Overview

The Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) addresses common technological problems faced by museums and performing arts organizations in Balboa Park while improving public access to their rich cultural resources. By emphasizing cooperation among 27 organizations, BPOC improves technical capacity in the park while encouraging cross-institution collaboration—preparing its members to meet the needs and expectations of the 21st century audience.

In the two years that BPOC has been operating formally, we have launched more than 20 websites for our members; built a park-wide high-speed fiber optic network connecting 14 buildings in the park; and digitized more than 170,000 images, videotapes, and audio files to preserve them and provide the public with greater access to them. To further engage Balboa Park visitors, we have developed mobile applications that present information about the numerous events and exhibitions happening in the park each day, and “Giskin Anomaly,” a cell phone-based adventure that takes visitors on a historical journey through our 1,200 acre park. We have also developed a shared IT support structure and provided extensive training for members to help them use technology more effectively.

While the recent years have been challenging in the nonprofit sector, we have been successful because of our commitment to collaboration, innovation, hard work, and creativity. In 2010, BPOC was awarded a two-year IMLS National Leadership Grant to work with members of the Balboa Park and San Diego communities to develop the Balboa Park Commons, an innovative web resource that will bring together collection content from across Balboa Park’s diverse institutions.