FAQ – New Media Museum

Where are you located?

There is no physical location at the present time.

The Collections and Exhibits have already been experienced by tens of thousands of people over time and space. This includes students and attendees at events in the Boston area and across the county.

However, this is what’s been safely hibernating in storage for a decade.

Over a hundred personal computers of most major brands
Key peripherals such as drives and printers
Dozens of gaming systems, headsets and unique interfaces
Over a thousand boxes of software, documentation, “artifacts” etc.
Operating system, utility and productivity software for most brands of personal computers
Devices for playing and digitizing audio and video
Enough furniture to accommodate over fifty “stations” for exhibits

Less than half of this is documented in detail on the Web site (so far).

It all takes up more than a thousand square feet of space, packed.

It could fill over 5,000 square feet of space if it were unpacked and set up in an educational computer lab or museum setting.

However, the current focus isn’t on that — it is on a series of small education and preservation oriented Projects.

There will probably be a “real” physical location someday, somewhere …

In the meantime, Virtual Museums, New Media@Boston, and Virtual Museums Lobby are ways to mitigate the fact that there is no public location.

Are you a non-profit?

No. The New Media Museum is a private activity.

Where can I find out more?

The best place to start learning about the museum is on the About page.

This is just the latest incarnation of an evolving project. There have been many pervious iterations. There is a very long story about the sources and evolution of the New Media Museum on the the History page.

Do you loan hardware, software or other things in the library?

No, we do not lend hardware, software or anything else.

Among other reasons, copying most personal computing software is illegal.

In addition, loaning things does not promote preservation.

The hardware, software and documentation described on this site are for the purpose of creating exhibits that are shown at local pop-up events, vintage computing festivals and cooperative exhibits with other museums.

When there is finally a physical location, then it will be possible to arrange visits to see demos and view archival resources.

Can I give you hardware, software or other historic things?

No, not at the present time.

Physical donations given to the earlier iteration of the New Media Museum (NEW Computer Museum) were given to Rhode Island Computer Museum when NEW Computer Museum became the New Media Museum.

What if I still have a question?

Please contact the New Media Museum.