New challenges concerning the acquisition, exhibition and preservation of media art in museum collections have recently surfaced. These challenges have given rise to an important study led by the DOCAM Research Alliance (Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage). Established in 2004, this initiative is a SSHRC funded research project spearheaded by the Daniel Langlois Foundation and the Canadian Heritage Information Network. This paper presents a number of DOCAM case study findings on new media works by the research teams at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Conclusions drawn from a survey of new media cataloguing practices in some North American, European and Australian institutions are also discussed. Museum cataloguing methods and conservation strategies are identified. Finally, the importance of protecting our new media heritage for the future is emphasized. Participants will benefit from the research findings and will learn how the Web is used to bring together vast quantities of resources on new media, including the DOCAM Web site (http://www.docam.ca) .