeatures complex drawings created by artist DavidHockneyonhis iPad.The installationshowcasesslidesof his work across 20 iPads. In many of the pieces, heuses only his fingers to create full-color images withlayeredbrushstrokes. Tour Arctic Museum Exhibition with Student-Designed iPad Appgo.nmc.org/mksmxDesignedbytwostudentsfromBowdoinUniversity,ThePeary-MacMillan Arctic Museum’s interactive iPad touristargetedatchildrentoteachthemaboutanimals intheArcticthroughgamesandquizzes.

WaterWorxgo.nmc.org/whnwmThe Powerhouse Museum’s WaterWorx in-galleryinteractive allows visitors to learn about managingurban water systems through a game that is speciallydesigned for the iPad. Users are able to control watermanagementtasksthroughthetouchscreen.

Wikipop iPadsgo.nmc.org/vmwhwDuring Brooklyn Museum’s Wikipop project, theyinstalled several iPads both inside and outside thegallerytodeterminewhereandhowvisitorspreferredto use them.They found that many patrons using theiPadsdidsoforlengthyperiodsoftime.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about tabletcomputing.

The Avatar and the iPadgo.nmc.org/dpijm(Jennifer Bantz, Brooklyn Museum, 6 July 2011.) Thispost is a behind-the-scenes look at the preparationandanalysisstagesforaBrooklynMuseumexhibitthatincludesiPadkiosks.UsingtheiPads,visitorscanchooseandconnectwithavatarsthatbecometheiridentifiersastheyexploretheexhibit.

Educators Evaluate Learning Benefits of iPadgo.nmc.org/whlnr(IanQuillen,Education Week,15June2011.)ThisarticlediscussestheuseofiPadsaslearningtools,anddelvesinto the ongoing discourse about whether they aremore viable for one-to-one solutions or as part of agroupofshareddevices.

Find Out How an iPad Might Get People Back into Museumsgo.nmc.org/znvvi(Douglas Britt, Houston Chronicle, 23 May 2011.)ThroughexploringseveralsuccessfuliPadprojects,thisarticle builds the case that this blockbuster tablet willhelpcreatemoreengagementamongmuseumpatronsandevenenticenewones.

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The portability and rich feature set tablets bring offers museums a fresh new way to think about supplementing physical exhibits.

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Using the iPad in Museum Workgo.nmc.org/lyuxv(MarkWilson,WoosterGeologists,8August2011.)Thisarticle explores the benefits of museum professionalsusing iPad camera apps and features to capturephotographsofverysmallspecimens.Theauthoralsodiscusses various reading and writing programs forscientificpapers.

Using the iPad with Group Toursgo.nmc.org/tnjkv(ScottSayre,MIDEA,3May2011.)Onemuseumscholarsharescreativeideasandbestpracticesonintegratingthe iPad into docent tours. One of his best practicerecommendations includes limiting the group size to10-12people.

What Can the iPad do for Museums? go.nmc.org/zlzlq(ScottBillings,MuseumNext,4January2011.)Thisarticleexplores how museums and galleries can exploit iPadtechnology to create more interactive experiences forpatrons,bothinsideandoutsideofthephysicalspace.

17Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

When users view content on tablets, the technology tends to disappear and what remains is clear, high-resolution edge-to-edge imagery.

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ugmented reality (AR), a capability that has been around for decades, is shifting from what was once seen as a gimmick to a tool with tremendous potential. The layering of information over 3D space produces a new

experience of the world, sometimes referred to as “blended reality,” and is fueling the broader migration of computing from the desktop to the mobile device, bringing with it new expectations regarding access to information and new opportunities for learning. While the most prevalent uses of augmented reality so far have been in the consumer sector (for marketing, social engagement, amusement, or location-based information), new uses seem to emerge almost daily, as tools for creating new applications become even easier to use. Specifically in the museum sector, AR provides patrons the opportunity to see how something is being done instead of listening to a docent’s explanation. As AR technologies and platforms become more readily available and affordable, museums will see the use of augmented reality and 3D technologies increase dramatically. Museums will need to consider how the level of immersion offered to patrons can be balanced against the desire of many visitors to have a quieter experience. OverviewThe concept of blending — or augmenting — whatwe see in the real world with related information,data, media, and even live action is a powerful one.Augmented reality aims to do just that as a means toenhance the information we can perceive with oursenses. The first modern application of augmentedreality was when a cinematographer developed asimulator in the early 1960s that incorporated visuals,smells,andvibrations.Bythe1990s,augmentedrealitywasbeingputtousebyanumberofmajorcompaniesfor visualization, training, and other purposes. Now,

the technologies that make AR possible are powerfuland compact enough to deliver augmented realityexperiencestopersonalcomputers—andevenmobiledevices. Early mobile applications began to appearin 2008, and now many AR applications and tools formobilesareonthemarket.

Augmented reality applications can either be marker-based, which means that the camera must perceivea specific visual cue in order for the software to callup the correct information, or markerless. Markerlessapplicationsusepositionaldata,suchasamobile’sGPSandcompass,orimagerecognition,whereinputtothecameraiscomparedagainstalibraryofimagestofindamatch.Markerlessapplicationshavewiderapplicabilitysince they function anywhere without the need forspeciallabelingorsupplementalreferencepoints.Layar(go.nmc.org/rfomi) has been a leader in this spacewith augmented reality applications for the Androidand iPhone platforms. Layar Vision is a markerlessapplication of AR that makes it easy to develop appsthat can recognize real world objects and overlayinformationontopofthem.

In the commercial and entertainment sectors,augmentedrealityhasbeenusedsoeffectively,itisoftennotevennoticedbythecasualobserver.Forexample,the floating yellow line that appears in telecasts ofAmerican football games is an AR application thatrepresents where a team must drive to reach a “firstdown.”Gameswerequickto integratethetechnology,andearlyexamplessuchasHaloandRainbow Sixmadethe presentation of“heads up” data commonplace. Inbothoftheseexamples,theaddedinformationisseenbymostobserversassimplypartoftheexperience.

Today,advancementsbothinARtechnologyandmobilecapabilities are increasingly driving this technology

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AugmentedRealityTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years

A

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into the handheld space. The cameras and screens insmartphones, tablets and other mobile devices nowserve as uniquely convenient tools to combine realworlddatawithvirtualdata.Sensor-basedARusesGPScapability, image recognition, and the devices’ built-incompassestopinpointwhereamobiledevice isontheplanetandwhere itscamera ispointing,andthenusesthatinformationtooverlayrelevantfacts,data,orvisualsatappropriatepointsonthescreen.

Augmentedrealityappearedinthemid-termhorizonintheNMC Horizon Report: 2010 Museum Edition primarilyforitsconvergencewithmobiles,andremainstherefor2011.Whiletheuseofaugmentedrealityisincreasinglycommon in children’s and science museums whereinteracting with exhibits is an expected part of thevisitorexperience,ithasbeenslowertofindapplicationsin art and historical museums where the objects ondisplay are often fragile or very rare. Nonetheless, anapplicationthatisfindingincreasingtractionistheuseof augmented reality to extend the museum and itsmissionbeyonditsphysicalsetting.

