Lab Museum Design & Interpretation

George Siemens, from elearnspace, has posted the following provacative thoughts about the future of libraries and museums:

Confession: I like books. I like museums. They possess a spirit of inquiry, of possibility. They are also obsolete in their traditional form. In fact, any industry that is content-based is experiencing tremendous change - a shift in value from the content itself, to conversation about, and interpretation of, the content. When I make these declarations at conferences, my relationship with librarians becomes mildly strained. Which is unfortunate. Of all academic fields, libraries have reacted more significantly to the change of information and knowledge...

In terms of museums, we are seeing a similar change in making content open and accessible. Large museums provide excellent educational material online. Recent initiatives are adding greater levels of "socialization" to artifacts, allowing learners to connect to others with shared interests. Have a look at these resources: Museum Open Learning Initiative...and Museum 2.0
Knowledge artifacts are context. Whether it's a book, a piece of pottery, a painting, or an ejournal, our first questions, relate to meaning. Obviously, there are aesthetic aspects - beauty, awe, a connection to our history. At its core, libraries and museums become curators of understanding, not curators of artifacts. Not sure why they don't talk more to each other...they are both climbing the same mountain.

What do you think?