Role of Technology

A Call for the Application of Technology in Museum Partnerships

      Web 2.0 technology has the ability to enhance the museum/ Native partnerships

that have been developing over the past two decades. Very simply stated, Web 2.0 is a

form of internet communication that promotes user-generated content and "act(s) as a

content platform instead of content provider" (Simon 2009). Web 2.0 embraces online

communities, participation, and collaboration that are all developed through user-

friendly online tools. There are several tools museums commonly use, including

Facebook, Twitter, interactive online collections databases, and wikis. On-site

collaboration and consultations continue to benefit collections and exhibition projects;

however, the process requires a great deal of time and financial resources. The

increase in interactive web technologies leads some museum professionals to

anticipate growth of future digital collaborations. Ruth B. Phillips (2003, 160), director of

the Museum of Anthropology in British Columbia states, "It seems probable that new

electronic media will play a major role in sustaining these (museum/Native)

relationships." For example, the Royal Ontario Museum presented digital object images

to the First Nations Tr'ondek Hwech'in in Yukon Territory. The Tr'ondek Hwech'in

community, which had little previous knowledge of the museum's holdings, became

interested in a deeper study of historic clothing manufacture, and a loan agreement was

made between the museum and this First Nations community (Peers and Brown, 2003).

Public Expectations for Immediate Information Access

      Museums are currently investigating how younger generations will interface with

museum information, considering the dramatic changes in communication technologies

and the corresponding tech-lifestyle that has developed since the 1990s. The