Oneofthefirstsuccessstoriesofthistypeofaugmentedreality app was Museum of London’s“Streetmuseum,”(go.nmc.org/pwpkr) which encourages users to learnLondon history simply by pointing their mobiles athistorical buildings and sites; the video feed from thecameraisoverlaidwithnotabletidbitsandevenarchivalphotos that illuminate thehistoryof thecity.TheHullHistory Viewer for Android phones (go.nmc.org/zdnq)uses a similar approach to display artist renderings ofKingstonUponHullasitappearedbeforeitwaslargelydestroyedintheBlitzcampaignofWorldWarII.

The most common uses of augmented reality currentlyare in entertainment and marketing, but museums arequicklyfollowingasthetechnologymaturesandbecomeseven more simplified. The broad appeal of augmentedrealityresideswithinitsdiverseapplications—theabilityto incorporate the technology into games, activities,presentations,movies,andeveninvestigativetools.

Relevance for Museum Education and InterpretationAugmentedreality isa technologyperfectlysuitedfor

oneofthekeyfunctionsofmuseums:interpretation.  AsAR technologies and platforms become more readilyavailableandaffordable,historyandsciencemuseumsare quickly finding uses for augmented reality bothinside and outside the exhibit floor that incorporate

additional detail and information right into theexperience. Art museums have been slower to adoptaugmentedreality,astheygrapplewithbalancingthelevelofimmersionofferedtomuseumvisitorsthroughAR technologies against the needs of what Rob SteinoftheIndianapolisMuseumofArthasdescribedasthe“solace-seeking visitor who desires a quiet experiencewith art,” but early experiments show tremendouspromiseformuseumandarteducation.

One of the easiest ways to visualize the potential ofaugmented reality is the ease with which it can makeinvisiblethingsvisible,suchastheX-raypicturesorthepreparatorydrawingsofacenturies-oldpainting,ortorestorethingstoapreviousstate,suchasillustratingthewaytheBerlinWallappearedbeforeitwastorndown,in situ. Using simple off-the-shelf tools, museums areeasily able to provide straightforward, yet engagingvisuals and facts that are “layered” over objects orphysicalsettingswhenviewedthroughtheirphonesortablets.Providingvisitorslayeredinformationaboutanobjectorexhibitionisasimple,non-invasiveapproachtogivingusersadeeperexperience.

A groundbreaking project by the City of PhiladelphiaDepartment of Public Records has used sensor-basedaugmented realityas a way to showcase some 93,000historic photographs from the city’s archives.Workingwith geographic services company, Azavea, they

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Providing visitors layered information about an object or exhibition is a simple, non-invasive approach to giving users a deeper experience.

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mappedtheentirePhillyHistory collectionusingsensor-based augmented reality. Not only did they create arichly detailed resource available to anyone with anAndroidoriOS-baseddevice,buttheyalsocapturedtheentiredevelopmentprocess inawhitepaper. (Seethe“ForFurtherReading”sectionbelow.)

AR also has the potential to impact museum researchand scholarship as researchers and students begin toexplore this technology as a simple and effective way

toputcomplexdataintocontext.Inmanyways,ARcanbe seen as an intuitive doorway through which datacan be easily attached to real world objects, settings,and processes that facilitates a deeper meaning andunderstanding of what is being seen. Adding to theexperience, most of the current tools do this in waysthattheusercancontrolandmanipulateinrealtime.

A sampling of applications of augmented realityincludesthefollowing:

> Education and Interpretation. Augmented realityoffers visitors the ability to call up structural, x-ray,or other scientific information related to an objecton demand, while having almost no impact on thephysicalspace.

> Exhibitions and Collections. Within a culture inwhich visitors can rarely touch the objects in thecollections, augmented reality has strong potentialto provide a form of interaction with objects thatotherwisewouldnotbepossible.

> Marketing and Communications. Coupled withlocation-based services, augmented reality is animportant tool in taking a museum’s collectionsand content beyond the institution’s walls. AR isprogressivelybeingusedasamarketingstrategytoimmerseaprospectivevisitorinanexhibitfromtheircomputer or mobile to pique their interest in thephysicalcollection.

Augmented Reality in PracticeThe following links provide examples of augmentedrealityinuseinmuseumsandothersettings.

Browsing the Powerhouse Museum Around Sydneygo.nmc.org/xjetyThePowerhouseMuseumhasdevelopedanaugmentedrealityapplicationthatcapturesthehistoryofSydney,Australia, by allowing visitors to use their mobilephonestosnappicturesandseethecityasitappearedonehundredyearsago.

Chicago Museum of Science and Industrygo.nmc.org/tcvddAnaugmentedrealitymusicalgame,featuredintheChicagoMuseum of Science and Industry’s permanent exhibition YOU! The Experience, turnsa2Dcardintoavirtualkeyboard.Theuserrepeatsthreeroundsofincreasinglydifficultnotesequences. Afterward,thecardcallsupavisualizationofthebrain,showingitsactivityduringthegame.

CultureClicgo.nmc.org/uxiqmCultureClic is a free iPhone augmented realityapplication that allows visitors to explore more than500 paintings, photographs, and engravings in Paris,Bordeaux,Lyon,andMarseilles—whilestandinginthelocationdepictedintheartwork.

A Future for the Past (Video)go.nmc.org/dcmizIn 2009, the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdampresented an exhibition entitled A Future for the Pastwhich included two prototype augmented realityapplications: A virtual reconstruction of Satricum, andan annotated landscape on an 1855 photograph ofForumRomanum.Thisvideodescribestheexhibition.

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AR can be seen as an intuitive doorway through which data can be easily attached to real world objects, settings, and processes that facilitates a deeper meaning and understanding of what is being seen.

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Getty Museum: Augmented Reality of the Augsburg Display Cabinetgo.nmc.org/arskwThisaugmentedrealityprojectenablesviewerstotakeadetailedlookattheintricatelycarvedanddecoratedAugsburg Cabinet (1630), bringing this unique piececlosertovisitorswithoutriskingharmtotheobject.

Metaio and Louvre-DNP Museum Lab (Video)go.nmc.org/mlyjbThis joint project between the Louvre and augmentedrealitydevelopmentfirmMetaioisdevelopingmaterialtoenhanceexhibitsandcollections.Thisvideodemonstratesa prototype device that overlays augmented realitycontentontothemuseum’sgalleryspaces.

Who Do You Think You Really Are?go.nmc.org/uqthcThe London Natural History Museum developedan interactive dinosaur film optimized for tabletsthat incorporates gesture-based manipulation andaugmented reality, where extinct creatures appear toroamtheAttenboroughStudiospace.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreaboutaugmentedreality.

Augmented Reality in the Museumgo.nmc.org/mgicj(Scott Billings, MuseumNext, 31 January 2011.)This post explores several museums’ projects thatare incorporating augmented reality throughmobile apps, virtual buildings, and more. He posesthe issue of whether AR enhances the museumexperience or becomes the experience itself.

‘Augmented Reality’ on Smartphones Brings Teaching Down to Earthgo.nmc.org/vgjyv(Sophia Li, Chronicle of Higher Education, 20 June2010.) This article showcases some learningprojects that incorporate augmented realityon smartphones, including the University ofWisconsin – Madison’s ARIS, which allows usersto link text, audio, and video to physical location.

Getting Started with AR go.nmc.org/frqcb(Craig Kapp, The Pixel Farm, July 2010.) AugmentedrealitydeveloperCraigKapphascompiledanexcellentlistofresourcesaimedatbeginnerswhoareinterestedinexperimentingwithaugmentedrealityapplications,including “mixed reality textbooks” and 3D baseballcards.

