Virtual Library museums pages#Virtual Museum of Computing

The VLmp online directory resource was founded by Jonathan Bowen in 1994, originally at the Oxford University Computing Laboratory in the United Kingdom.{{cite conference| first1=Giuliano | last1=Gaia | first2=Stefania | last2=Boiano | first3=Jonathan P. | last3=Bowen | author-link4=Jonathan Bowen | first4=Ann | last4=Borda | title=Museum Websites of the First Wave: The rise of the virtual museum | conference=EVA London 2020 | book-title=Electronic Visualisation and the Arts | publisher=BCS | series=Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC) | pages=24–31 | doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2020.4 | date=2020 | doi-access=free }}{{cite journal| last=Bowen | first=Jonathan P. | author-link=Jonathan Bowen | title=Weaving the Museum Web: The Virtual Library museums pages | journal=Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems | volume=36 | number=4 | pages=236–252 | year=2002| doi=10.1108/00330330210447208 }}{{cite book| last=Bowen | first=Jonathan P. | chapter=The Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp): Whence and Whither? | editor1-first=David | editor1-last=Bearman | editor2-first=Jennifer | editor2-last=Trant | title=Museums and the Web, 1997: Selected Papers | pages=9–25 | publisher=Archives & Museum Informatics | location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | year=1997 }} It has been supported by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and Museophile Limited.{{cite web | url=http://archives.icom.museum/vlmp/ | title=Virtual Library museums pages | work=archives.icom.museum | publisher=International Council of Museums | access-date=25 March 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212063856/http://archives.icom.museum/vlmp/ | archive-date=12 December 2012 | df=dmy-all }}{{cite journal| title=VLmp: The Virtual Library museums pages | journal=ICOM News: Newsletter of the International Council of Museums | volume=52 | number=1&2 | page=9 | year=1999 }} As part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library, initiated by Tim Berners-Lee and later managed by Arthur Secret.{{cite web| url=http://www.vlib.org.uk/admin/AboutVL.htm | title=The WWW Virtual Library: About the Virtual Library | publisher=The WWW Virtual Library | date=February 2008 | access-date=29 January 2018 }} The main VLmp site moved to London South Bank University in the early 2000s and is now hosted on the MuseumsWiki wiki, established in 2006 and hosted by Fandom (previously Wikia) as a historical record.{{cite web| url=https://museums.fandom.com/wiki/Virtual_Library_museums_pages | title=Virtual Library museums pages | work=MuseumsWiki | publisher=Fandom | accessdate=24 June 2021 }}

The directory was developed and organised in a distributed manner by country, with around twenty people in different countries maintaining various sections. Canada, through the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN),{{cite web | url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/080/005080-1038-e.html | title=Reference Internet Resources – Quick Reference – Museums/Galleries | publisher=Library and Archives Canada | access-date=24 December 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225080410/https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/080/005080-1038-e.html | archive-date=25 December 2016 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }} was the first country to become involved. The MDA maintained the United Kingdom section of museums,{{cite web |url=//www.mda.org.uk/vlmp/ |title=Museums around the UK on the Web |work=MDA |year=2008 |access-date=25 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102045520/http://www.mda.org.uk/vlmp/ |archive-date=2 January 2008 |df=dmy-all }} later the Collections Trust.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk/vlmp/ |title=Museums around the UK on the Web |work=Collections Trust |year=2010 |access-date=25 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703203555/http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk/vlmp/ |archive-date=3 July 2010 }} The Historisches Centrum Hagen has maintained and hosted pages for Germany.{{cite web| url=http://www.historisches-centrum.de/index.php?id=426 | title=Online Activities | publisher=Historisches Centrum Hagen | location=Germany | access-date=24 December 2016 }}

Other countries actively participating included Romania.{{cite conference| last=Oberlaender-Tarnoveanu | first=L. | title=CIMEC – A Web Site for Romanian Archaeology: Dissemination by Integration | conference=CAA 1997 | series=Bar International Series | volume=750 |year=1997 | pages=169–174 | url=http://proceedings.caaconference.org/files/1997/26_Oberlander-Tarnoveanu_CAA_1997.pdf }} In total, around 20 countries were involved.

