Why do we use IT in Museums?
We use IT is museums for a wide range of potential reasons:
- To manage the 'back office' - office tasks, email, risk management, finances...
- To manage collections
- To manage volunteers - rotas, training, skills records
- To manage Friends - subscriptions, donations, newsletters
- Pre-visit information, website and social media, trip adviser etc
- The Visit itself – the Museum, exhibitions, information, surveys...
- Shop, reception, stock, book-keeping, financial planning and monitoring
- Post-visit, feedback, follow ups, surveys
- For Friends and volunteers - additional content, training courses...
The Potential Problems
There are many possible problems relating to IT use in a volunteer led environment:
- I.T. can be expensive
- Lack of suitable Hardware
- Lack of suitable Software
- I.T. can require expertise beyond most volunteers or
- There are not enough volunteers with the right skill sets to manage all of the I.T.
- I.T may have to be outsourced which can be a large expense (so good I.T. management and upkeep may not happen)
- I.T. is often not maintained in volunteer environments
- Which can introduce security risks
- Leave out of date content etc
So…
- There are Challenges due to limited budget and resources
- There is a need for affordable and simple I.T. solutions
- Some training may be required
The Potential Benefits
The potential benefits of doing some work on your I.T. systems could be:
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An Improved visitor experience
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Streamlined administrative tasks
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Enhanced accessibility for online audiences including sharing internally
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Cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation