This book investigates the historical evolution of museum computing and the ways in which digital technologies have fundamentally altered the management, display, and conceptualization of cultural heritage. Ross Parry, a specialist in museum studies and digital heritage, utilizes a historical framework to trace the transition from traditional record-keeping to modern data-driven environments. By examining the disconnect between early computing efforts and institutional practices, the author argues that digital tools are not merely administrative aids but active agents that reshape the core functions of the museum. The text provides a critical analysis of how database management, virtual reality, and hypermedia have forced institutions to reconsider their relationship with authenticity and narrative production.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the intersection of digital technology and institutional heritage management. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of the structural shifts within the museum sector.