Arrgh…

If there’s one thing in this world that I really love, it’s art. So this week’s readings frustrated me more than anything. I know that I should have an open mind, and I try, but when I think about art being ‘interpreted’ by the masses, well, I feel slightly nauseous. Don’t get me wrong, I think that getting art out there for many to appreciate is a great idea. But I also think that it’s not the casual viewer’s prerogative to interpret it and tag it and maybe change the work of art’s very nature. In the readings for the week it says that the museum’s goal is to encourage user engagement and interpretation and that’s fine. It goes further to say that art has the capacity for multiple readings, and that interpretation should incorporate a “wide spectrum of voices and opinions from inside and outside the institution.” Why bother spending all those years and all that money on schooling if anyone could simply log on and start the interpretation process???? Yikes, I didn’t know I’d be this bitter, but I guess I am. So much for that open mind. I could be totally off the mark here, but I just can’t fathom the idea of an ‘amateur’ possibly changing the canon of the art world. Seriously, shouldn’t  there be an authority in there somewhere? Sure, it might be fun to do an interpretation, get in online, and let others see what you’ve done. But what if your wrong? What if your opinions are just not accurate? Just like physics has formulas, art has terms. These terms are there for a reason. The AAM said that museums present one version of the “truth” but there are more stories to be told… and this is where the public comes in… hmm… I’m not sure I buy that.

I like to peruse museum websites, go through the collections, find out about upcoming exhibits. But that’s the extent of it. I don’t want to read someones opinion, and I don’t want them to read mine. Learning is great, everyone should do it, but it should be taught by an authority on the subject.

in regard to last week’s discussion…

the future of the library?…

I love libraries. and from a totally non-academic standpoint, I love the town library. As a child my mother would take my sister and me every Saturday to get books for the week. One time, she left the books on the roof of the car and drove off. This was a bit traumatizing for us, seeing the books splattered all over the road after we realized that when we arrived home we had no books with us (we retraced). But I digress…

I love the academic library, as well. Even when you know what your looking for, you sometimes hit the jackpot unexpectedly while looking for your chosen book. This happens to me often, as I tend to dawdle in the shelves. Now, digitized libraries do much of the same for me. When researching something in particular, I tend to find things ‘by accident.’ However, this does not replace the feeling of being around the actual books, but it makes it easier. For one thing, time is always an issue these days. And the fact that you can peruse the catalog from home makes it much easier to do research in the hours (usually late-night) you have free.

Therefore, I think it’s important that libraries digitize their collections. In the readings they talked about losing the library in the traditional sense, and I think that is a real possibility. I don’t think, however, that will happen any time in the near future. It’s true that we’re in the digital age and in order to keep up, certain institutions must make concessions in order to be included. As Jensen says, in his keynote speech, they must become ‘risk-takers’ and leave traditional thought behind to some extent to keep up with the growing number of places that are becoming digital. He also says, and I think this is important, that digitized collections are allowing people to actually read again and to research and become interested in things they wouldn’t necessarily be interested in, in the first place. The trick is to stay positive to change: money and funding are always an issue and grabbing the attention of a fickle and transitory audience is another issue. Myself, I think that anything to make information more accessible to the public is a good thing, however, I think that balance is important, as well. Perhaps one can look it up online and then go find it in the shelves. It’s like watching a movie on TV and going to seeing a play. One is easy, the other can be an effort. But once you’re sitting in the theater, experiencing something live, you’re glad you’re there. It’s the same with the internet and libraries: you just can’t beat the real thing.

Libraries have been around for thousands of years (think Alexandria). Sure, the modes of communication have greatly changed and they continue to do so, but the fact is the library as an institution has withstood the changing times, and will continue to do so. It just takes people who want to keep earning and exploring.

P.S. At close, I’d like to add that digitizing a collection can also be a means of preservation. Again, think Alexandria: they burned it. When I attended SCSU, the old library suffered greatly from water damage. Leaky roof? And a lot of their stuff, including art and over-sized books were lost. Part of the library was closed for months with buckets between the shelves to catch the water and plastic tarps everywhere. I think that it wasn’t repaired because the new building was in the process of being built, but it was sad to see something so accessible become so inaccessible.

