Fast forward: building a sustainable new media future for UK museums September 29, 2006

There is a wealth of technology that is rich with potential for museums and their visitors. It has already greatly improved learning, access, collections management and other key museum objectives.

However, success across the sector is patchy and organisational cultures must fundamentally change in order for the potential of ICT and new media to be fully realised.

Expensive interactives may be dismissed as gimmicks, digitised collections are often accessed by too few users, and awareness of how best to cost-effectively source content for new media is all too often lacking.

These shortcomings can result from a lack of funds but may also indicate a reluctance to engage with, and misunderstanding of, the digital revolution.

The focus for training and debates on museums and new media has tended to be on the specific technologies themselves, this conference though will explore the prospects for the IT function to be as integral to museums and galleries as collections management and education. It is for anyone interested in making the changes necessary for museums to adapt to our new, digital world. You will come away with ideas for:

• developing cost-effective procurement strategies for new media
• training staff to understand and exploit the potential of digital technology
• encouraging dialogue between IT and curatorial staff
• coping with the pace of technological change.

Official Website: http://www.museumsassociation.org/12484