Putting Knowledge to Work:
Bringing Digital Assets to the
Forefront and
Fostering Virtual Communities
Deb Hunt, Senior Information
Specialist, the Exploratorium
and
Principal, Information Edge
dhunt@exploratorium.edu
SLA Annual Conference, NY, NY June 10, 2003
Rotunda at Night
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
The Exploratorium
• Museum of art, science
and human perception
• Over 500 interactive
exhibits
• Museum as educational
center
• 600,000 visitors annually
• Award-winning website
<www.exploratorium.edu>
Pinscreen Faces
Image by A. Snyder
Exploratorium Digital
Assets Management (EDAM)
<http://sagan.exploratorium.edu/
Cumulus5/ed/>
• IMLS funded
<www.imls.gov>
• Canto Cumulus
• Sun SparcStation
• 2 FTE staff
Recollections
Image by N. Rodger
Audiences
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Salt Piece
Image by A.Snyder
Educators
Museum Partners
Commercial Media
Journalists
Historical
Researchers
• Staff
Departments
Rotunda at Night
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
• Media Production
and Marketing:
Learning Tools,
Photography, Public
Information,
• Teacher
Professional
Development:
Teacher Institute
• Exhibit Services
Catalogs
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•
Fracture in Granite
Image by P. Doherty
Central Catalog
Learning Tools
Photos
Marketing
Central vs. Departmental Catalogs
Fracture in Granite
Image by P. Doherty
• Central: best quality,
both high and med
resolution; full indexing;
available to all staff and
partly to external
audiences. Copyright
issue.
• Department Catalogs:
range of quality and
resolution; partial
indexing; limited
availability. Designed to
help departments
control access to their
material.
Conceptual Framework
Categories / Keywords
Light Walk
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
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By Audience
By Conceptual Area
By Exhibit Name
By Phenomena
By Date
By Place
By Event
Field Structure
Bubbles
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
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Asset Creator
Other Contributor
Caption
Exhibit Builder
Person Portrayed
Master Format
Master Location
Asset Quality
Field Structure
• Copyright
• Model Release
Form
• Bibliographic
Citation
• Metadata
automatically
entered by Cumulus
Bubbles
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
Dissemination
• NT Network
(internal)
• Cumulus Web
Publishing Module
(external)
Brine Shrimp Ballet
Surprises
• Took a long time to
get started
• Processing/Indexing
time
• Website blues
• Less time to
evaluate
Anti-Gravity Mirror
Barriers
Bubble Demonstrates Osmosis
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
• Physical organization
of assets
• Territoriality
• Lost / Damaged
assets
• Museum priorities:
creation
vs.organization
• Lack of intellectual
property policies
Solutions
Argon Candle
Image by N. Roger
• Help staff organize
• Have patience with
territorial feelings new system will
assert itself
• Train and retrain;
document; project
website
• Museum slowly
changing priorities
• New policies coming;
slow train
Pleasant Surprises
• Popularity of the
digital assets with
staff and external
users
• Creation of two new
web resources
designed for two
external audiences
Cracks in a Door
Image by S. Schwartzenberg
More Surprises
• Some of our best
assets were created
by non-media
department staff
Spinning Blackboard
Movie by Katherina Audley
Even More Surprises
• New resources to
come out of project
include exhibit
cross-reference
database,
event/exhibition
database
Colored Shadows
Image by A. Snyder
Letting Go
Air Rings
Image by S. Lani
• What’s lost is lost;
prevent future loss
• We spent much
more time on
infrastructure than
we intended; time
well spent.
• We need more time
and expertise for
testing and
evaluation phase
Looking Forward
Torn Edge of Typing Paper
• More customization
to external audience
needs
• More evaluation
• Concentration on
audio and video
assets
• New audience:
scientific
researchers
Fostering Virtual
Communities
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Sun Painting
Snacktalk
Pinhole
EduNews
Subscriber database
Websites
• Exploratorium
<www.exploratorium.edu>
• Exploratorium Digital Assets Management
(EDAM)
<http://sagan.exploratorium.edu/
Cumulus5/ed/>
• Exploratorium Educator Online Network (EON)
<www.exploratorium.edu/educate/>