Next up in the American Alliance of Museums Future Chats series is a discussion between Elizabeth Merritt and Nik Honeysett, director and CEO of the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, to explore how museums can plan and budget for digital sustainability, and ward off Vint Cerf’s prophesied “digital dark age.”
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time: 3 – 4 p.m. EST
Location: Online
From AAM:
Your museum has embraced the digital world. Digitized collections, an asset management system, ticketing, customer relations system, volunteer and event management, and other solutions to the myriad of business requirements needed to run a museum. Congratulations!
Now, how will you sustain this work in the long term? Digital assets are inherently unstable, requiring time and attention to remain readable and usable. “Free” platforms and tools can change overnight in ways that harm museum users. Maintaining and upgrading digital systems is expensive, and while grant funding might pay for the purchase of an application, support for ongoing operational expenses is hard to come by.
Note: After the chat between Elizabeth and Nik, participants will join breakout groups to discuss the implications for museums and share information and reflections, then come back together with everyone to share their thoughts and ideas.
