The objective of this study is to determine how museums might incorporate
the use of online publishing and communication technologies as a tool to
initiate and foster connections with their audiences. This research is designed
with the expectation that it will contribute to knowledge regarding how such
communication technologies are understood and received. The ultimate goal
is to help museums and cultural institutions develop comparable interactive
capacities that encourage dialogue and more deeply engage the communities
they serve. In this study, a review of literature and extant online communities
will be used to inform the development of a prototype online museum
community that demonstrates how such an interface might extend an
institution's education, public relations, and community outreach capabilities.
A refined online museum community prototype based on this research may
be of use to museums and cultural organizations aiming to construct an
online community environment that both reflects the institution's character
and furthers its educational objectives.