Annual Conference

Hosted since 1968, the Annual Conference is MCN’s marquee event and draws over 600 cultural heritage professionals from museums, historic sites and visitor attractions in North America and beyond. Attendees come from all areas of practice, from IT to digital outreach and visitor engagement, to collections, conservation, archival, libraries, curatorial, education, marketing, and more.

2024 Conference

Location and dates will be announced soon!

Following the success of our 2023 conference, we are excited to announce that MCN 2024 will be held in person once again. Check back in the coming weeks for details.


Past Conferences

Every MCN Conference is an opportunity to grow your network and get inspired. We explore new ideas in a variety of sessions formats from lightning talks to workshops and panel discussions. Topics are wide-ranging; Hear about approaches to digital workflow, the role of digital in our evolving understanding of audience engagement in museums, and more. Whether the ideas are new or new-to-you, it’s always an opportunity to learn and reframe your thinking, build your skillset, and connect with other museum professionals to expand your digital capacity and develop brave ideas that will transform the sector.

Links to program and select recordings of past conferences

For access to all past conference recordings and more, check out the new MCN Resources feature.

MCN 2023: Philadelphia, PA
Museum | Computer | Network
Program | Ignite MCN

MCN 2021 VIRTUAL Logo

MCN 2021 VIRTUAL
What is Digital Now?
Program | Ignite MCN

MCN 2020 cover image

MCN 2020 VIRTUAL
Interface: Communities + Museums
Program | Ignite MCN
What’s Emerging in the Field (Scholars’ Publication)

MCN 2019 program cover

MCN 2019: San Diego, CA
Interface: Communities + Museums
Session Recordings

MCN 1967-2017 program cover

MCN 2017 – Pittsburgh, PA
MCN 50 – Looking Back, thinking forward, taking action
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN

MCN the human-centered museum program cover

MCN 2016 – New Orleans, LA
The Human-Centered Museum
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN

MCN Minneapolis program cover

MCN 2015 – Minneapolis, MN
The Invisible Architectures of Connected Museums
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN

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MCN 2014 – Dallas, TX
Think Big, Start Small, Create
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN

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MCN 2013 – Montreal, Canada
Re:Making The Museum
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN

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MCN 2012 – Seattle, WA
The Museum Unbound: Shifting Perspectives, Evolving Spaces, Disruptive Technologies
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN

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MCN 2011 – Atlanta, GA
Hacking the Museum: Innovation, Agility & Collaboration
Session Recordings

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MCN 2010 – Austin, TX
I/O The Museum: Inside-Out / Outside-In

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MCN 2009 – Portland, OR
Museum Information, Museum Efficiency: Doing More with Less!

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MCN 2008 – Washington, D.C.
LET’S DO I.T. RIGHT!

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MCN 2007 – Chicago, IL
Building Content, Building Community: 40 Years of Museum Information and Technology

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MCN 2006 – Pasadena, CA
Access to Assets: Return on Investment

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MCN 2005 – Boston, MA
DIGITS FUGIT!: Preserving Knowledge Into the Future

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MCN 2004 – Minneapolis, MN
Great Technology for Collections, Confluence and Community

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MCN 2003 – Las Vegas, NV
Balancing Museum Technology and Transformation

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MCN 2002 – Toronto, Canada
In It for the Long Haul: Technology Programs that Go The Distance

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MCN 2001 – Cincinnati, OH
Real Life: Virtual Experiences

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MCN 2000 – Las Vegas, NV
The Name of the Game is Change

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MCN 1999 – Philadelphia, PA
Access for All: Integrating Cultural Heritage, Media and Technology

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MCN 1998 – Santa Monica, CA
Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Preservation

MCN 1997 – St. Louis, MO
Communication within the museum, with the museum and its community, within the community of museums

MCN 1996 – Ottawa, ON
Reaching Museum Audiences Using New Technology

MCN 1995 – San Diego, CA

MCN 1994 – Washington, D.C.
Cultures Connected: Automating Museums in the Americas and Beyond

MCN 1993 – Seattle, WA

MCN 1992 – Pittsburgh, PA
25th Anniversary MCN Conference

MCN 1991 – Santa Monica, CA

MCN 1990 – Richmond, VA

MCN 1989 – Chicago, IL

MCN 1988 – Santa Monica, CA

MCN 1987 – Boston, MA

MCN 1986 – New Orleans, LA
Conference on Computer Applications in Museums

MCN 1985 – Mexico City, Mexico

MCN 1984 – Ottawa, ON, Canada

MCN 1983 – Rochester, NY

MCN 1982 – San Francisco, CA

MCN 1981 – Detroit, MI

MCN 1980 – Albany, NY

MCN 1979 – Washington, D.C.

MCN 1978 – New Haven, CT

MCN 1977

MCN 1976

MCN 1975

MCN 1974 – Stony Brook, NY

MCN 1973

MCN 1968 – New York, NY
A Conference on Computers and their Potential Applications in Museums