OPEN KARELIA museum information system

http://openkarelia.org/

Open Karelia is a virtual guide on the Euregio Karelia region that puts together and presents the museums’ collections and exhibits, cultural heritage, traditions, historical facts about the Russian and Finnish Karelia.

It’s a museum that is always with you.

For users:

The system enables any user to easy access all museum content, regardless of a brand and operating system (Android, iPhone, etc.) of the mobile phone or tablet. The system does not require installation of additional applications. At the same time thanks to advanced web technologies we provide the user with all standard means of support and ensure general scalability of the system. The system data could be accessed directly from museum, just take a shot of QR-code by the camera of your device using any standard QR-reader program and you will get the space of museum information system. The system is also accessible from the touch screen information kiosks located in the museum and from your home PC. Moreover, the system provides the traveler with outdoor support by automatically identifying user's location and advising the nearby objects.

Smart search and analysis of data are the key features of the system. We make sure that the system is giving what you are looking for with minimal effort on your side. We understand that too much information can be confusing to the user, so the system offers a number of advices that are based on various sets of parameters, which are defined based on experience of museum experts.

For museum staff:

Data input to the museum system can be done manually or by automated import from various reliable public sources that contain relevant content. For example, the system provides automated import from the Finnish museum system “Musket”, and associated articles from Wikipedia. The system is the first example of partnering Finnish and Russian museums on creating a joint museum database, which is all-time synchronized and serves to the common interest of the whole region. The automated data input is one of the enablers that connect the museum system with the outside world and so replacing traditionally very static museum database information by changing modern data array that stays up-to-date and provides a lot of supporting information.

The system provides tools to assist museum visitors to form personalized tour in the exhibition. This is achieved by recommendations and stories mechanism that groups objects in the exhibition, based on experience of museum experts.

The aim of the system is to create a single interface for managing museum information and representation of relevant to the user information in most convenient way, enhanced by the open sources in Internet:

• By simplifying and optimizing the information management and exposures accounting processes;
• By increasing attractiveness and getting more visitors to museums thanks to mutual promotion of museums based on cross-links in collections, and by use of new technologies for presenting content in more attractive way;
• By delivering interactive virtual extension of the exposure, e.g., reconstructions of lost or temporarily unavailable artifacts, objects of cultural heritage and even regions in historical perspective.

For technicians:

The Open Karelia system is built based on Geo2Tag platform (world's most popular open source LBS platform). The system follows principles of Web 3.0 + LBS, it is maximizing freedom of search based on personal preference and not limiting information to ensure freedom of choice. The system provides advanced geo-location tools and libraries for automated processing of content received from various sources. The source code is open for free downloading and has the following characteristics:

• Provides multi-dimensional architecture of connections between the database elements;
• Implements a set of modern methods and efficient toolkit for configuring information search engine;
• Implements efficient scheme of data classification and flexible system of tags;
• Supports cloud configuration;
• Provides open interfaces for programming (API);
• Provides tools for creating new modules and extensions.