Development of Digital Cultural Heritage Management: Lessons and Guidelines from Local Museums in Chiang Mai Province
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The Navanurak and Museum Pool platforms are digital archive and museum guide system that play a vital role in managing and digitizing cultural heritage data. These platforms have been developed, transferred, and operated by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) in collaboration with local museums in Chiang Mai Province since 2018. This research aims to: 1) study the lessons learned from the management and digitization of cultural heritage data in museums through the case studies of the museums in Chiang Mai Province that utilize these platforms, and 2) study to find the guidelines for developing digital cultural heritage data management for local museums in Thailand.
Methods: This study employed qualitative research methodology, collecting data through relevant research literature, platform usage, and in-depth interviews. Then the data was analyzed using comparative analysis and triangulation method to ensure reliability. The research sites comprise six local museums in Chiang Mai Province, selected based on the following criteria: being managed by temples or communities, the readiness of staff, having more than 50 artifacts, being in operation for more than one year, and having no digital collection management system. The study involves 45 key informants, consisting of 5 platform designers and developers, 8 museum staff with minimum one-year experience, 12 community volunteers, and 20 students who completed training in museum operations and platform usage.
Results: The implementation of the Navanurak and Museum Pool platforms of the local museums in Chiang Mai province represents a collaborative effort between NSTDA, museum staff, community volunteers, and lecturers and students from Chiang Mai Rajabhat University. It has enabled the digitization of at least 50 cultural heritage items, including objects and their related contexts, for each museum through four main processes: selecting museums and providing digital skill and knowledge training, managing objects, digitizing and importing data into the digital system, and disseminating and conducting research for further development. The success factors depend on the distinctive characteristics of artifacts, digital competencies of personnel, community participation, and utilization linkages, while maintaining digital data security. The research findings indicate that while technology serves as a tool, the community remains the crucial driving force in conservation efforts and sustainable museum management. This led to three strategic recommendations: 1) guidelines for developing appropriate digital collection platforms for local museums, 2) guidelines for collaboration with local museums in Thailand, and 3 guidelines for collaboration with Rajabhat Universities group. All these recommendations emphasize the development of systems and collaborations appropriate to the context of local museums.
Application of this study: Recommendations for the development of digital cultural heritage management are the lessons derived from fieldwork, specifically from local museums in Chiang Mai Province. These guidelines can be utilized in formulating strategies, planning operations, and budgeting for the agencies which are responsible for platforms, local museums, educational institutions, and organizations with similar contexts. This approach aims to facilitate the management of museums and cultural heritage in the digital era, ensuring appropriateness to the context of local museums in Thailand.
Conclusions: The Navanurak and Museum Pool platforms are tools for managing the digital cultural heritage collections of local museums. However, achieving sustainability requires the creation of a museum ecosystem through the integration of collaborative efforts among experts with diverse skills and knowledge. This integration fosters shared ownership, leading to a greater sense of awareness in preserving cultural heritage and museums.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Ardissono, L., Kuflik, T., & Petrelli, D. (2012). Personalization in Cultural Heritage: The Road Travelled and the one Ahead. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, 22(1), 73-99.
Balletti, C., Ballarin, M., & Guerra, F. (2017). 3D Printing: State of the Art and Future Perspectives. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 26, 172-182.
Barateiro, J., & Others. (2010). Designing Digital Preservation Solutions: A Risk Management-Based Approach. International Journal of Digital Curation, 5(1), 4-17.
Barbieri, L., Bruno, F., & Muzzupappa, M. (2017). Virtual Museum System Evaluation Through User Studies. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 26, 101-108.
Becker, C., & Rauber, A. (2011). Decision Criteria in Digital Preservation: What to Measure and How. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(6), 1009-1028.
Bekele, M. K., & Others. (2018). A Survey of Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality for Cultural Heritage. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 11(2), 1-36.
Benckendorff, P., Tussyadiah, I., & Scarles, C. (2018). The Role of Digital Technologies in Facilitating Intergenerational Learning in Heritage Tourism. In B. Stangl & J. Pesonen (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference in Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2018, Sweden, (pp. 463-472). January 24-26, 2018 Jönköping, Sweden.
Besek, J. M., & Others. (2008). Digital Preservation and Copyright: An International Study. International Journal of Digital Curation, 3(2), 103-111.
Boonto, P. (2025a). Figure 1 Process of Management and Digital Cultural Heritage Data Transformation on Navanurak and Museum Pool Platforms.
Boonto, P. (2025b). Figure 2 Access Channels for Digital Platforms of Case Study Museums.
Cameron, F., & Kenderdine, S. (Eds.). (2007). Theorizing Digital Cultural Heritage: A Critical Discourse. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Caplan, P. (2003). Metadata Fundamentals for all Librarians. Chicago: American Library Association.
