Balboa Park Online Collaborative Blog

BPOC Becomes Content Partner for Project Audience

posted on: 02/21/2012 - 12:33pm by mdougherty

Earlier this month, Project Audience announced a Southern California pilot project to develop an online resource to collect, manage, and publish arts and cultural information in Southern California. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the project team will test the resource’s scalability and adoption potential for other regions, and examine the possibility of a national aggregation service.

BPOC, along with Arts Orange County, Artsopolis, and KCET (public television), has agreed to participate in the pilot project as a content partner. In coordination with ExperienceLA, a consortium of Los Angeles-area organizations, we will build upon and extend the functionality of the existing ExperienceLA.com resource.

Last week, a few BPOC staff members participated in a kick-off meeting in LA to establish requirements and specifications for the online resource. Microsite testing will begin this summer. A public beta testing site will then be established to mirror the tools developed for the Southern California resource, and provide other interested communities a testing environment to experience and evaluate the toolkit.

The goal of Project Audience is to provide communities with access to easy-to-use, low-cost, web-based tools and technologies that will increase arts...

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BPOC recognized for internship program

posted on: 02/09/2012 - 4:53pm by mdougherty

This week, we received a letter and Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Representative Duncan Hunter for our Wounded Warrior Technology Internship Program. We have been operating this program for the past year with funding from the Gary and Mary West Foundation and the Ruby Family Foundation.

In his letter, Congressman Hunter wrote:

"You are to be commended for your work in assisting these great American heroes. As a Marine combat veteran, I am very much aware of the sacrifices that our Wounded Warriors have made on behalf of us.

In order to recognize your fine work, I would like to award you a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition to highlight your efforts."

We have had more than a dozen young service members participate in this program. They have provided great support to our staff and to our member institutions in Balboa Park. We thank Congressman Hunter for recognizing this program and the valuable contributions that our participants have made to our country: first in national defense and now, in arts and culture.

Certificate

To learn more about this program, read a recent San Diego Magazine...

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Where We’ll Be: BPOC Presentations at National Conferences

posted on: 02/07/2012 - 11:04am by mdougherty

Our staff will present at four upcoming national conferences: WebWise, Museums and the Web, American Association of Museums Annual Meeting, and Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting. We are grateful to the Institute for Museum and Library Services for supporting our participation in WebWise and AAM, and a portion of our costs for attending Museums and the Web. We will present on collaborative, IMLS-supported initiatives at all of these conferences.

IMLS WebWise 2012
February 29 – March 2, 2012, in Baltimore, MD

As a cooperator for WebWise, BPOC has been working on the conference program and publicity since early fall 2011. At the conference, Perian Sully, Project Manager: Digital Asset Management and Online Access, will be one of the organizers for "WiseCamp," the daylong unconference on Wednesday, Feb. 29. Christina DePaolo, Director of New Media, will be a panelist for "Better Together: Multi-Institutional Solutions to Digital Challenges," where she'll talk about her experience managing the development of the Balboa Park Commons. Maren Dougherty, Senior Editor, will assist with photography, video, and social media for the conference, and Rich Cherry, Director, will be...

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Balboa Park WiFi Project Update

posted on: 01/25/2012 - 12:40pm by mdougherty

We've continued to install wireless access points in museums across Balboa Park, from the San Diego Air & Space Museum north to the San Diego Museum of Man and down the El Prado walkway to the San Diego History Center.

The need for high-density WiFi – indoors and outdoors – stemmed from the growing use of mobile devices and applications by a large number of Balboa Park's 10-14 million annual visitors.

Prior to this parkwide initiative, Balboa Park had a pilot project with wireless access points at a handful of kiosks and museums but coverage was not pervasive and didn't offer broadband access outdoors. Thanks to generous local support, we have been able to dramatically increase our visitors' connectivity.

Look for colorful decals on the front doors of museums where WiFi is available. Because we partnered with Ruckus Wireless to deploy particularly strong access points, the WiFi reach often extends to museums' surrounding walkways, gardens, and parking lots.

Wifi decal

WiFi access is now available at the following park locations: House of Hospitality/Prado Restaurant, Japanese Friendship Garden, Mingei International Museum, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego Automotive Museum, San...

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Vivian Kung Haga to Join BPOC as Deputy Director

posted on: 01/12/2012 - 9:44am by mdougherty

We are excited to welcome Vivian Kung Haga as our Deputy Director at BPOC.

Vivian will oversee BPOC’s daily operations, human resources, and grants management. From 2002-2011, Vivian worked at the Museum of Photographic Arts, first serving as Director of Education and ending as Deputy Director. She oversaw operations of 16 full-time and 28 part-time staff members and a 2.2 million dollar operating budget. She also led the museum in cutting-edge technology, accessibility, and visitor experience initiatives. Prior to working at MOPA, Vivian was a consulting curator at ArtReach International, Assistant Curator at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee, and Educator at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio. Vivian has an M.A. in History of Art from Ohio State University and a B.A. in Art History from the University of California, San Diego.

“BPOC’s members and projects have grown quickly since our start nearly three years ago,” said Rich Cherry, BPOC Director. “Vivian’s experience as a museum administrator will help us greatly as we transition from a pilot project to a sustainable and successful organization.”

During the past few months BPOC has also hired additional employees in areas of technology, fund development, and administration. They include Charlene Browne, Senior Development Officer; Marcos Corro and Alejandro Rubio, Web Developers; Jennelise Hafen...

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