CASCultural and Arts Studies3083-39573083-3949Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.26689/CAS.v2i3.16134ArticleFrom Museum Collections to Digital Interpretation: An Evidence-to-Audience Workflow for Cultural Heritage Communication and Learninghttps://artdesignp.com/journal/CAS/2/3/10.26689/CAS.v2i3.16134LiuYang2026232026-06-30A digitised collection can be extensive and still be difficult to explain. Museum records, photographs, 3D files, and related assets are usually made for documentation, research, conservation, or reuse; public communication asks a different question: what should a visitor meet first, and why? This article examines the editorial work between those two ends. Rather than comparing technologies, it brings together literature on digital museums, online collections, interfaces, and cultural-heritage communication to identify four recurring trouble spots: specialist entry barriers, media that accumulate without an interpretive role, loss of context, and projects that start with a platform instead of a communication problem. From these issues, a five-stage Evidence-to-Audience Workflow is set out: source verification, audience-purpose selection, interpretive structuring, media assignment, and adaptation and review. A short planning matrix accompanies the workflow. The proposal is deliberately practical. It does not predict audience response; it helps teams keep what they publish connected to collection evidence, a stated purpose, and the circumstances in which the material will be used.Digital interpretation, Museum collections, Cultural heritage communication, Digital museums, Public learning

[1] Li J, Zheng X, Watanabe I, Ochiai Y, 2024, A Systematic Review of Digital Transformation Technologies in Museum Exhibition. Computers in Human Behavior, 161: 108407. [2]   Sylaiou S, Liarokapis F, Kotsakis K, et al., 2009, Virtual Museums, a Survey and Some Issues for Consideration. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 10(4): 520–528. [3]   Marty PF, 2011, My Lost Museum: User Expectations and Motivations for Creating Personal Digital Collections on Museum Websites. Library & Information Science Research, 33(3): 211–219. [4]   Skov M, Ingwersen P, 2014, Museum Web Search Behavior of Special Interest Visitors. Library & Information Science Research, 36(2): 91–98. [5]   Kist C, Economou M, 2024, User-Centred Collection Metadata: From Images as Information to Facilitating Socio-Affective Connections. Journal of Documentation, 80(6): 1626–1644. [6]   Nappi ML, Buono M, Chivaran C, et al., 2024, Models and Tools for the Digital Organisation of Knowledge: Accessible and Adaptive Narratives for Cultural Heritage. Heritage Science, 12: 112. [7]   Wang B, Liang Q, 2024, The Belitung Shipwreck in Virtual Reality: Exploring the Narrative Framework of Digital Cultural Heritage. Leonardo, 57(1): 40–47. [8]   Hulusic V, Gusia L, Luci N, et al., 2023, Tangible User Interfaces for Enhancing User Experience of Virtual Reality Cultural Heritage Applications for Utilization in Educational Environment. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 16(2): Article 38. [9]   Li H, Liu Y, Zang X, et al., 2024, Analysis of the Visual Cognition Form on the Digital Exhibit Labels to Improve User Experience: A Case Study of Interpretative Exhibitions in Museums. The Design Journal, 27(2): 347–367. [10] Wang Z, Meng J, 2024, Dialogues with Cultural Heritage via Museum Digitalisation: Developing a Model of Visitors' Cognitive Identity, Technological Agent, Cultural Symbolism, and Public Engagement. Museum Management and Curatorship, 39(6): 810–833. [11] Ross C, Terras M, Motyckova V, 2011, Measuring Impact and Use: Scholarly Information-Seeking Behaviour. In: Hughes L (ed.), Evaluating and Measuring the Value, Use and Impact of Digital Collections. Facet Publishing, London, 85–102. [12] Fouseki K, Vacharopoulou K, 2013, Digital Museum Collections and Social Media: Ethical Considerations of Ownership and Use. Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies, 11(1): 5. [13] Zhang J, Xu C, 2024, A Grounded Theory-Based Model of Information Communication in Cultural Heritage Digital Reading on Social Media from the Perspective of Embodied Theory. Heritage Science, 12: 208.