If You Are Not Seeing Data, You Are Not Seeinggo.nmc.org/exkwl(Brian Chen, Wired Gadget Lab, 25 August 2009.) Thisarticle gives a good overview of augmented reality,includingwhatnewapplicationstoexpectinthefuture.Theauthornotesthatadvertisingagencieshavebeenamongthefirstindustriestomostinnovativelyusethetechnologyandcitesspecificexamples.

Implementing Mobile Augmented Reality Technology for Viewing Historic Images (PDF)go.nmc.org/efhqb(CityofPhiladelphiaDepartmentofRecordsandAzavea, 2011.) In this paper by geographic services company,Azavea, and the Philadelphia Department of Records,the authors describe how they used augmentedreality as an immersive way for users to access over93,000 imagesand mapsavailable in the PhillyHistory database:go.nmc.org/jwqpq.

Mixing Realities to Connect People, Places, and Exhibits Using Mobile Augmented Reality Applicationsgo.nmc.org/wnmbq(Rob Rothfarb, MuseumVirtualWorlds, 14 April 2011.)This article is a great resource for discovering thecurrent most effective AR programs at museums. Theauthor shares background information on how AR-basedexhibitswereplannedandprototyped.

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ow that it is firmly established in the consumer sector, electronic publishing is beginning to demonstrate capabilities that challenge the boundaries between print and digital, still image and video, passive and interactive.

Modern digital workflows support all manner of possible publication, from traditional print to digital, web, video, and even interactive content. Building in the full spectrum of potential publishing avenues — print, web, video, mobiles and tablets, and interactives — from the beginning is not only a way to streamline production overall, but also to increase the reach of the materials produced by leveraging the content over a wide range of media. Modern media companies have been at the vanguard of this conversion. Magazine writers, for example, will produce a piece so that it will work in the magazine, on the web, and in video — and the finished product may appear in any or all of those outlets. The reason electronic publishing resides on the mid-term horizon is because museums and their publishing arms generally do not have sufficient staff, infrastructure, and systems in place to manage the workflows for simultaneous publication across multiple media, nor do they typically see the potential in ways that commercial publishers do. OverviewElectronicpublishingallowscontentcreatorstodesignandproduceapieceirrespectiveoftheformatinwhichitmayultimatelyappear,andthusfosterstheflexibilityto easily port content into many different formats,providingpeoplewithavarietyofreadingoptions.Witheachformatcomesauniqueexperiencethatisconstantlyprogressing to include more enhanced features ateveryturn.Notmeanttoreplacemoretraditionalprintmaterials, but instead, to supplement and expand theofferingsavailabletoreadersandconsumers,electronicpublicationshavebecomecommonplace,andallmajor

magazinesandperiodicalshaveatleastoneelectronicvariant, if not many. Electronic publishing reflects theconvergenceofseveraldifferentformsofdigitalmediaintoasinglestreamofproduction.

Inthemidstoftherapidgrowthofelectronicpublicationsover the past few years, commercial publishers, notunlikethemusicindustryinyearspast,haveseentheirbusiness models tested by the emergence of highquality digital materials. As a result, they also facedthe inherent challenge of changing their strategiesandworkflows—allatthespeedatwhichtechnologywas evolving. Since 2009, publishing houses havegiven a great deal of consideration to deploying themoststreamlinedprocessesforgenerating,producing,and marketing content. Before electronic publishing,there weren’t as many moving pieces, and the piecesthemselves were more easily understood; publishingmeant print, words, and perhaps pictures. Video andmultimedia were distinct forms, but such distinctionsareincreasinglyhardtomake.

Today’spublishersseethemselvesasmediacompanies,producing content for whatever delivery formats willachievethegreatestreach.Withtheadventofemergingnew formats, publishers are able to create differentversions of a piece — i.e. an extended version withauthor interviews or with a“foldout” of glossy images— and tailor them to distinct audiences. Content iscapturedjustonceforavarietyofpotentialapplications.Today, it is not uncommon for the same promotionalvideoclipforabooktobeembeddedintheelectronicpublication, uploaded to YouTube, and published ontheauthor’swebsite.

The increasing expansion of HTML5 in the past year ispossibly the most significant recent development forelectronicpublishingworkflows.PublishersviewHTML5

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as the solution to the jungle of proprietary electronicpublishingformatsthatlimitedthegrowthofelectronicpublishinginitially.HTML5enablesapageinadocumenttorenderasawebpageinthefullestsenseofthatconcept,and to render that page in whatever fashion optimizestheoriginaldesignforaparticularplatform.HTML5alsouses the same coding to display that same page acrossanyotherplatformsanddevicesthatsupportHTML5—anever-expandingassortment,includingiPads,iPhones,laptops,anddesktops.Evenvideoandimageswilldisplaymorevibrantlyunderthenewstandard.

Over the past few years, commercial publishers haveembraced electronic publishing and proven its worth—atAmazon,e-booksnowoutsellprintedbooks,andmagazinesareoneofthetopcontentcategoriesfortheiPad. Consumers have come to expect that they canread a catalog, brochure, or book on whatever devicetheyhappentobecarrying.

Museumshavebeenslowtojointhemovetoelectronicpublishing,bothintermsofworkflow,andintermsofoutput. It is rare toseeaprintedmuseumpublicationin a digital format other than Acrobat, which is basedontreatingcontentas imagesasopposedtothefluidand dynamic approaches used in HTML5. Likewise,museums rarely have a production staff that is ableto capture content in ways that support multipledistribution formats; indeed, it is quite common formuseumstosimplyoutsourceproductionanddesign,an approach that locks in the product at the outset.Adding in new notions about content capture thatwill support electronic publishing is forcing museumstorethinktheirprocesses,andcurrentlymanyofthemare still in the strategizing and conceptual phases.Ultimately, electronic publishing resides in the mid-term horizon because best practice workflows havenotyetbeenimplementedtoanydiscernibledegreeinmuseumpublishing;asearchformuseumcasestudiesof electronic publishing projects did not yield manyconcreteexamples.

Relevance for Museum Education and InterpretationElectronic publishing has become the norm incommercial publishing over the past few years, and

museumprofessionals, longaccustomedtoproducingpublications with rich imagery and content, havebeguntoconsidertheaffordancesofmovingbroadlytoelectronicpublishingmodels.Adaptingworkflowsthat

fullyembraceelectronicpublishing,however,areoftenchallenging for most museums, for which publishinggenerally means printing, and video generally meanspreparingcontentforDVD.Thereiscurrentlyacommonprocessformostmuseumworkflows:anendproductisvisualizedanddefineshowthe project proceeds. A catalog project, for example,would be defined in print terms, and while museumsregularly create beautiful and very inventive catalogs,themediumexcludesfeaturessuchasvideo,animations,or interactive multimedia, which would make for acompellingelectronicversion.Webprojectsandvideoprojectsareconceived inasimilar fashion.Becauseofthis, in most cases, the copy and design for print andweb projects are managed as completely separateprocesses, each driving toward their own predefinedendproduct. Inthisscenario,addingnewmedia,suchas e-pubs or other new formats, is essentially addinganother project, as well as the additional costs tosupportit.

