Most research activity concerned with building technology for museum visits is oriented toward the individual. Yet, people tend to visit museums in small groups. Ethnographic studies give a fundamental role for a successful small group visit to conversation among the members of the group, elaborating on their current experience. Can technology help fostering face-to face, natural conversation? ...

Between January and May 1995, the Getty Art History Information Program (AHIP) and the Consortium for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI) held a series of three meetings under the rubric Points of View, to examine underlying assumptions about museum information, to study users' demands on data, to explore how museum staff respond to users' requests, and to consider potential a...