QiVMDL - Towards a Socially Constructed Virtual Museum and Digital Library for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: A Case of the Chinese “Qipao”

Museums and libraries are treasure houses of human history and knowledge with rich repositories on cultural heritage. With advanced technological developments in digital libraries and Web 2.0, cultural institutions are beginning to explore new forms of universal and dynamic accessibility. Using a case example of the Chinese “qipao”, this paper proposes a socially constructed virtual museum prototype incorporating interactivity of Web 2.0 to promote cultural communication and exchange while improving user interaction and participation. In this paper, the authors describe the design, prototyping, and evaluation process of QiVMDL (Qipao Virtual Museum and Digital Library). The paper concludes with implications for digital library research and development supporting virtual museums for the preservation of cultural heritage.