Electronic publishing turns that model end over end,and separates content production and design from

Electronic publishing allows content creators to design and produce a piece irrespective of the format in which it may ultimately appear, and thus fosters the flexibility to easily port content into many different formats, providing people with a variety of reading options.

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the medium in which that content may ultimatelyappear.While specialization has its merits, the missedopportunity in the “old school” model is to look atcontent in a way that could support any potentialuse. The idea is not to bolt electronic publicationsonto existing publishing workflows, or to add themas separate processes, but rather to integrate allinterrelatedcontentproductionintoasingleworkflowthatoffersthepossibilityofpublishinginmanyformats—includingprintandtheweb—butalsovideo,socialmedia,e-pubs,mobileappsandinteractives,andtodosoinwaysthatworkacrosstherangeofdevices.

When the notion of content is separated from thenotionofmedium, it is fareasiertoconsiderhowandwhere to capture video, imagery, text, audio, and soforth,becausetheideaistoensureallofthoseformsarecapturedatthebeginningoftheprocess.Thebenefits

formuseumsare thesameas theyare forcommercialpublishers — it minimizes the incremental cost ofsupporting new forms of publication by integratingtheircontentproductionanddesign.Forexample,oncethedecisionismadetosupportHTML5,aprintdesign,awebdesign,andane-pubdesignallflowfromthesamebasicdesignwork,enablingnotonlypublications inavarietyofformats,butaminimumofadditionalworktomakeallthreerenderthatdesignoptimally.

In addition to electronic publishing’s embrace of thegrowing number of digital formats and media, theprocess makes it very easy to produce variations of astory,customizedforaparticularaudience.Becauseofthecompellingflexibilityelectronicpublishingprovides,agrowingnumberofmuseumsarebeginningtothinkaboutadoptinganelectronicpublishingmodel.

A sampling of applications of electronic publishingincludesthefollowing:

> Education and Interpretation. Publishing contentinavarietyof formatswillalloweducators toeasilycreate specialized versions of exhibition content fordistance learning and other forums, while curatorswillbeabletoeasilymodifyanelectronicpublicationto suit specific audiences, such as art historians orstudentsoftechniques.

> Exhibitions and Collections. The use of electronicpublishing approaches in the production ofsupportingcontentfortravelingorspecialexhibitionswould greatly enhance the options a receivingmuseum would have for the creation of specializedpublications.

> Marketing and Communications. An electronicpublishing workflow gives marketing professionalsaccess toawiderangeofoptions forpromotinganeventorexhibition,andmakesiteasyformuseumstohaveauniformdesignacrosstheprintpublications,web, social media, and e-marketing materialsassociatedwiththecampaign.

Electronic Publishing in PracticeThe following links provide examples of electronicpublishing.

Book Creatorgo.nmc.org/xprewBook Creator is an iPad app that allows users withminimaldevelopmentexperiencetodesign,create,andproducee-booksontheiriPads.UserscanthenexportthemtobeplacedandevensoldintheiBookstore.

The British Library’s Turning the Pagesgo.nmc.org/lvufj“Turning the Pages” is an interactive display systemthat uses Adobe Shockwave to share its electronicpublicationswiththepublic.Peopleareabletoactuallyturnthepagesofmanuscriptsviatheirtouchscreens.

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Consumers have come to expect that they can read a catalog, brochure, or book on whatever device they happen to be carrying.

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National Museums Scotlandgo.nmc.org/fokvfNational Museums Scotland recently rebuilt theirwebsite in HTML5, which has allowed them to moreeasilyanddynamicallysharehi-resolution imagesandvideosacrossallviewingplatforms,includingtheiPad.

Online Scholarly Catalogue Initiative (OSCI)go.nmc.org/zgxwnLed by the J. Paul Getty Foundation and J. Paul GettyMuseum, OSCI is the collaborative effort betweennine museums to devise innovative strategies and aframework for disseminating scholarly informationacrossthewebandotherdigitalplatformssuchastheiPad.

Treesaver go.nmc.org/vkehzTreesaver has recently expanded their do-it-yourselfservices to include HTML5 app-building so that evensmallermuseumsandorganizationscancreatecontentonceandeasilypublishittomultipledevices.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about electronicpublishing.

Building a Magazine for the Digital Agego.nmc.org/jkzgw(LaurenIndvik,Mashable,31July2011.)Whilethisarticleis focused on digitizing magazines, it has implicationsforthemuseumworld,whichshareschallengesaroundaccurateimagerendering,embeddedvideo,andotherfeaturesofdigitalformats.

How Yale Press Took Over Art Publishinggo.nmc.org/lricf(EdmundDownie,YaleDailyNews,13April2011.)ThisarticlediscussestheartofelectronicpublishingandhowYalePresshassuccessfullytransitionedintothedigitalagebyfindingawaytoproduceelectroniccontentthatcapturestheglossyimagesfromprintmaterials.

New Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition Announcedgo.nmc.org/kezxi(Adobe,3October2011).LearnaboutSingleEdition,anewAdobeProgramthatallowsusers,inado-it-yourselffashion,tocreatedigitalmagazinesandmagazineappsforpublicationspecificallyontheiPad.

Online Platforms Begin to Test the Market for University-Press E-Booksgo.nmc.org/jzczb(Jennifer Howard, The Chronicle of Higher Education,3 October 2011.) This article explores several e-bookprojects in their initial phases at universities, anddiscussestheimplicationsofelectronicpublishingasitrelatestocontractswithpublishinghouses.

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Electronic publishing reflects the convergence of several different forms of digital media into a single stream of production.

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t the most basic level, digital preservation refers to the conservation of important objects, artifacts, and documents that exist in digital form. As technology continues to rapidly evolve and new software is propelled into mainstream

use nearly every day, continued innovation leads to planned obsolescence for hardware and software, all too often rendering content created with older versions unusable. Museums have vast amounts of electronic media in their collections, and each item of digital content represents a unique challenge from a conservation standpoint. While museums have long employed art historians with specialties in artifact preservation, there is now the looming issue of finding professionals who understand preservation from a computer science perspective. Just like ancient objects, digital objects can be fragile and require special care, and the museum sector’s growing dependence on changing technologies puts these digital items at great risk. As museums, universities, libraries, and other organizations start to support and develop processes and resources for digital preservation, a new science and toolset is emerging to support and inform the work.

OverviewDigital preservation of information is becoming anincreasingly important topic everywhere. As newtechnologies enter the marketplace, and old ones areimproved, our digital heritage is in jeopardy of beinglost. The museum’s very mission centers on the long-termaccesstoandrelatedpreservationofobjectsbothphysicalanddigital,sothisissueisespeciallypressing,yetthesciencetoaddressit—digitalpreservation—isnotwellunderstood.Digitalpreservation is lessaboutupdatingcontent toworkwith thenewest releasesofsoftware — a common misconception — and moreaboutfuture-proofingdigitalworksofart,documents,

and media. The latter aspect involves an advancedunderstandingofpreservationmetadata.Fewmuseumshave staff with an in-depth understanding of how tocraft and understand technical data to accompanydigital content that documents its digital details,instructions,filestructure,format,history,andsoforth.

