Multimedia in museums: an overview of its developments Available to Purchase

The fundamental role that the new optical multimedia information technologies play in the museum context is analysed as a solution to problems in the management of museographic documentation. The advantages that the new technical means can give museums are assessed. The new optical means of information storage are analysed and the problems hindering the hypermedia interactive development in these institutions are exposed; legal, technological, standardisation and resources. Finally, the state of some existing applications is described at three levels; a) projects of collaboration for the growth and spread of information on projects for the development of multimedia databases; b) institutional projects for research into computerised system managers of image documentation; and c) individual projects from different centres belonging to different countries.