Netwerk Collectie Nederland: an intranet for Dutch museums

Abstract

As of the first of January 1997, Dutch museums have been able to hook up to the computerised service called Netwerk Collectie Nederland. The NCN is a closed network, an intranet on a subscription basis, meant for a limited group of professional users. It was created as a joint venture by several museum and governmental organisations and developed by the Instituut Collectie Nederland (Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage). Its initial aim was to facilitate mobility of collections, i.e. the exchange of objects between collecting institutions in the Netherlands. The experience of the first operational year has shown that this focus is too narrow to enable the service to become financially self-supporting within four years, which is the goal. An intricate combination of push and pull factors of a political, technical and cultural nature has contributed to a disappointing take-up of the NCN by its intended users. New directions are currently being studied to improve this situation. As a case study, the story of the NCN can serve as an example of the complexity of such endeavours.