The goal of the London Transport Museum online is to increase access to the permanent collections, allowing visitors to follow the physical museum narrative, exploring by themed gallery ("Digging Deeper") or floor plan, or browse by collection (vehicles, posters, equipment, etc). I hadn't seen the floor plan concept before, and enjoyed the reference to the physical museum location and layout. Site visitors are encouraged to engage in dialogue with the museum - sharing stores and memories. There is a "share a story link" on every page, as well as an area compiling the comments. The online museum is pretty new - the only stories or comments I found were from the focus group.The online collection presents those objects on permanent display. At the head of every section or theme, there is a brief introduction describing the theme, number and date range of objects. At the object level, there is also a brief description, dimensions, date, ID number, and related objects. Additional resources, such as links to essays and other online exhibits (for example, Exploring 20th Century London, which I will definitely explore later).
The Online Museum project was supported by funding from Renaissance London ("museums for changing lives") and developed by the Digital resources project team (the individuals are listed). No collection policy or digital practices were discussed.
The museum definitely has a tourist feel, but I believe there is research value in the information they are providing. It could certainly provide an interesting starting point for research in transportation, graphic design, public transportation trends, etc.