Scientists and art historians have spent hundreds ofyears mastering the process of conserving physicalartifacts. Digital preservation calls for a new typeof conservationist with skills that span hardwaretechnologies,filestructuresandformats,storagemedia,electronicprocessorsandchips,andmore,blendingthetraining of an electrical engineer with the skills of aninventor and a computer scientist. Decoding contentandrecoveringmaterialfromdevicesorstoragemediathat may not have been used for decades requiresequipmentandknowledgethatfewmuseumsoutsidethosespecializingincomputertechnologywouldhaveonstaff.

There are two parts to the challenge. One is arguablymanageable by museums because they control theprocesses, and that involves developing best practiceworkflows to establish proper protocol and standardswheninitiallydigitizingcontentthatexistsinaphysical,non-digital form. The second and harder challenge istobeabletokeepdigitalcontentproducedbyothersin a form in which it can be viewed or used, whethertheoriginalproducerswereartists,scholars,publishers,manufacturers,orinventors.Inbothcases,therearenotwell-understood and accepted practices that a typicalconservatorwouldrecognize.Whileagreatdealofworkhastakenplaceintheareaofdigitalpreservation,thatwork is still largely theoretical, rather than practical.Wheredigitalpreservationprocessesdoexist,theyare,byandlarge,eithernotwell-documentedorarehighlyexperimental—althoughthatisbeginningtochange.

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Perhaps the most well-known works in digitalpreservation to date are the Online Computer LibraryCenter’sfour-pointstrategy,developedin2006(go.nmc.org/twpvl),andtheInternetArchive,createdbeforethemillenniumtopreservesnapshotsofthedynamicandchanging landscape of the world wide web (go.nmc.org/qlwyp).

TheOpenArchivalInformationSystemisclarifyingbestpracticesviaaframeworkofarchivalconceptsneededfor long-term preservation of digital information andaccessto it (go.nmc.org/speui),alongwithdevelopingmethods for authenticating digital documents andobjects.Additionally,theLibraryofCongresshasdonelandmarkworktoestablishanationalstrategytocollect,preserveandmakeavailablesignificantdigitalcontent(see the National Digital Information Infrastructureand Preservation Program: go.nmc.org/qfkou). Takentogether,theseprojectsdefinethecurrentstateoftheartinthefieldofdigitalpreservation.

Relevance for Museum Education and InterpretationThough digital preservation appears on the far-term horizon, it is not by any means a new topic formuseums.The placement of the topic on the four-to-five year horizon is an acknowledgement of the smallamountoftimeandeffortmuseumsarecurrentlyableto dedicate to the topic. Digital preservation has longbeentheconcernofasmall,butever-growingcadreofculturalheritageprofessionals,whorecognizedearlyonthe inherent conservation issues in the cycle of rapidimplementation,adoption,andultimateabandonmentof new technologies. It is a testament to the effortsof these conservation pioneers that the topic is nowtothepointwhere it isontheradarofmostmuseumtechnologists.

Museums across the world have large collectionsof electronic media objects, each representingunique challenges from a conservation/preservationstandpoint, including antiquated operating systemsand hardware and computer programs written innow-defunct programming languages. Storage medialike floppydisksarealreadychallenging to readat all,giventhatfewcomputershavefloppydrivesinthefirst

place,andthehardwarechallengesareonlypartoftheissue.Bothopticalandmagneticstoragefadeovertime,corrupting once-readable data merely through thepassageoftime.Neitherofthesechallengesaddressesthe issuesoffile formatsandrun-timeuseof thefiles,oncetheycanbeaccessedviatheappropriatehardware.

Digital works of art, which commonly push theboundaries of commercially available technology,presentadditionalchallenges.Often,customhardwareisattheheartofadigitalinstallation,andfewartistsareinterestedinorabletodocumenttheintricaciesofthemachines they use. The number of conservators who

understandthiskindofworkfromtheperspectiveofthecomputerscientistandelectricalengineer,asopposedto thatofa traditionalconservationspecialist, is smallandnotgrowingfastenough.Thedemandfortrainedprofessionals continues to outstrip the resources ofthe higher education and museum communities thatwould educate and train a new generation of digitalconservatorsanddigitalcurators.

HelenTibbo at the School of Library and InformationScience at the University of North Carolina at ChapelHillbeganofferingacourseinDigitalPreservationandAccessin2000andthatinstitutionisoneofthefewinthecountryofferingMAcandidatestheopportunitytospecializeinDigitalCuration.Whilethiscertificatedealsprimarilywiththemanagementofalldigitalresources,as opposed to focusing on those objects in museumsthat might be described as “digital works of art,” thegoals and principles of the program are applicable to

As museums, universities, libraries, and other organizations start to support and develop processes and resources for digital preservation, a new science and toolset is emerging to support and inform the work.

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the specific needs of the curators and conservatorschargedwithcaringforthesenewartforms.

The debut appearance of digital preservation in theNMC Horizon Report at this juncture is significantbecause it shows that museums are becoming more

broadlyawarethattheyarefacingsignificantproblemsin the near future if the intricacies of digital curationand preservation are not more widely understood inthe community. To date, very few known and well-documented projects exist to serve as best practicemodelsfordigitalpreservationefforts.A sampling of applications for digital preservationincludesthefollowing:

> Cross-Institutional Collaboration. Advances indigitalpreservationcanandmustbesharedbetweeninstitutions. The opportunities for large-scalecollaborationaresignificant,andmany.

> Education and Interpretation. Investing in digitalpreservation provides museums with a strongerguarantee that important electronic media objectswillbeavailableforvisitors,students,andresearchersintotheforeseeablefuture.

> Exhibitions and Collections. Digital objects —whichincludebothworksofart,objectsofhistoricalsignificance, as well as supporting materials — arealso objects of cultural heritage. By establishingeffective conservation protocols, museums willminimize the danger of losing the contributions ofcontemporarydigitalcreators.

Digital Preservation in PracticeThe following links provide examples of digitalpreservationworkandrelevantprojects.

CHIN’s Professional Exchange: Digitizationgo.nmc.org/awugnThe Canadian Heritage Information Network’sProfessionalExchangetracksbestpracticesandhelpfuldocuments fordigitizingandpreservingcontent fromacrosstheirmemberinstitutions.

The Digital Preservation Coalitiongo.nmc.org/qtfngThe Digital Preservation Coalition is raising awarenesson the importance of digital preservation and theaccompanying cultural and technological issues.Among other publications, they publish case studiesthat chronicle digital preservation experiences atvariousorganizationsandinstitutions.

DigitalPreservation.govgo.nmc.org/apavyLaunchedbytheLibraryofCongress,DigitalPreservation.govisanonlinerepositoryofresources,includingvideotutorials, tools, and services, to better educate peopleondigitalpreservation.

Northeast Document Conservation Centergo.nmc.org/fmknwNortheast Document Conservation Center is a non-profitdevotedtotheconservationofpaperdocuments.They provide training to organizations embarking onpreservationprojects,includingwebinarsandworkshops.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about digitalpreservation.

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Digital preservation calls for a new type of conservationist with skills that span hardware technologies, file structures and formats, storage media, electronic processors and chips, and more, blending the training of an electrical engineer with the skills of an inventor and a computer scientist.

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Digital Archaeology: Recovering Digital Objects from Audio Waveforms (PDF)go.nmc.org/bjgot(Mark Guttenbrunner, Mihai Ghete, Annu John,Chrisanth Lederer, Andreas Rauber, Vienna UniversityofTechnology, 5 October 2009.)This paper addressesthepreparationnecessarytostoreandextractmediaastechnologyadvances.Theresearchconveysthatbyre-engineeringtheformatofthe“waveform,”datacanbecapturedfromadigitalaudiostream.