We all have really good ideas!!!!!

First of all, presentations are nerve-wracking, but I think today’s presentations were really interesting and everybody did a good job. The array of projects, not really the ways of employing them (I think everyone is either doing a wiki, website, or podcast) but the content and ideas were really diverse and I think they suit each of us. Yea!!! Now we just have to get them done. Hmmph. Second of all, I want to say thanks to everybody who showed an interest in mine. I was a little weary of my idea when I got to class although it seemed like a great one at 1am last night. I thought to myself “the evolution of kitchens??? Everyone will laugh at me” but… no one did and it was well received. I am now pretty amped to get going, so thanks. And thanks for your input. I will be harassing some of you in the very near future, so watch out.   As far as building a website, I looked at iWeb on my mac, but I think its a little cheesy. Dreamweaver seems like the best choice, it’ll be something I’ll look into and then I’ll have to justify it somehow. We’ll see…

i think i finally get it!

On Monday, my classmate Michael and I attended the CLHO’s Out and About program in Waterbury. The seminar was about planning and installing a permanent exhibit. We were the only students there and it was slightly awkward, but it was still really interesting and informative. I mention the program because in addition to designing the space, planning the layout, hiring the workers, etc, etc, the museum allotted a (big) chunk of money to digitize a large portion of the exhibit. This is when a light went on for me. As it was explained to us, a huge amount of information could be ’stuck’ into a computer, and by utilizing a touch screen, the viewer could navigate around, looking at pictures, reading stories, and enhance their visit by seeing things the room held and learning more about them on the computer. The ladies on the panel commented that when they were giving the information to the techs, they kept asking, “do you really need all this stuff?” Of course, the answer was yes. And it really was needed. Think of museums and the amount of stuff that sits in basements, or where ever because there is just not enough room to display it. Through digitization, many of things that might have been overlooked are now prominently displayed on a computer screen. And more interestingly, during the planning phase, they were told that the average person would spend about 30 seconds at a computer kiosk. Undaunted, they went ahead and now, with the exhibit up and running, they have found that people can spend up to 40 minutes exploring the databases. When we finally got to peruse the exhibit, we played with the computers and one could literally spend an hour just navigating the program. So that’s how i finally learned the importance of the digital age in a public space (Of course, the physical stuff in the room was interesting, as well).

Now let’s get to the case studies. I’m no computer whiz and I proved this to myself tonight as I tried to navigate the podcast websites. I downloaded this, downloaded that only to find that I didn’t know what to do with it once it was downloaded. Hmmph. Call me a dummy, I don’t care. I’ll stick to itunes if I want a podcast, I guess, or keep doing what I do: listen to the Metropolitan’s various podcasts if they seem interesting, or tool around NPR looking for interesting soundbites. It’s probably my lack of patience with technology, I don’t know. I will say one thing; homework for this class really does not seem like homework when suddenly you look up and an hour has gone by because you’re so absorbed in these sites. That’s a good thing, but it doesn’t mean that I know what I’m doing.

As far as the readings, I like good-looking websites and I think aesthetics are important to spending time at a website (I’m shallow?). But as they say, accessibility means more information and more people utilizing it to get to that information. With Cohen teaching the non-computer people to set up their own history websites, I think the balance of aesthetics and accessibility can be achieved, but probably not by me.

five.

For week 5 I looked at the Probate records in Virginia and Maryland. This was more interesting than I thought it would be. For those of us that like material culture, these records could prove invaluable. Full inventories were included as well as the facsimiles and transcripts. It is amazing to see what people had in the 18th and 19th centuries, right down to the nutmeg in their cupboards. But apart from the wow factor, the creators of the sight did a really good, thorough job in researching, organizing, and presenting the material. The audio describing how the project worked was informative, although a bit choppy at times. However, the New Media Center is doing great work getting this and other information out there for people to utilize.