The use of digital archaeological heritage collections. An exploration of images on Wikimedia Commons

Abstract

The recent pandemic crisis has highlighted how digitization and connectivity of collections are essential to enhance cultural heritage and facilitate access. While expectations about the potential of digital accessibility of museum collections are widely shared, there is a lack of in-depth understanding of how digital museum collections are enjoyed by audiences. On a curatorial and communication level, museums need to better study and understand online communities and the digital spaces that aggregate them, not only to produce a relationship-building output but also to be able to monitor/listen to the responses to such initiatives. In this contribution, through the case studies of two Italian museums (the Egyptian Museum of Turin and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples), we offer an exploratory analysis of the dynamics of production, fruition and reuse of images of archaeological heritage present on Wikimedia Commons. The Wikimedia context is particularly interesting for conducting investigations of this kind as it is used globally and makes available open data and tools for analyzing the ways and times of reuse of photographic materials in Wikipedia pages. From this perspective, the results obtained in this study are intended to stimulate debate on the potential that these tools and metrics offer for understanding new forms of digital use and activating policies increasingly aimed at engaging with online audiences.