Power to the People: A Comprehensive Look at Crowdsourcing Initiatives in Cultural Institutions
type: CreativeWork
description: Today, crowdsourcing has become an integrative approach to completing projects using the help of the general populous. These projects aid museum staff by processing large quantities of data, which otherwise could not be completed due to time and/or staff restraints. Through crowdsourcing, cultural institutions have the ability to outsource these tasks to volunteers, who can complete them at much faster rates. Although staff members are needed to validate and supervise these projects, crowdsourcing remains a useful tool in increasing public interactions and project efficiency. This thesis presents a thorough outline of what crowdsourcing is, how it is being utilized, and how volunteers can be motivated to participate. Case studies are presented, providing a comprehensive look into each of the six types of crowdsourcing. These studies include the Brooklyn Museum, September 11th Memorial and Museum, South Eastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections, British Library, Peoria Historical Society, and Smithsonian Institution. Utilizing these critical examples, this paper presents several motivational theories of volunteer participation and outlines how this knowledge can be implemented to create a more successfully crowdsourced project.
abstract: Today, crowdsourcing has become an integrative approach to completing projects using the help of the general populous. These projects aid museum staff by processing large quantities of data, which otherwise could not be completed due to time and/or staff restraints. Through crowdsourcing, cultural institutions have the ability to outsource these tasks to volunteers, who can complete them at much faster rates. Although staff members are needed to validate and supervise these projects, crowdsourcing remains a useful tool in increasing public interactions and project efficiency. This thesis presents a thorough outline of what crowdsourcing is, how it is being utilized, and how volunteers can be motivated to participate. Case studies are presented, providing a comprehensive look into each of the six types of crowdsourcing. These studies include the Brooklyn Museum, September 11th Memorial and Museum, South Eastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections, British Library, Peoria Historical Society, and Smithsonian Institution. Utilizing these critical examples, this paper presents several motivational theories of volunteer participation and outlines how this knowledge can be implemented to create a more successfully crowdsourced project.
author: Pace, Danielle
keywords: Crowdsourcing, Museum, Participation, User Experience, Crowd Theory, Citizen Science, Motivational Theory, Motivation, Arts and Humanities, Cataloging and Metadata, Digital Humanities, Fine Arts, Interactive Arts, Library and Information Science, Other Arts and Humanities, Psychology, Theory and Philosophy
date published: 2015-05-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:32:59Z
provider: Seton Hall University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Seton Hall University