Digital and Virtual Museology
How digital technologies transform the museum — from collections data and online access to virtual exhibitions, 3D documentation, and connected, networked institutions.
Definition
Digital and virtual museology is the study and practice of applying digital and networked technologies to collect, document, interpret, and provide access to museum collections and heritage.
Scope
This area covers the digitization of collections and their cataloguing, online and virtual museums and exhibitions, three-dimensional capture and digital documentation of objects and sites, and the management and publication of museum data, including linked open data. It also addresses the theory of digital cultural heritage and the implications of networks and social media for the museum's role and authority.
Sub-topics
Core questions
- How does digitization change access to collections?
- What can virtual and online museums do that physical ones cannot?
- How are objects and sites captured and documented in 3D?
- How do data standards and networks reshape the museum?
Key theories
- Recoding the museum
- Parry traces how computing has been absorbed into the museum over decades, arguing that digital technology does not merely add tools but reshapes the museum's organization, authority, and relationship with audiences.
- Theorizing digital cultural heritage
- Cameron and Kenderdine assemble a critical discourse showing that digital heritage raises new questions about authenticity, representation, materiality, and access rather than simply reproducing objects online.
History
Museums began computerizing collections records in the 1960s and 1970s, moved online in the 1990s, and embraced mass digitization, social media, and 3D and immersive technologies in the 2000s and 2010s. The field of museum informatics and digital heritage theory developed alongside, and the COVID-19 period further accelerated investment in online and virtual access.
Debates
- Digital surrogate versus the original object
- Commentators debate whether digital access broadens engagement and democratizes collections or risks privileging surrogates over the material object and the embodied museum visit.
Key figures
- Ross Parry
- Fiona Cameron
- Sarah Kenderdine
- Paul F. Marty
Related topics
Seminal works
- parry2007
- cameronkenderdine2007
- marty2008
Frequently asked questions
- What is digital cultural heritage?
- Digital cultural heritage refers to heritage that is created, documented, interpreted, or made accessible through digital technologies, including digitized collections, born-digital objects, 3D models, and virtual reconstructions.
- Does digitization replace visiting a museum?
- Most scholars see digital access as complementary rather than a replacement: it broadens reach, supports research, and enables new experiences, but the material presence of objects and the embodied visit retain distinct value.