Nadezhda Povroznik chaired a panel on the Museums on the Web at the RESAW conference in Marseille on 6 June
HDSM contributed to the RESAW (A Research Infrastructure for the Study of Archived Web Materials) conference which was conducted in Marseille, France on 5-6 June 2023. The main focus of the conference this year was on Exploring the Archived Web During a Highly Transformative Age.
The recent global crises emphasize the need to closely monitor and analyze the recurring information shared on the internet and social media platforms. These digital documents, ranging from humorous memes to tragic videos, are crucial for understanding current phenomena. Web archives preserve these born-digital sources, forming a digital heritage that serves as both a memory for future societies and a valuable resource for researchers studying contemporary facts. Therefore, the topic of the conference is of high importance for the researchers, librarians and archivists. The program of the conference and abstracts are available on the conference website.
The panel on the Museums on the Web: Exploring the past for the future was organised by Nadezhda Povroznik (HDSM, TU Darmstadt) and Karin de Wild (Leiden University). It aimed to shed light on the histories of museums on the Web. The advent of online technologies has changed the way museums manage collections and access them, shape exhibitions, and build communities and participation. Aspects can be found in histories about museums and digital technologies (see for example Parry 2007; 2009; Cameron 2003; Cameron and Kenderdine 2010; Bowen 2010; Gartner 2016; Legene 2016). However, scant attention has been given to how museums’ online presence has developed over time, from the mid-1990s to the present. This panel presented different perspectives on the history of museums on the Web. What can we learn from the pioneering virtual museums and online exhibitions? How did (information) architecture and museums websites develop over time? And how have online collections been built, circulated, and made accessible?
This panel coincides with the release of a Double Special Issue “Museums on the Web” in the journal Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture and Society (Routledge/Taylor & Francis).
At the panel, there were 3 speakers who brought different perspectives on the use of web archives to advance the museum studies. Please find the abstracts of the following presentations from the panel here:
- Giuliano Gaia (presenting author), Stefania Boiano, Jonathan P. Bowen, Ann Borda “Early Virtual Science Museums: Case Studies and Conclusions”
- Mette Skov, Tanja Svarre “A diachronic analysis of Danish museum websites”
- Tiancheng Leo Cao “Rethinking openness: a social constructivist approach to the promises of the new museology”
The conference is conducted biannually and it offers an international perspective on the development and exploitation of web archives.

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nadezhdapovroznik (June 12, 2023). Nadezhda Povroznik chaired a panel on the Museums on the Web at the RESAW conference in Marseille on 6 June. HDSM. Retrieved April 19, 2025 from https://hdsm.hypotheses.org/911