Digital Preservation and Workflows for Museumsgo.nmc.org/vyurt(Michael Ashley, Life Is Not Still, 2010.) This videoexplores the digital preservation framework anddemonstrates proven workflows. The producer pointstoopensourcesoftwareandpreservationmetadataasintegraltoolsforpreservation.

Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies for Long-term Problemsgo.nmc.org/yofoz(University of Michigan, 2004). This guide to digitalpreservation won an award from the Society ofAmerican Archivists. It explores the foundations andchallengesthatgohand-in-handwiththeconservationprocess.

Race to Save Digital Art from the Rapid Pace of Technological Changego.nmc.org/fwboi(Vanessa Thorpe, The Observer, 7 May 2011.) Thisarticle follows scientists’ searches for methods topreserve today’s digital artwork and issues a seriouswarning about the future state of digital objects ifconservationistscannoteffectivelyarchivethem.

Small Steps: Long Viewgo.nmc.org/ptvgd(Glasgow Museum, September 2010.) This case studyillustrates digital preservation in practice at GlasgowMuseum’sResourceCentreandtheirtaskofconserving1.2 million historic objects, including the audio fromover600cassettetapes.

Sustainability of Digital Collectionsgo.nmc.org/pjcqy(TASI: Technical Advisory Service for Images, 10November 2008.) This paper provides an overviewof how to sustain a collection long-term, includingthe financing details and how to provide ongoingmaintenancetothecollection.

When Data Disappearsgo.nmc.org/gsskz(KariKraus,The New York Times,6August2011.)Whenthe University of Texas, Austin, received papers fromscience fiction writer Bruce Sterling with no digitalback-ups,theyfacedamajorchallenge.Withthatcasein mind, the article explores different possibilities fordigitalpreservation,includingemulation.

A Window on the Archives of the Futurego.nmc.org/npfab(Randall Hand, Vizworld.com, 8 February 2011.) TheNationalArchivesisworkingtocatalogeverythingfrompresidential speeches to Tweets. They are currentlyexploring ways to store all the multimedia contentgeneratedacrosstheInterneteachday.

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smart object has four key attributes: it is small, and thus easy to attach to almost anything; it has a unique identifier; it has a small store of data or information; and it has a way to communicate that information to an external

device on demand. Objects that carry information with them have long been used for the monitoring of sensitive equipment or materials, point-of-sale purchases, passport tracking, inventory management, identification, and similar applications. Smart objects are the next generation of those technologies — they “know” about a certain kind of information, such as cost, age, temperature, color, pressure, or humidity — and can pass that information along easily and instantly. Smart objects connect the physical world with the world of information; it is that linkage that will enable the “Internet of Things” described by Vint Cerf. They can be used to digitally manage physical objects, monitor their status, track them throughout their lifespan, alert someone when they are in danger of being damaged or spoiled — or even to annotate them with descriptions, instructions, warranties, tutorials, photographs, connections to other objects, and any other kind of contextual information imaginable.

OverviewThe vision behind smart objects is a world ofinterconnected items in which the line between thephysical object and digital information is blurred.Applications tap into the“Internet ofThings” to checkinonarticlesinthephysicalworldinthesamewaythatsomeonemightlookinonafriend’sblogorFacebookpage.Fromreferencematerialstohouseholdgoodstosportsequipment,anythingapersonmightneedwouldbe discoverable using search tools on computers ormobiledevices.

Smart objects have appeared in several previousNMC Horizon Reports, but what is most interestingabout smart objects this year is the growth of nearfield communication (NFC) in the consumer sector.Developedin2006byNokia,NFCenablesaproximity-based secure data exchange between devices, andthe early applications are focused on allowing userstomakepaymentstokiosks,gaspumps,ordispensingmachines via smartphones. People are able to maketransactions, exchange digital content, and connectelectronic devices with a simple swipe or touch. In asimilarfashion,companieslikeYaleLocksandHardwarearecreatingsecurityprogramsthatallowpeopleaccessto secure spaces based on the information stored inNFC-enabledphones.

Social networking and gaming platforms are alsobeginning to utilize NFC so that simple proximity to afriendwiththesamedevicecaninitializeamultiplayergame, or update a social media connection if desired.BesidesNokia,Googleandahandfulofcompaniesarealready producing NFC-enabled smartphones, andAppleisexpectedtofollowsuitwiththeirnextrelease.AsNFCbecomesastandard featureofmobilephones,these devices will begin to function in ways thatcombineacreditcardwithasecureidentificationsystem,opening the doorway to a wide range of interactionsandtransactionsbetweenmuseumsandtheirvisitors.

Whilethepotentialofferedbynearfieldcommunicationmakesthesmartobjectcategoryevenmoreinteresting,thereareanumberoftechnologiesthatsupportsmartobjects: on one end of the continuum are passivetechnologies such as quick response (QR) codes;near field communication, which can be either activeor passive, is on the other end. Other smart objecttechnologies, including RFID and a number of sensortechnologies,fallinbetween.

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RFID is a very basic wireless technology that isnonethelessquiterobust.Thetagscontainasmallchipthat can be programmed with a fairly wide range ofinformation about the object, including its identifier,description,creationdate,origin,modifications,transitpoints, and more. Major chains such asWalmart havebeen using RFID chips for years, attaching them toinventorydiscretely.Employeescansimplywalkdownanaisleinthestore,witheachchipcommunicatingwiththe RFID scanner and updating the store’s inventoryrecords instantly as he or she passes. Items that haveexceededtheirshelflifeareinstantlyidentified.

SensorscanbecoupledwithRFIDchipstocreateawidevariety of smart objects. These hybrid smart devicescan be attached to an object and monitor humidity,pressure, temperature, altitude, and much more —featureswithaclearutilityformuseumconservators.

Relevance for Museum Education and InterpretationOneofthemajoradvantagesformuseumsisthatsmartobjects are, at their core, a non-intrusive technologythatwillhaveusesthroughoutthemuseum.Thedevicesaresmall,donotrequirebatteriesorexternalpower,cancommunicatewirelessly,andareinexpensive.Theycanbeattachedtoanartworkorobjectverydiscretely,andthenusedtotrack,monitor,maintain,andkeeprecordsabouttheobject.Whilethemoreadvancedcategoriesof smart objects are still far from mainstream use inmuseums, more basic ones like QR codes are alreadyfairlywellestablished.

TheDenverArtMuseum(DAM),forexample,hasusedQRcodesinanumberofways.Initiallytheyweredeployedasanefficientwaytotriggeradditionalcontent,butanew purpose emerged as museum staff found theywere able to capture information about their visitorsfromtheir interactionswiththecodes.Withouthavingtobuildanapp,DAMwasabletodeterminewhattypesofphonestheirvisitorswereusing,whereinthegallerypeopleweremorelikelytousetheirphones,andwhatcontent provoked the most response — all from thewebanalyticsgeneratedaspeopletranslatedthecodes’visual information into a web URL that their browserscouldaccess.Theuseofthetechnologyisexpandingat

DAM — QR codes are hidden in parts of the buildingfor scavenger hunts, pasted on staff members’ t-shirtsduring events, and utilized as a means of triggeringinformationaboutDAMcontentoutsideofthebuilding.

