Museum Websites and Museum Visitors: Digital Museum Resources and their Use

Abstract

This article presents results from an exploratory survey (administered to more than 1200 visitors at nine different online museums) that addressed questions about the role of museum websites in the lives of museum visitors. The results provide details about the use of digital museum resources on museum websites, and indicate that the majority of online museum visitors have clear expectations for the interactions that take place between museums and museum websites. The article documents the role digital museum resources play in the lives of museum visitors, and provides strategies for supporting the information needs of all visitors as they use digital museum resources, online and in-house. The lessons learned underscore the importance of taking a visitor-centered approach when developing digital museum resources, and the need for museum researchers and professionals to better understand how new information technologies have changed the way museums visitors approach museums and their resources.