Can GLAM's be the Future of Cultural Institutions?

In 2008, the Cultural Heritage Information Professionals (CHIPs) made a proverbial dent in the world of information professionals.  A jointly sponsored event hosted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Florida State University, and the Ringling Museum of Art, library, archives, and museum experts explored the information needs of cultural heritage organizations with a purpose to transcend the traditional boundaries between galleries, libraries, archives, and museums that would better serve the information age.

'Digital convergence’ has been a key theme of libraries, archives, and museums and has had a track record of previous research.  It finally reached a tipping point in 2009 when three influential publications from different professions -- Library Quarterly, Archival Science, and Museum Management and Curatorship --collaborated on special issues examining the areas of convergence for educators and professionals working to meet user needs in libraries, archives, and museums.

These journals are definitely worth a read.  But I think what is critical here is a paved road for cultural institutions.  Daily cuts to budgets everywhere have forced cultural institutions to shut down.  Is it too much to ask that 'digital convergence' has blurred traditional distinctions between galleries, libraries, archives, and museums?   Could the future see art galleries, libraries, archives, and museums can collaborate and combine forces to better serve their users?

The answer is a must and a yes -- for the future of libraries, archives, and museums.   The digital world has collapsed the cultural institutions industries.  I urge you to take a closer look at how these collaborative networks crosses those boundaries in the same way these authors’ projects collapse the boundaries between these journals.