The world of museum studies exists at a unique intersection of archaeology, anthropology, and computer science. Katherine Burton-Jones, faculty leader and Director of the Museum Studies Program at the Harvard Extension School, describes this field as a “crazy little world of objects, stories, and technology”. Her journey into this space began at age 13 with an interest in archaeology, which later evolved into a career focused on giving cultural institutions the tools they need to engage modern learners.
From archive management to learner-centric design
Museums have used technology for over 50 years, beginning with mainframe systems designed to organize collection data. Burton-Jones and her colleague Paul Marty documented this progression through oral histories in their book, The Invisible History of Museum Computing. Over these five decades, the focus has shifted from internal data management to becoming more “user-centric or visitor-centric”.