Bringing the Public into the Process: the Montpelier Digital Collections Project and Mere Distinction of Colour Virtual Exhibit

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Digital Technologies and Public Archaeology" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

When archaeologists and other researchers first entered into the digital world they had an “if you build it they will come” approach to public digital projects. Projects were considered public by simply being on the internet. However, as the digital field has grown it has quickly become evident that the most successful digital projects consider their audiences during their development and dissemination. Here we take that a step farther, incorporating the public into the conceptualization, design, and creation for two digital initiatives, the Montpelier Digital Collections Project and the Mere Distinction of Colour Virtual Exhibit. In this paper we will discuss how Montpelier is working with descendants, educators, and volunteers to create these major digital projects and incorporating feedback from the public, through an online survey and social media, to create digital projects that people are invested in before they go online.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Digital Technologies and Public Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 794