The evolution of a new Web site for the Vancouver Maritime Museum

Lisa McIntosh, Vancouver Maritime Museum, Canada
Debbie Tardiff, Vancouver Maritime Museum, Canada
http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com

Demonstration: Demonstrations - Session 1

There has been a dramatic change over the past few years in the on-line presence of the Vancouver Maritime Museum. It is a museum with limited resources, a small building bursting at its seams and staff who find creative solutions to these and other challenges. We had the opportunity to build our website from scratch and with this opportunity we worked systematically with the museum staff, lead by Debbie Tardiff and a web designer from a small, local company. Our objectives for the new website were to 1) make the museum and its collection of artefacts, photographs, library and archives accessible to more people, 2) show case some of the Museum’s exhibits 3) be an educational resources for learners of all ages 4) to increase the efficiency with which we communicate with people about educational programs, rentals, and general queries about the museum. While these objectives may not be the unique in the museum world the ways in which we developed and financed the website is a good model for other small museums.

During the demonstration we will show how we worked collaboratively with a range of community partners including Canada’s Digital Collection, local businesses and students from the Vancouver Film School, New Media Program to produce a website which helps the museum to broaden its reach and fulfill its mandate.

Debbie Tardiff and Lisa McIntosh are both recipients of Canadian Professional Scholarships.