I've some experience with image maps. The ones you describe are a more recent example and a powerful device. This actually shows articles inside a GLAM and is based on older technology - it barely works with hi res pictures, I did this following an interest in one of the figures and Mr Zoffany the artist. Can't say I have had much feedback on it. An earlier example is used by Wikipedia as an example in their Image map example.

One approach I would like to commend to you is the map used in the Hoxne Hoard article. This one shows the example of where the hoard coins came from. The reason why I choose this is because this can use geo codes. Yes I know that geo codes are not that accurate ... but I suspect they are going to be. Europe can not be alone in launching new satellites. It must be only a matter of time before we have sub-metre accuracy. (expert view welcomed). Assuming this is the case then I feel we should build our infrastructure based on a more accurate geocode system. We can do that without the satellites if we assume they will use the existing nomenclature.

On 25 February 2011 23:05, geni <geniice@gmail.com> wrote:

We've seen how QR code lets you move from a physical object to
wikipedia but there is also the issue of going the other way. At the
moment our museum articles can list a few leading exhibits and that's
it. They also find it hard to explain where in a museum an item is.

Both issues can be addressed by using maps. The problem is our current
mapping methods based on GPS coordinates are to inaccurate for any
museum exhibit much smaller than HMS alliance and don't cope very well
if an article talks about an item in more than one museum.

So we need highly detailed maps and a way to place items in them. The
problem is that we are going beyond the detail level of open street
maps. Still they are good enough for an example of what I mean:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Geni/map

We clearly need better maps. We could with enough effort draw them
ourselves but there is another possibility. At the GLAM-wiki event at
the british museum it was mentioned that one of the reasons that
museums were trying to do stuff with their metadate was that it was
one of the few things that they hadn't already got tided up in rights
agreements. Might this also not apply to maps?

The method used for the demo is fairly clumsy but is fairly widely
used ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Labelled_image_map_templates
) and has the advantage of needing no new mediawiki code.

The maps won't work too well as part of an article in most cases which
is another issue but we could ask for a new namespace and use a
subpage of the talk page for the time being.

--
geni

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