Beyond the Physical: Reimagining Digital Experiences in Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums.

On 27 May 2016 the State Library of NSW hosted a forum presented by CSIRO Data61 in which a panel of specialists working in GLAM institutions (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) discussed and demonstrated how they are developing and utilising new technologies in order to connect and engage with the public in new and innovative ways. As the blurb stated:

Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) have always been a place of wonder, discovery, knowledge and memories. With new technologies now available, and the realm of digital information, the wonder only expands: space barriers are broken down and artefacts can be experienced and explored remotely.

The speakers on the forum were:

The State Library of NSW has always collected what Brenden Somes rather technically calls ‘stuff’. This stuff covers a wide variety of subjects and is collected for the purpose of documenting life in NSW and to provide information and services for the public both today and into the future. In the past this has largely meant the collecting of physical objects such as newspapers, photographs, magazines, monographs, diaries, maps etc. However, the State Library has become increasingly interested in how daily life is recorded in the digital world and they have therefore been working with the CSIRO Data61 since 2012 to collect social media.

To do this, the State Library uses a program called Vizie which collects content from publicly available social media following a set of library generated parameters. Spreadsheets are created and Vizie ingests this content and initiates the process of collecting. For example, in 2015 the State Library collected social media data on the NSW State election (the political parties; their digital presence; how social media reacted to news and events, etc.) The State Library of NSW is able to collect social media on a grand scale - the challenge now is to negotiate how this data can best be accessed by library users.                                          

Australian museums and cultural spaces are also looking to technology to help find answers to other challenges. The National Museum of Australia (NMA), the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM), and even Jenolan Caves are investing heavily in their digital outreach programs which are designed to create connections with people, particularly students who, for whatever reason (distance, physical disability etc), are unable to visit their institutions in person.

The NMA is now home to the Museum Robot, ‘a semi-autonomous robot that operates as a guide to

GLAM institutions are also using digital technology to expand accessibility in other ways. The National Museum of Australia holds more than 200,000 objects in its National Historical Collection yet, like most museums and galleries, they only display about 3-5% of their physical collection. The NMA has therefore developed their ‘Collection Explorer’ which allows access to almost half of these items over the web. Additionally, when a physical exhibition is over, a digitised collection can continue to be accessible - and added to – online.

The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is also making more and more of their collection accessible online. For ALA this is more than just an outreach program – it is a complete reimagining of Australian biological collections (there are currently around 60 million specimens in Australian collections). ALA is working to produce a fully digitised, support-based collection which not only allows researchers to view insects more closely than ever before, but to perform scientific analysis and record precise data which will help future decision-making regarding nature, the environment and sustainability.

Yangoru Boiken drum head © National Gallery of Australia

Throughout this forum it was repeatedly emphasised by the speakers that they did not see digital innovation as a means to replace the physical experience of visiting GLAM institutions, but to enhance it. The Pacific Art collection at the National Gallery of Australia holds many items from Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia but, like the NMA, only a small fraction is physically exhibited, often in dark, didactic settings which restricts how close visitors can get to their artworks. The curators wanted to highlight the craftsmanship of the objects and thereby make their physical exhibitions more engaging. This was achieved by scanning the objects in 3D and then attaching touch-screen panels to the appropriate display cases. Curator, Crispin Howarth, did concede that many people, especially children, were more interested in the digital displays than the physical objects, but by tracking visitors they could see that many then did return to ‘the real thing’ with a more informed understanding of the exhibit.

The speakers highlighted several other advantages they have found from digitising their collections, particularly with regards to preservation, collaboration and education. Interestingly, innovative technology can also assist curators well before a physical exhibition comes to life. Using virtual reality, curators can show colleagues – and even investors or sponsors - what a planned exhibition could be like before putting it together. Being able to ‘walk through’ a virtual version of the exhibition can help those, who Crispin Howarth called, ‘the geo-spatially challenged’ have a clearer idea of the layout and design of an exhibition long before objects are put on show.

Jenolan Caves © IntoScience

Even Jenolan Caves is getting in on the act. Daniel Keogh from 3P Learning/Into Science has a background in gaming, and these days works to ‘produce educational games and interactive content to teach high school students about wondrous stuff in science.’ Using a Zebedee 3D scanner Daniel’s team is creating a virtual 3D experience of Jenolan Caves – one in which students can explore, ‘take samples’ and undertake ‘experiments’. The digital experience can also tell the history and science of the caves – and if it’s online, in theory, it’s available anywhere in the world. Daniel has also worked with the Australian National Maritime Museum to create a 3D ‘replica’ of the HMS Endeavour.

Of course these virtual versions cannot reproduce many of the attributes of the ‘real thing’- the smells, changes in temperature, the experience of how others around you are reacting to the physical environment, – at least not yet, but the digital landscape is opening up the opportunity for GLAM institutions to connect and interact with both physical and remote visitors in ways which not so long ago were science fiction.

Cheers, Steph Bailey. :)