Museums and the Web 2008
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2008/
or see us online at http://conference.archimuse.com/


Each year Museums and the Web recognises the best work in museum web 
design and development in the Best of the Web competition. A panel of 
judges reviews sites nominated by the community, and selects sites in 
a number of categories.

Here are the winners. Congratulations to the sites named below (with 
comments from the best of the web 2008 panel).


*Exhibition*

honourable mention
The Digital Vaults
http://www.digitalvaults.org

     * a cool looking tool that immerses the user in documents and 
images, thus connecting to the mission of the Archives.
     * challenging and dynamic interface made me want to continue 
clicking around
     * This is a fun site

winner
The American Image: The Photographs of John Collier Jr.
http://americanimage.unm.edu/

     * Brilliant use of Web 2 technologies. The Propaganda film 
activity is wonderful.
     * An excellent site. The live connection to flickr juxtaposed 
with photos from the collections with shared themes is a great way to 
bring a perspective to both image sets.
     * Excellent use of Flickr, and allowing users to mash up photos, 
video, and audio was very engaging. Some of

*Educational*

winner
Great Chicago Stories, Chicago History Museum
http://greatchicagostories.org

     * Stories are very compellingly written, and though very linear 
within the story, incorporate other elements once outside the story. 
I love the fact they actually evaluated the site--it does make a 
difference in my judging to see how it actually plays out with real 
students.
     * The Chicago History Museum has brought forth an exemplary 
educational resource for learning about history through storytelling. 
The site is rich with artifacts, primary source materials, and 
engaging stories. Teachers were involved in the site's development, 
and it shows.
     * Great Chicago Stories is an exemplary educational website. The 
direct involvement of educators is evident throughout, with 
consideration for the real needs of classroom teachers given to all 
of the content. I was drawn into the stories at both the elementary 
and high school levels. ... it is a site that I will return to and 
can easily imagine teachers treasuring it.



*Professional*

honourable mention
The IMA Dashboard, Indianapolis Museum of Art
http://dashboard.imamuseum.org

     * a viewport into the inner workings of a museum that does a nice 
job of providing a great snapshot of a ton of museum esoterica
     * a professional site with a difference
     * a little bit of everything in terms of information one would 
require from a institutional website. The use of numbers creats a 
sense of intrigue and hence a desire to find out more or dig deeper 
for more information. Got sucked in to the site.
     * I absolutely love this site

winner
ExhibitFiles, Association of Science-Technology Centers
http://exhibitfiles.org

     * I got sucked into it far longer than I expected, browsing 
through exhibit after exhibit, looking for little nuggets that I 
could use in the future.
     * certainly achieves the 'quality characteristics' of the Museum 
Professional's Site, and if used by the community can be a valuable 
resource to many museum professionals

*Research*

winner
Prints and Printmaking, Australia, Asia, Pacific
http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/Catalogues/Work.aspx

     * an impressive gateway reference site. This is what a reference 
site should be. It covers a wide territory, with a clearly defined 
focus, but also covering many aspects of that subject. It includes 
biographical and institutional information, exhibitions and 
bibliographies, as well as 45,000 works. The information is simply 
and clearly presented.


*Community *

honourable mention
Brooklyn Museum of Art Community, Brooklyn Museum of Art
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/community/

     * It is striking to me how infused the community as throughout 
the institution -- not just a blogger or two on staff, but an 
apparent museum-wide commitment
     * I liked the slogan: "Let us come to you!"

winner
My Brighton and Hove
http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk

     * My Brighton and Hove (winner). The quality of the stories sets 
it apart from other entries. So evocative, with many gems from 
multiple authors. It's had a while to stew (8 years), and it shows...
     * Really sweet. Possibly the best of the local history/memory 
sites I've seen lately.
     * Very vivid story of colorful local character The Great Omani. 
Such good content! Interesting comments from visitors, who ask if 
he's still alive (he was at the time), and then offering condolences 
after he dies

My Brighton and Hove is also recognised as the Best Small Museum site.
Podcast
honourable mention
TateShots, Tate
http://tate.org.uk/tateshots

     * Great content, great user interface. Varied in approach and yet 
consistently entertaining and informative.
     * All in all an exemplary site. But the addition of much needed 
humor in the other sites give them the edge over this.

winner
Roman Art from the Louvre Webisodes, Indianaoplis Museum of Art
http://www.theromansarecoming.com/webisodes

     * These are really engaging and look like they were really 
designed to be pocasts and not simply repurposed content from other 
media.
     * Sexy, dramatic, informative, fantastic use of the technologies, 
gives the viewer information about the exhibition process that is 
much more complete and done in an exciting and engaging way. Bravo!
     * The production values are high, the content is compelling and 
addresses and is appropriate for the media

*Innovative*
Launchball, Science Museum, London
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/launchball

     * Impressive array of interactive, and very stimulating games. 
Superb graphics and multimedia integration. Very intelligent 
scripting.
     * The visual design is very well done keying on strong, 
high-contrast colours and iconography. The interface design is simple 
and easy to learn.
     * Man, I have literally played with this for hours now. Even 
better is the open-endedness of it all and the user contributions. I 
can't stop fiddling with it.


*People's choice*

chosen by people registered at http://conference.archimuse.com
Maps: Tools for Adventure, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis (in 
conjunction with the National Geographic Society)
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/toolsforadventure


*Best of the Web*

Launchball, Science Museum London
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/launchball

     * I was very skeptical about this until I started playing...and 
couldn't stop.
     * Man, I have literally played with this for hours now. Even 
better is the open-endedness of it all and the user contributions. I 
can't stop fiddling with it.

Congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks to the judges for 
their contributions!


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For full details, see http://www.archimuse.com/mw2008/best/index.html

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J. Trant				[log in to unmask]
Partner & Principal Consultant		phone: +1 416 691 2516
Archives & Museum Informatics		fax: +1 416 352 6025
158 Lee Ave, Toronto
Ontario M4E 2P3 Canada		http://www.archimuse.com
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