Museums and the Digital: The View from the Micro Gallery

Abstract

In July 1991 the Micro Gallery opened in the National Gallery, London – a suite of PCs that visitors could use to access high resolution images and information about its paintings. in 1999 the National Museum Directors’ Conference published an influential report, A Netful of Jewels, which envisaged an exciting online future for museums. To assess the use of electronic and digital resources now four flagship national museums and galleries in London were reviewed for onsite, online and mobile resources. They were found to vary considerably in what they offered, the results of different corporate policies and strategies.