Chapter 6: Altmetrics in the Museum Environment

Museums conduct original research and publish in peer-reviewed journals similar to academic institutions but have a focus on outreach and education. Availability of information online provides an opportunity to expand awareness and interaction with museum scholarly research. Altmetrics provide a way to measure attention to museum research activities and use that information to support their work, demonstrate outreach with metrics, and be useful for future planning and programing. This chapter provides an overview of a proof of concept project to examine applicability and usefulness of altmetrics for tracking attention to published research by museum staff and affiliated research associates. The perspectives on altmetrics are outlined from the viewpoint of the institution and of a museum researcher.