Museum informatics is an interdisciplinary field of study in the area of museum studies, relating to the use of information science

Information science

-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...

 and information technology

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

.
It refers to the theory

Theory

The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...

 and application

Application

Application may refer to:* Application for employment* Application software* Function application in mathematics and computer science...

 of informatics

Informatics (academic field)

Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information...

 by museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s.

Overview

Archives and Museum Informatics

Archives and Museum Informatics

Archives and Museum Informatics is a journal published by Springer. Begun in 1987, as the Archival Informatics Newsletter, it assumed its present title with volume 3 in 1989...

is a leading journal in the field of museum informatics. University courses relating to museology

Museology

Museology is the diachronic study of museums and how they have established and developed in their role as an educational mechanism under social and political pressures.-Overview:...

 include a component on museum informatics.
The Museum Computer Network

Museum Computer Network

The Museum Computer Network is a US-based non-profit organization for professionals with an interest in the use of computer technology for museums. It runs an annual conference, the MCN-L discussion forum, special interest groups, an online directory of museum websites, etc. Members include...

 (MCN) in the USA holds an annual conference and runs the MCN-L electronic mailing list

Electronic mailing list

An electronic mailing list is a special usage of email that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users. It is similar to a traditional mailing list — a list of names and addresses — as might be kept by an organization for sending publications to...

. The Museums Computer Group

Museums Computer Group

The Museums Computer Group is a British group which provides a forum for discussion between museum, gallery, archive, and higher education professionals who work with computers and new technologies.-Overview:...

 (MCG) in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 also holds meetings relevant to museum informatics.
The ICHIM conference series in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the Museums and the Web

Museums and the Web

The annual Museums and the Web conference is the leading international conference in the field of museums and their websites. It has been organized by Archives & Museum Informatics each Spring in North America since 1997.- Overview :...

 conference series in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 cover aspects of museum informatics.
Other relevant conferences include the EVA Conferences

EVA Conferences

The Electronic Visualisation and the Arts conferences are a series of international interdisciplinary conferences mainly in Europe, but also elsewhere in the world, for people interested in the application of information technology to the cultural and especially the visual arts field, including...

.
Books are available on the subject.

There have been a number of collaborative projects in the field of museum informatics such as AMICO

Amico

Amico means "friend" in Italian. It may also be used as a first name or a family name. It may refer to:* Saint Amico* Amico Aspertini* Leah Amico* Bartolomeo Amico*Art Museum Image Consortium...

, Artstor

ARTstor

ARTstor is a non-profit organization that builds and distributes the Digital Library, an online resource of more than one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences. The ARTstor Digital Library also includes a set of software tools to view, present, and manage images for...

, the Museum Informatics Project (MIP), and steve.museum

Steve.museum

The steve.museum project is a collaborative effort to improve public access to and engagement with US art museum collections. To do so, it is exploring the possibilities of user-generated descriptions of works of art, also known as folksonomy...

.
The International Council of Museums

International Council of Museums

The International Council of Museums is an international organization of museums and museum professionals that is committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world's natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.- Overview :Created...

 (ICOM), through Cary Karp

Cary Karp

Cary Karp, a museum curator based in Sweden, has been instrumental in developing online facilities for museums in the context of the International Council of Museums . In particular, he was central in promoting and establishing the .museum top-level domain as President of the international Museum...

, was instrumental in initiating the ".museum

.museum

museum is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet used exclusively by museums, museum associations, and individual members of the museum profession, as these groups are defined by the International Council of Museums .In joint action with the J...

" top-level domain

Top-level domain

A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...

 for museums on the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

.
Companies such as Archives & Museum Informatics

Archives & Museum Informatics

Archives & Museum Informatics is a company based in Toronto, Canada , that organizes conferences, and undertakes consulting, publishing and training in the field of cultural heritage, especially for museums....

 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Cogapp

Cogapp

Cogapp is a British company specialising in consultancy, design and production of interactive and online multimedia applications, especially in the cultural sector where it is a leader within the industry. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Brighton, on the south coast of England...

 in the United Kingdom help museums in using information technology effectively.

External links

• Museum Informatics people on Academia.edu
  Academia.edu
  Academia.edu is a free social networking website and collaboration tool aimed at academics and researchers from all fields.Launched in September 2008, it became one of the largest social networking sites for academics in 2010...
  
  
• Museum Informatics papers on Academia.edu