The directory was influential in the museum field during the 1990s and 2000s.{{cite journal| last=Trant | first=Jennifer | title=When all you've got is "The Real Thing": Museums and authenticity in the networked world | journal=Archives and Museum Informatics | volume=12 | number=2 |year=1999 | pages=107–125 | doi=10.1023/A:1009041909517 }}{{cite journal| last=Tedd | first=Lucy A. | title=Program: a record of the first 40 years of electronic library and information systems | journal=Program | volume=40 | number=1 |year=2006 | pages=11–26 | doi=10.1108/00330330610646780 | hdl=2160/172 | url=http://pure.aber.ac.uk/ws/files/68631/40yearspaper2.pdf }} It was used as a standard starting point to find museums online.{{cite conference| last=Veltman | first=Kim H. | author-link=Kim H. Veltman | title=Challenges of virtual and digital culture | book-title=Proc. 3rd Eur. Conf. Employment and Cultural Heritage, Economic Development and New Technologies in the Information and Knowledge Society |year=2002 | url=http://www.sumscorp.com/img/file/2002_Challenges_of_Virtual_and_Digital_Culture.pdf }} It was useful for monitoring the growth of museums internationally online.{{cite book| last=Veltman | first=Kim H. | chapter=Developments in Virtual Museums | trans-title=La crescita nel settore dei musei virtuali | language=it | title=Museo contro museo. Le strategie, gli strumenti, i risultati | editor1-first=P. | editor1-last=Valentino | editor2-first=G. | editor2-last=Mossetto | location=Giunti, Firenze |year=2001 | url=http://www.sumscorp.com/img/file/2001_Developments_in_Virtual_Museums.pdf }} It was also used for online museum surveys.{{cite journal| last=Hertzum | first=Morten | title=A review of museum web sites: in search of user-centred design | journal=Archives and Museum Informatics | volume=12 | number=2 |year=1999 | pages=127–138 | doi=10.1023/A:1009009104685 }}{{cite journal| last1=Flor | first1=Carla | last2=Vanzin | first2=Tarcisco | last3=Ulbricht | first3=Vania Ribas | title=Virtual Museums: Diagnosis Accessibility | trans-title=Museus Virtuais: Diagnóstico de Acessibilidade | lang=pt| journal=Hipermídias: Interfaces Digitais em Ead | pages=126–152, 187–189 | citeseerx=10.1.1.697.563 }} It was recommended as an educational resource{{cite book | title=The World Wide Web For Kids & Parents | first=Viraf D. | last=Mohta | publisher=Wiley | date=1997 | isbn=978-0764500985 | page=[https://archive.org/details/worldwidewebfork00moht/page/106 106] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/worldwidewebfork00moht/page/106 }}{{cite book| title=Quick guide to the Internet for education | first1=Eugene F. | last1=Provenzo | first2=Doug | last2=Gotthoffer | publisher=Allyn and Bacon | date=2000 | isbn=978-0205309627 | page=104 }} and included a search facility.{{cite journal| url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2FBF03017091.pdf | first=Rovy | last=Brano | title=Web & Wild – Virtual Library Museum Pages | publisher=Springer | journal=TechTrends | volume=45 | number=5 | pages=49, 24 | date=1 September 2001 | doi=10.1007/BF03017091 | s2cid=189911244 | doi-access=free }}

The Virtual Museum of Computing (VMoC), part of the Virtual Library museums pages, was created as a virtual museum providing information on the history of computers and computer science.{{cite journal| title=Virtual Museum of Computing Web Site | journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing | volume=18 | number=4 | page=67 | year=1996 }}{{cite journal| url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/213569612 | last=Leslie | first=Mitch | date=September 14, 2001 | title=Memory lane | journal=Science | publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | location=Washington | volume=293 | number=5537| id={{ProQuest|213569612}} }}{{cite book| url=https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/development-science-museum-web-sites/9093 | last1=Bowen | first1=Jonathan P. | authorlink1=Jonathan Bowen | first2=Jim | last2=Angus | first3=Jim | last3=Bennet | authorlink3=Jim Bennett (historian) | first4=Ann | last4=Borda | first5=Andrew | last5=Hodges | authorlink5=Andrew Hodges | first6=Silvia | last6=Filippini-Fantoni | first7=Alpay | last7=Beler | chapter=The Development of Science Museum Websites: Case Studies (Chapter XVIII) | editor-first1=Leo Tan Wee | editor-last1=Hin | editor-first2=Ramanathan | editor-last2=Subramaniam | title=E-learning and Virtual Science Centers, Section 3: Case Studies | pages=366–392 | publisher=Idea Group Publishing | location=Hershey, USA | year=2005 | doi=10.4018/978-1-59140-591-7.ch018 | isbn=9781591405917 }} It included virtual "galleries" (e.g., on Alan Turing, curated by Andrew Hodges) and links to other computer museums. VMoC was founded in 1995,{{cite web| url=https://groups.google.com/g/comp.infosystems.www.announce/c/RgvN41nOvEM/m/nr1Verx70osJ | title=The Virtual Museum of Computing | work=Google Groups | date=2 June 1995 }} initially at the University of Oxford.{{cite journal| first=Jonathan P. | last=Bowen | authorlink=Jonathan Bowen | url=http://www.rutherfordjournal.org/article030103.html | title=A Brief History of Early Museums Online | journal=The Rutherford Journal | volume=3 | year=2010 }} As part of VLmp, it was hosted by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).{{cite web |url=http://archives.icom.museum/vlmp/computing.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010105238/http://archives.icom.museum/vlmp/computing.html |archive-date=2014-10-10 | title=Virtual Museum of Computing | publisher=International Council of Museums | work=Virtual Library museums pages | access-date=10 October 2014 }} VMoC was also hosted by the University of Reading and London South Bank University, with mirror sites internationally within VLmp. Later it was also provided by Museophile Limited.{{cite web |url=http://vmoc.museophile.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235337/http://vmoc.museophile.org/ |archive-date=2007-09-26 |title=Virtual Museum of Computing | publisher=Museophile Limited | work=Archive.org | access-date=26 September 2007 }} It then became available in archival form as a wiki on Wikia).{{cite web| url=http://museums.fandom.com/VMoC | title=Virtual Museum of Computing | work=Wikia }}