Chartboot, D. (2019). Metadata Standards for Museums: A New Step for Museums in Thailand in the Digital Age. Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 38(1), 107-134. (In Thai)
Conway, P. (2010). Preservation in the Age of Google: Digitization, Digital Preservation, and Dilemmas. The Library Quarterly, 80(1), 61-79.
English Heritage. (2008). Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment. London: Historic England.
Feilden, B. M., & Jokilehto, J. (1998). Management Guidelines for World Cultural Heritage Sites 2nd ed. Rome: ICCROM.
Giannini, T., & Bowen, J. P. (2019). Museums and Digital Culture: New Perspectives and Research. Cham: Springer.
Hammady, R., Ma, M., & Temple, N. (2020). Augmented Reality and Gamification in Heritage Museums. In M. Ma & A. Oikonomou (Eds.), Serious Games and Edutainment Applications: Volume II. (pp. 1281-1319). Cham: Springer.
Hilbert, M., & López, P. (2011). The World’s Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information. Science, 332(6025), 60-65.
Hossaini, A., Blankenberg, N., & Ansari, M. (2017). Manual of Digital Museum Planning. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Huhtamo, E. (2010). On the Origins of the Virtual Museum. In R. Parry (Ed.), Museums in a Digital Age. (pp. 121-135). London: Routledge.
Janes, R. R., & Sandell, R. (Eds.). (2019). Museum Activism. London: Routledge.
Kester, W. (2005). The Data Conversion Handbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Kuflik, T., & Others. (2015). An Integrative Framework for Extending the Boundaries of the Museum Visit Experience: Linking the Pre, During and Post Visit Phases. Information Technology & Tourism, 15(1), 17-47.
Lertthayakul, D. (2018). Development of a Virtual Local Museum: The Case Study of Learning Center for Traditional Local Fabrics Hand-Woven by Lao Ethnicities of Chee and Krang in Suphanburi Province. Nakhon Phanom University Journal, 8(3), 52-62. (In Thai)
Lipe, W. D. (1984). Value and Meaning in Cultural Resources. In H. Cleere (Ed.), Approaches to the Archaeological Heritage: A Comparative Study of World Cultural Resource Management Systems (pp. 1-11). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lord, B., & Lord, G. D. (2009). The Manual of Museum Management. 2nd ed. Maryland: AltaMira Press.
Lykourentzou, I., & Others. (2013). Improving Museum Visitors' Quality of Experience Through Intelligent Recommendations and Virtual Reality. Intelligent Environments, 19, 507-518.
Merckx, J., & Others. (2018). From Theory to Practice: A Photographic Inventory of Museum Collections to Optimize Collection Management. Biodiversity Informatics, 13, 38-48.
Mori, S., Nishida, H., & Yamada, H. (1999). Optical Character Recognition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
National Electronics and Computer Technology Center [NECTEC]. (2024). Navanurak. Retrieved 1 February 2024, from https://navanurak.in.th/index.php (In Thai)
Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. (2022). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved 3 February 2024, from https://sdgs.nesdc.go.th/about-sdgs (In Thai)
Parry, R. (2007). Recoding the Museum: Digital Heritage and the Technologies of Change. London: Routledge.
Phrakrusirithammabandit, W., B., Srisuk, N., & Siripun, A. (2021). The Community Museum Development with Electronics System in Lampang Province. The Journal of Research and Academics, 4(3), 1-10. (In Thai)
Rothenberg, J. (1999). Avoiding Technological Quicksand: Finding a Viable Technical Foundation for Digital Preservation. Washington DC: Council on Library and Information Resources.
Samaroudi, M., Echavarria, K. R., & Perry, L. (2020). Heritage in lockdown: Digital Provision of Memory Institutions in the UK and US of America During the COVID-19 pandemic. Museum Management and Curatorship, 35(4), 337-361.
Simon, N. (2010). The Participatory Museum. California: Museum 2.0.
Srisuk, N., Chandhasaro, P. S., Rujjanapan, B. (2022). The Community Museum Prototyping in Electronic System. Journal of Buddhist Studies, 13(1), 140-159. (In Thai)
Styliani, S., & Others. (2009). Virtual Museums, A Survey and Some Issues for Consideration. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 10(4), 520-528.
Terras, M. (2015). Opening Access to Collections: The Making and Using of Open Digitized Cultural Content. Online Information Review, 39(5), 733-752.
The International Council of Museums. (2022). Museum Definition. Retrieved 17 February 2024, from https://icom.museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/
UNESCO. (2003). Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage. Retrieved 17 February 2024, from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000179529
Vermeeren, A. P. & Others. (2018). Future Museum Experience Design: Crowds, Ecosystems and Novel Technologies. In A. Vermeeren, L. Calvi, & A. Sabiescu (Eds.), Museum Experience Design: Crowds, Ecosystems and Novel Technologies (pp. 1-16). Cham: Springer.
Walczak, K., Cellary, W. & White, M. (2006). Virtual Museum Exhibitions. Computer, 39(3), 93-95.