The main reason the website has been quiet recently is that I have been undertaking a postgraduate course in Museum Studies at Newcastle University. As part of the programme I am required to conduct a piece of independent research. My research is looking at ways to make Sunderland Museum’s glass collections available online, whilst balancing the needs of online users with the needs of the museum.

---

I will be conducting surveys with special interest groups online. There are sixteen questions in the survey. The questions relate to the types of objects users would like to see online, the type of information they would like to access about objects, what aspects of online collections are important and the level of interaction they anticipate having with an online collection. The majority of questions are multiple choice and quick to answer. However, space is provided for longer answers to be provided should the user wish to do so.

I will also be conducting interviews with staff at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and Sunderland Culture, to ask them their views about digitising Sunderland’s glass collection and audience engagement.

I am very interested in hearing all opinions and suggestions on the subject – there are no right or wrong answers!

---

I have ethical approval to conduct this research, and one of the stipulations is that I must provide you with certain information at the start of the survey. This tells you about the research, how the data will be used and stored, and who is sponsoring the research. The section is a little long, but I’m afraid it is necessary.

Anybody, over the age of 18, who has an interest in glass collections, or related heritage, is invited to contribute to my research.

The survey was available from the 1st – 7th July 2022.

[edited: 27th July 2022 to remove survey link]