RFID and sensors have found their way into somemuseumsaspartofcollectionsmanagement,security,and conservation efforts. Over the next few years, it

is likely that such use will become standard practiceacrossthesector,astheaffordancesaremanyandclear.Nearfieldcommunicationwillalsoseebroadadoptionin museums because of its simplicity and the varietyofusesitsupports,fromdata,image,audio,andvideosharing;toelectronicpayments,ticketing,andtouring;tomobilegamingandsocialnetworking.

Asamplingofapplicationsofsmartobjectsincludesthefollowing:

> Collections Management. RFID tags can be usedwith collections management to track an objectas it moves from one department in a museum toanother,orinandoutofsecurestorage.Additionally,RFID makes it easy to determine that objects arewhere they are expected to be, when key dates fortreatmentsorcleaningarepending.

> Conservation. By placing smart sensors behindpaintings and other works of arts, museumprofessionals can be alerted if the piece has beenexposedtotoomuchhumidityorifthetemperatureneeds to be changed. This alleviates the risk of artbeing ruined by environmental conditions and aidswiththepreservationofimportantobjects.

> Visitor Purchases. Nearfieldcommunicationisnon-intrusive, inherently secure technology that allowseasypaymentandidentification—andisincreasinglyincludedinmobiledevices.Museumscanmakeuseofthetechnologytoidentifyamuseummember,or

Smart objects connect the physical world with the world of information.

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toallowvisitorstomakecashlesspurchasesfromthegiftshoporakiosk.

Smart Objects in PracticeThefollowinglinksprovideuse-caseexamplesforsmartobjects.

A’damgo.nmc.org/lbrasIn this self-titled exhibit at Amsterdam HistoricalMuseum about a fashion designer, patrons createa personal profile that links to their A’dam ID card.

Throughouttheexperience,thiscardcommunicatestoRFIDreaderseachuser’sstylepreferences.Attheendoftheexhibit,visitorscanseehowtheirprofilescomparewiththatofothers.

ikPod RFID Multimedia Guidego.nmc.org/znpclTheHollandscheSchouwburgisusinganRFID-enabledhand-held device called an ikPod to make theirWorldWar II memorial monument interactive. The ikPod isconnected to their online database, so when visitorswave it over the monument, background informationabouttheindividualsandfamilieslistedisrevealed.

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art Adopts RFIDgo.nmc.org/fgeipThe MET is deploying RFID sensor tags across theircollections in order to obtain information aboutthe physical conditions in which their artwork isdisplayed.Thiswillenablethemtomakechangestotheenvironmenttobettersustainandpreservetheobjects.

NFC at the Museum of Londongo.nmc.org/jfydzThe Museum of London partnered with Nokia so thatif visitors are carrying NFC-enabled devices, theycan book exhibition tickets, access vouchers for themuseum’scaféandgiftshop,purchaseprints,check-inonFacebookandFoursquare,andmore.

Otago Museum Radio Tracking Systemgo.nmc.org/pjouuIn an effort to increase security, Otago Museumlaunchedaprojectthatentailstheinstallationofaradiotrackingsystemtomonitorallofitsobjects.Eachartifactwillbetagged,andRFIDreaderswilltracktheitemsastheymovearoundthemuseumspace.

Pedro Moralesgo.nmc.org/pqrpjQR Code Artist Pedro Morales uses raffia mesh andfabricshapestocreateorganicworksofartwithcontentthatcanbereadbysimplypointingyourmobilecameraatthem.SomeofhismostpopularQRartincludesfloralarrangementsmadefromonesandzeroes.

Picasso + QR Codesgo.nmc.org/aqdtzTopromoteitsPicassoexhibit,theVirginiaMuseumofFine Arts created a portrait of the artist comprised ofQRcodes,whichdirectuserswithsmartphonecamerasto a web page featuring his work and other exhibitinformation.

QRatorgo.nmc.org/knmjpUniversityCollegeofLondon’sGrantMuseumofZoologyhasdevelopedtheQRatorproject,which incorporatesQR codes into exhibits that link to a rich database ofcuratedcontentandallowuserstodocumentandsharetheir own interpretations of the collections with eachother.

Smart Musego.nmc.org/rkhblCentrePompidouinParislaunchedaNFC-enabledpilottourwherevisitorscanaccessandshare location-and

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition32

The vision behind smart objects is a world of interconnected items in which the line between the physical object and digital information is blurred.

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time-basedinformationwitheachotherbywavingtheirsmartphonesoverNFCtags.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreaboutsmartobjects.

How Museums Will Look in the Futurego.nmc.org/utigt(Gareth Beavis, techradar.com, 22 August 2011.)TechRadar examines one successful museumapplicationofNFC,whereNFCtagshavebeendeployedtoprovidepatronswithquickinformationonmuseumexhibits,accesstosocialnetworks,andmore.

Launching Google Wallet on Sprintgo.nmc.org/hurhd(Google Mobile Blog, 19 September 2011.) Thisannouncement from Google explores Google Wallet— a new method of ecommerce that allows peopleto make purchases from their phones with near fieldcommunication as the secure mechanism for storingandtransmittinguserpaymentinformation.

Near Field Communication Adds a New Layer to Museumsgo.nmc.org/bxprg(KristenWinkler,BigThink,18August2011.)ThisarticleexploresthepossibilityofembeddingNFCchipsinsignsoutside of museums, so with the flick of their mobilephone,passers-bycanviewthesigninotherlanguagesorfindoutadditionalinformation.

NFC Technology: 6 Ways it Could Change Our Daily Livesgo.nmc.org/ipitu(Sarah Kessler, Mashable, 6 May 2010). Contactlesspayment and infotags containing schedules andannouncementsarebothcitedinthisarticleastwoofthe most potentially transformative features of nearfieldcommunication.

RFID and the Museumgo.nmc.org/pswnw(Scott Billings, MuseumNext, 4 January 2011.) Theauthor cites cost-effectiveness and simplicity amongthe reasons why RFID is relatively easy for museumsto integrate. He provides several examples, includinganexhibit that involvesvisitorsdropping IDcards inacupandhavingtheirinformationprojectedonanearbyscreen.

33Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:FourtoFiveYears

Smart objects can be attached to an artwork or object very discretely, and then used to track, monitor, maintain, and keep records about the object.

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heprocessusedtoresearchandcreatetheNMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition is verymuchrootedinthemethodsusedacrossalltheresearch conducted within the NMC HorizonProject. All editions of the NMC Horizon Report

areproducedusingacarefullyconstructedprocessthatis informed by both primary and secondary research.Dozensoftechnologies,meaningfultrends,andcriticalchallenges are examined for possible inclusion in thereport for each edition. Every report draws on theconsiderableexpertiseofan internationally renownedadvisory board that first considers a broad set ofimportant emerging technologies, challenges, andtrends,andthenexamineseachoftheminprogressivelymore detail, reducing the set until the final listing oftechnologies,trends,andchallengesisselected.

Much of the process takes place online, where it iscapturedandplaced in theNMCHorizonProjectwiki.This wiki is intended to be a completely transparentwindowontotheworkoftheproject,andcontainstheentire record of the research for each of the variouseditions.

ThesectionofthewikiusedfortheMuseum Editioncanbefoundatmuseum.wiki.nmc.org.

