Museums Go Digital: How Memory Institutions Adapted to Lockdown Life

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

Memory institutions in the UK and USA significantly increased their digital presence during COVID-19 lockdowns, focusing on content related to learning and communication to existing audiences. Virtual visits were less common, and while institutions made some efforts to address the needs of diverse audiences, there was room for improvement in engaging vulnerable communities and monetizing digital resources.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that when museums and libraries closed during the pandemic, they put lots of their cool stuff online. This helped people learn, but it was mostly for their usual visitors, and they didn't earn much money from it.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Limitations

Limited engagement analysis

The research methodology lacks depth in assessing user engagement with digital resources. While the paper presents an overview of available digital offerings, it doesn't capture data on the actual usage or impact of these resources on different audience groups.

Lack of long-term assessment

The research predominantly focuses on immediate responses to the pandemic and lacks long-term assessment. It doesn't explore how these digital offerings have evolved beyond the initial lockdown period and their sustained impact on museum practices and audience behavior.

Insufficient focus on specific audience needs

While acknowledging the need to cater to diverse and vulnerable audiences, the research lacks sufficient examples of how institutions effectively met the needs of these groups. It misses opportunities to explore how digital resources addressed challenges related to accessibility and inclusion during the lockdown.

Rating Explanation

This research offers a comprehensive overview of how museums in the UK and USA adapted their digital offerings during the COVID-19 lockdown. It demonstrates a strong methodology through website surveys and data analysis, classifying digital offerings by type, audience, and content, highlighting the shift in online engagement during this period. Despite some minor limitations such as a limited assessment of audience engagement, it makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of digital transformation in the cultural heritage sector.

Good to know

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Social Sciences

Field: Arts and Humanities

Subfield: Museology

File Information

Original Title: Heritage in lockdown: digital provision of memory institutions in the UK and the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic

Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 10:59 AM

Privacy: Public