Literature Review on the Digital Museum in a Chinese Context

Qiong Dang

doi:10.22158/csm.v1n2p149

Abstract

<em>Parry (2007) claims that “it would be an exaggeration to suggest that the computer has been the cause of the recent ‘reimagining’, ‘rethinking’, ‘reshaping’ and ‘reframing’ of the museum” (p. 140). Technological innovation creates new possibilities for the development of the museum, and the digital museum as one of its products plays a key role in the preservation and communication of cultural heritage. However, research on the digital museum is lacking in China. Therefore, this article is an attempt to determine the extent to which factors influence the construction of digital museums. In order to answer the research question, a systematic review has been utilized in order to comb the available literature in the Chinese context. As a result, 1829 articles have been retrieved and 205 articles have been accessed, and finally, 41 studies have been selected and reviewed. The results indicate that the development of the digital museum is influenced by technology, human resources, and funding. Then, suggestions and implications are put forward for further research.</em>

Highlights

Introduction and Problem Statement1.1 Introduction In the twenty-first century, technology has already brought about great breakthroughs in our society, which is self-evident in that technology is ubiquitous (Maleuvre, 1999; Chang, 2012)
The results indicate that the development of the digital museum is influenced by technology, human resources, and funding
According to the content analysis of the concept of the digitalized museum, it is understood in two different ways. 1) the digitalized museum refers to an important application of modern information technology centered on computers at cultural institutions, which aims to combine internal information collection management with external information queries (Zhen, 1999; Chen, 2000; Tian & Zhu, 2009; Zhao, 2013), and its development has resulted in a radical revolution in museum management

Summary

Introduction

1.1 Introduction In the twenty-first century, technology has already brought about great breakthroughs in our society, which is self-evident in that technology is ubiquitous (Maleuvre, 1999; Chang, 2012). Museums have been transformed by their social context and the proliferation of information technology. The history of automation of museums might have begun in 1963 in Washington, D. Technology has changed the way museums interact and communicate with others. In 2001, the Palace Museum’s website was open to the public, indicating Chinese museums’ first step into the www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm

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