she will expect that queries will be answered. ... He or she will not be patient with a

delay or a generic auto-reply. As public institutions, museums will have to develop

protocols and mechanisms to cope with increasing expectations on the part of end-

users worldwide." With museum critics condemning the museum's recent turn toward

"edu-tainment," it is essential for museums to redefine new ways for presenting their

institutions as indispensable tools for learning. As the museum is transforming its former

"voice of authority" to engage diverse audiences, providing online collections access is

one method of inviting a personal connection and demonstrating the utility of the

museum beyond its exhibit halls.

Online Collections Accessibility

       Since the widespread use of computer collections databases in the late 1990s,

museums have increasingly offered online access to collections information and

images. Growing opportunities for access to information and chances to interact with

museum collections have the potential to impact public learning through emerging

technologies. Online databases most commonly appear in the form of a representative

sample of objects where web viewers can get a sense of the type and range of objects

in a museum collection. As resources become available and demand continues to grow,

museums are beginning to compile more comprehensive online collections databases,

such as the Smithsonian Collections Search Center (http://collections.si.edu/search/),

which includes over two million records.

       Ivan Karp (2006, 13) describes the growth of online museum databases as a

"democratization of access," which reaches audiences who might not have the

capability to examine the collection otherwise. "Democratizing" museum collections on a

virtually universal scale offers significant implications for reaching underserved