1997: The beginning of the Hermitage - IBM Project

Cooperation between IBM and the State Hermitage began in 1997. A studio for making images, the museum web site, a digital library of art works, a centre of education and information technologies, multimedia information kiosks, an electronic store and a virtual academy were the basic elements in the technology grant which IBM provided to the State Hermitage.

In November 1997 a specialized studio opened in the State Hermitage using up-to-date technology to create digitized images of monuments of culture and art. The opening of this studio was an essential condition for achieving further steps in the project. The image materials prepared by the studio are used in programmes at the educational computer centre, in orientation kiosks and in the museum’s new internet site.

In 1998 the Hermitage opened a centre of education and information technologies which marked one additional step in completing the joint project. The centre offers museum visitors, and in particular students of all ages, multimedia teaching programmes on art.

In 1999 a new website for the State Hermitage was created within the context of the joint project. It consists of static and dynamic parts. The static part presents the Hermitage collections. It acquaints visitors with the history of the museum buildings and collections, and it offers essential information for visitors, whether adults or children. The dynamic part of the site is a digital library which contains images and texts about several thousand exhibits in the State Hermitage collections.

In 2001 an electronic store opened on the State Hermitage website. It offers both unique articles, such as copies of exhibits, as well as general museum souvenirs. It is also possible to buy scholarly publications on various topics through this store. The web pages of the electronic store are only available in English.

In 2003 the Hermitage’s virtual academy was created. This offers three educational internet courses in Russian and English which were created by State Hermitage art historians in close cooperation with the Moscow-based educational centre "IBM Eastern Europe and Asia".

The beginning of the Hermitage - IBM Project
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Multimedia information kiosks
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