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Democratising the Museum. Reflections on Participatory Technologies, Runnel, Pille / Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Pille (eds.)Democratising the MuseumReflections on Participatory TechnologiesRunnel, Pille / Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Pille (eds.)Year of Publication: 2014Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien,2014. 240 pp., 17 b/w fig., 10 tables, 7 graphsISBN 978-3-631-64916-9 pb. (Softcover)ISBN 978-3-653-03972-6 (eBook)http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&#38;seitentyp=produkt&#38;pk=78860&#38;cid=448&#38;concordeid=264916Book synopsisDemocratising the museum is a collection of articles reflecting upon theproblem of how participation, technologically mediated or not, cansupport the museum in the process of becoming more accessible. The openmuseum shares power with its visitors while negotiating professionalismand the role of the museum in a modern society. The book looks at theroles and struggles of audiences/visitors and professionals and the roleof digital technologies in supporting the participatory museum. Whiledifferent chapters draw on a variety of empirical examples, the mainanalytical backbone of the book comes from an extended participatoryaction research study conducted at the Estonian National Museum. Thisbook aims at both academics and professionals working in the museum field.ContentsContents: Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt/Pille Runnel: The Challenge ofDemocratising the Museum – Pille Runnel/Taavi Tatsi/PillePruulmann-Vengerfeldt: Who Authors the Nation? The Debate Surroundingthe Building of the New Estonian National Museum – PillePruulmann-Vengerfeldt/Pille Runnel: When the Museum Becomes the Messagefor Participating Audiences – Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt/PilleRunnel/Agnes Aljas: A Multi-Method and Multi-Site InterventionistApproach to Studying Audience Participation in Museums – KristaLepik/Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt: Handicraft Hobbyists in anEthnographic Museum - Negotiating Expertise and Participation – LindaLotina: Analysis of Participatory Activities in the Museums in Latvia –Nico Carpentier: Facing the Death of the Author. Cultural Professional’sIdentity Work and the Fantasies of Control – Taavi Tatsi: IdentityStruggles of Museum Professionals: Autonomous Expertise and AudienceParticipation in Exhibition Production – Taavi Tatsi/Agnes Aljas:Democratising Collections through Audience Participation: Opportunitiesand Obstacles – Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt/Agnes Aljas: DigitalCultural Heritage - Challenging Museums, Archives and Users – NicoCarpentier: Happily Lost in Virtual Space? – PillePruulmann-Vengerfeldt/Pille Runnel: Increasing the Usability of theMuseum: Four Studies – Pille Runnel/Krista Lepik/PillePruulmann-Vengerfeldt: Visitors, Users, Audiences: ConceptualisingPeople in the Museum.About the editorsPille Runnel, ethnologist and PhD in Media and Communication, is aresearch director at the Estonian National Museum.Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt is an associate professor at the Universityof Tartu Institute of Journalism, Communication and Information Studiesand research associate at the Estonian National Museum.