VMoC was reviewed by Discovery Channel, Lycos, Anbar Electronic Intelligence, Bookmark Central, Planet Science, RedOrbit, and Science NetLinks during the 1990s.{{cite journal| first1=Jonathan P. | last1=Bowen | author-link1=Jonathan Bowen | first2=Ann | last2=Borda | first3=Giuliano | last3=Gaia | first4=Stefania | last4=Boiano | date=26 December 2023 | title=Early virtual science museums: when the technology is not mature | journal=Internet Histories | volume=8 | issue=1–2 | pages=9–33 | doi=10.1080/24701475.2023.2298155 | url=https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/download/5346ca7940f37163a4ea5bd47f9594b0457553110133cda478adf5e0f579ae3f/1678087/IH%202024%20-%20revised%203.pdf }} It has also been referenced in books{{cite web| url=https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Virtual+Museum+of+Computing%22+VMoC&tbm=bks | title=Virtual Museum of Computing VMoC | work=Google Books | accessdate=28 July 2022 }}{{cite web| url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/virtualnye-muzei-analiz-ponyatiya | first=Т. Е. | last=Максимова | title=Виртуальные музеи: анализ понятия | trans-title=Virtual museums: analysis of the concept | website=cyberleninka.ru | lang=ru | accessdate=24 June 2022 }} and papers.{{cite web| url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Virtual+Museum+of+Computing%22+VMoC | title=Virtual Museum of Computing VMoC | work=Google Scholar | accessdate=28 July 2022 }}{{cite conference| title=Computer History on the Move | first1=Graham | last1=Farr | first2=Barbara | last2=Ainsworth | first3=Chris | last3=Avram | first4=Judy | last4=Sheard | conference=SIGCSE '16 | book-title=Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education | date=February 2016 | pages=528–533 | publisher=Association for Computing Machinery | doi=10.1145/2839509.2844575 | doi-access=free }}{{cite book| last=Lee | first=J.A.N. | date=2004 | editor-last1=Impagliazzo | editor-first1=J. | editor-last2=Lee | editor-first2=J.A.N. | chapter=History of Computing in Education | title=IFIP International Conference on the History of Computing |series=IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology | volume=145 | pages=1–16 | publisher=Springer | location=New York, NY | doi=10.1007/1-4020-8136-7_1 | isbn=978-1-4020-8135-4 }} VMoC has provided computing history event reports.{{cite web| url=https://history.computer.org/annals/extras/es27-2.html | title=Events and Sightings Web Extras | editor-first=Chigusa | editor-last=Kita | publisher=IEEE Computer Society | website=history.computer.org | accessdate=28 July 2022 }}

• Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web
• List of museums
• Virtual museum
• World Wide Web Virtual Library

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{{reflist|20em}}

• [https://museums.fandom.com/wiki/Virtual_Library_museums_pages Virtual Library museums pages] archival site on [https://museums.fandom.com/ MuseumsWiki]
• [http://www.museum.ru/mirror/vlmp/default.htm Example VLmp mirror site]

Category:Aggregation-based digital libraries

Category:1994 establishments in England

Category:International Council of Museums

Category:Internet properties established in 1994

Category:London South Bank University

Category:Museum informatics

Category:Oxford University Computing Laboratory

Category:Virtual museums

Category:Web directories

Category:Web portals