DigiCulture, A Study In User Behaviours With Digital Cultural Materials In Contemporary Art

James Turner, Université de Montréal, Canada
Suzanne Bertrand-Gastaldy, Université de Montréal, Canada
Pierrette Bergeron, Université de Montréal, Canada
Michelle Gauthier, Université de Montréal, Canada
Stephanie Pouchot, Université de Montréal, Canada

Session: Evaluation

This paper gives an overview of some of the research results from DigiCulture, part of a larger research project aimed at managing digital cultural content. The objective of DigiCulture was to study user behaviours in regard to Canadian digital cultural content. Six sub-projects were developed in order to study various aspects of this. The general results of the four sub-projects that are completed are reported here. The first is a meta-analysis of reports the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal had commissioned about its users from the founding of the museum in 1964 to the present day. The second project offers a profile of the clientele of the museum’s Médiathèque, both on site and via the Web. The third project reported here is a typology of the data housed in various information systems at the museum. The fourth analyses the orientations, choices and perceptions of digital information by museum professionals who develop concepts for exhibitions and who carry out other mediation of digital information. The sub-projects carried out in the context of DigiCulture were a rich source of information that helped us learn a great deal about user behaviours in a museum environment.