Ellen Charlesworth

Ellen Charlesworth is an AHRC funded PhD student at Durham University.

Having studied art history at the Courtauld Institute, she went on to earn an MSc in data science while working in museums. Her current research combines these interests, exploring trends in museums’ online content.

She works with museums internationally – most recently in Italy and Switzerland – on digital engagement, while her previous research on museums’ use of platforms received coverage in the Austrian national newspaper “Der Standard”.

Her recent work on UK museums’ online collections has been supported by the UK’s National Institute for AI and Data Science, the Alan Turing Institute.

Ellen Charlesworth is speaking at the Digital Collections Summit 2024 :

Putting digital collections online – what is everyone else doing?

With innovative custom-made solutions, large national museums have often dominated discussions around digital collections. However, most museums don’t have the resources to create similar platforms of their own. This presentation will look beyond these large organisations to explore the wider sector, examine the online activities of over 3,000 UK museums. Utilising data analysis alongside follow-up interviews, the presentation will highlight trends in online collection platforms: exploring common approaches; how museums have monetized their online collections; potential pitfalls; and providing key questions to help a museum identify the right approach for their organisation.