Changes

Achim Lipp, European Museums Network EMN, Winfried Schmitz-Esser, Germany, 1993<br>

This paper is a report on the European Museums' Network (EMN), a telecommunications and multimedia project initiated and fostered under the EEC "RACE" programme in the past four years. It also includes the outcomes of the project and the lessons it taught us for future inter-museums' multimedia co-operation.

Although, unfortunately, the co-operation of the partners came to an end with the termination of the funding of the project, most of the museums involved are going on still feeding the system. So, the data base of the EMN is steadily growing. The memory is extendable, and multimedia production is easy to learn. The system is freely portable and can be installed in every museum, so that it is a safe assumption that more museums will join the venture. Each museum is free to contribute additions to the data pool at its discretion. This may be carried out not only by the museum professionals proper, but by experts of all kinds.

=== Two special programs === Two special programs have been developed as part of the project, according to the requirements elaborated and put forth by the experts of the participating museums. It was a condition that all data should be "real life", and much care was given to the question of how to prevent boredom, or even the creation of what one day could at best be considered an impressive data cemetery.

The Visitor Program of the EMN system provides two different ways of approach, the <big>Keyword Navigation</big> and <big>Guided Tours</big>.

Every museum is free to implement its own Guided Tour. In terms of the EMN project, the Guided Tour may be considered as the standard way to access the knowledge sources contained in the system.

<big>The Keyword Navigation is the more important, and truly innovative part of the Visitor Program. Keyword navigation was designed in order to enable a general public supposed to have no specific or scientific interests, and a dislike of being taught, a verbal more game like approach to the exhibits of cultural relevance.</big>

This all is quite ambitious, I know. But, basing ourselves on the most positive experience we were able to yield, thanks to the EEC and the partners in the EMN project, and knowing about some rather fresh technical advances which are now ready to be applied, we are confident that a system of this type is viable, both from the technological point of view as well as from that of inter-institutional co-operation.