The procedure for selecting the topics in the reportincluded a modified Delphi process now refined overyears of producing NMC Horizon Reports, and beganwith the assembly of the advisory board. The boardrepresentsawide rangeofbackgrounds,nationalities,and interests, yet each member brings a particularlyrelevantexpertise.Todate,hundredsofinternationallyrecognizedpractitionersandexpertshaveparticipatedon the NMC Horizon Project Advisory Boards; in anygiven year, a third of advisory board members arenew, ensuring a flow of fresh perspectives each year.

Nominations to serve on the advisory board areencouraged—seego.nmc.org/horizon-nominate.

Once the advisory board for a particular edition isconstituted,theirworkbeginswithasystematicreviewof the literature — press clippings, reports, essays,and other materials — that pertains to emergingtechnology. Advisory board members are providedwith an extensive set of background materials whentheprojectbegins,andarethenaskedtocommentonthem, identify those that seem especially worthwhile,and add to the set. The group discusses existingapplications of emerging technology and brainstormsnew ones. A key criterion for the inclusion of a topicin this edition is its potential relevance to museumeducationor interpretation.AcarefullyselectedsetofRSSfeedsfromdozensofrelevantpublicationsensuresthat background resources stay current as the projectprogresses.Theyareusedtoinformthethinkingoftheparticipantsthroughouttheprocess.

Following the review of the literature, the advisoryboard engages in the central focus of the research —theresearchquestionsthatareatthecoreoftheNMCHorizonProject.Thesequestionsweredesignedtoelicita comprehensive listing of interesting technologies,challenges,andtrendsfromtheadvisoryboard:

1 Which of the key technologies catalogued in the NMC Horizon Project Listing will be most

important to museum education and interpretation within the next five years?

2 What key technologies are missing from our list? Considertheserelatedquestions:

> What would you list among the established technologies that some institutions are using

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition34

Methodology

T

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35Methodology

today that arguably all museums should be using broadly to support or enhance museum education and interpretation?

> What technologies that have a solid user base in consumer, entertainment, or other industries should museums be actively looking for ways to apply?

> What are the key emerging technologies you see developing to the point that museums should begin to take notice during the next four to five years?

3 What do you see as the key challenges related to education and interpretation that museums will

face during the next five years?

4 What trends do you expect will have a significant impact on the ways in which museums use

technologies in the service of mission-mandated goals related to education and interpretation?

Oneoftheadvisoryboard’smostimportanttasksistoanswer these questions as systematically and broadlyas possible, so as to ensure that the range of relevanttopicsisconsidered.Oncethisworkisdone,aprocessthat moves quickly over just a few days, the advisoryboard moves to a unique consensus-building processbasedonaniterativeDelphi-basedmethodology.

Inthefirststepof thisapproach, theresponsestotheresearchquestionsaresystematicallyrankedandplacedintoadoptionhorizonsbyeachadvisoryboardmemberusing a multi-vote system that allows members toweight their selections. Each member is asked to alsoidentify the timeframe during which they feel thetechnologywouldentermainstreamuse—definedforthepurposeoftheprojectasabout20%ofinstitutionsadopting itwithintheperioddiscussed. (Thisfigure isbasedontheresearchofGeoffreyA.Mooreandreferstothecriticalmassofadoptionsneededforatechnologytohaveachanceofenteringbroaduse.)Theserankingsare compiled into a collective set of responses, andinevitably, the ones around which there is the mostagreementarequicklyapparent.

Fromthecomprehensivelistoftechnologiesoriginallyconsideredforanyreport,thetwelvethatemergeatthetopofthe initial rankingprocess—fourperadoptionhorizon—arefurtherresearchedandexpanded.Oncethis “short list” is identified, the group, working with

both NMC staff and practitioners in the field, beginsto explore the ways in which these twelve importanttechnologiesmightbeusedformuseumeducationandinterpretation. A significant amount of time is spentresearchingrealandpotentialapplications foreachoftheareasthatwouldbeofinteresttopractitioners.

Foreveryedition,whenthatworkisdone,eachofthesetwelve“shortlist”itemsiswrittenupintheformatoftheNMCHorizon Report.Withthebenefitofthefullpictureofhowthetopicwill lookinthereport,the“short list”is then ranked yet again, this time in reverse. The sixtechnologies and applications that emerge are thosedetailedintheNMCHorizon Report.

For additional detail on the project methodology ortoreviewtheactual instrumentation,theranking,andthe interim products behind the report, please visitmuseum.wiki.nmc.org.

Dozens of technologies, meaningful trends, and critical challenges are examined for possible inclusion in the report for each edition.

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The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 Museum Edition36

The NMC Horizon Project: 2011 Museum Advisory Board

Larry JohnsonPrincipal InvestigatorNew Media ConsortiumUnited States

Holly WitcheyEditorMIDEAUnited States

Samantha AdamsNew Media ConsortiumUnited States

Dana Allen-GreilNational Museum of American History, Smithsonian InstitutionUnited States

Allegra BurnetteThe Museum of Modern ArtUnited States

Sheila CareyCanadian Heritage Information Network Canada

Susan ChunMuseum Consultant and ResearcherUnited States

Erin CoburnThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtUnited States

David DeanMuseum of Texas Tech UniversityUnited States

Christina DePaoloBalboa Park Online CollaborativeUnited States

Guy DeschênesUniversité du Québec à Montréal Canada

Jim DevineThe Hunterian Museum United Kingdom

Herminia Din University of Alaska, Anchorage United States

Michael EdsonSmithsonian InstitutionUnited States

Beth HarrisThe Museum of Modern ArtUnited States

Susan HazanThe Israel Museum, JerusalemIsrael

Jessica HeimbergDallas Museum of ArtUnited States

Nik HoneysettThe J. Paul Getty MuseumUnited States

Deb HowesJohns Hopkins UniversityUnited States

Lynda KellyAustralian Museum Australia

Harald KraemerZurich University of the Arts Switzerland

Rob Lancefield Davison Art Center, Wesleyan UniversityUnited States

James LinNational Palace Museum Taiwan

Jack LuddenJ. Paul Getty TrustUnited States

Elizabeth MerrittAmerican Association of MuseumsUnited States

Elizabeth NeelyArt Institute of ChicagoUnited States

Lorna O’BrienNorth Lands Creative Glass Scotland

Nancy ProctorSmithsonian InstitutionUnited States

Seema RaoCleveland Museum of ArtUnited States

Conxa RodàMuseu Picasso Spain

Ed RodleyMuseum of Science, BostonUnited States

Adrianne RussellThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of ArtUnited States

Scott SayreSandbox StudiosUnited States

Gary Garrido SchneiderMontclair Art MuseumUnited States

Marsha L. SemmelInstitute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) United States

Koven SmithDenver Art MuseumUnited States

Robert SteinIndianapolis Museum of ArtUnited States

Leonard SteinbachSteinbach and AssociatesUnited States

Jason TrimmerAllen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin CollegeUnited States

Robert TrioHong Kong Maritime MuseumHong Kong

Rachel Varon MIDEAUnited States

John WeberTang MuseumUnited States

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The New Media Consortium has held an ongoing series of conversations and dialogs with hundreds of technology professionals, campus technologists, faculty leaders from colleges and universities, museum professionals, teachers and other school professionals, and representatives of leading corporations from dozens of countries.

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