A report I wrote on 'The 2008 Mashed Museum Day and UK Museums on the Web Conference' is now live on the Ariadne site. I've already reported on most of the sessions and the mashed museum day here, but the opportunity to reflect on the day and write for a different audience was useful. The review really made me appreciate that time and space away from all the noise of every day life in which to learn, try and think is incredibly important, whether you call it a workshop or an away day or something else entirely:
One lesson from the Mashed Museum day was that in a sector where innovation is often hampered by a lack of financial resources, time is a valuable commodity. A day away from the normal concerns of the office in 'an environment free from political or monetary constraints' is valuable and achievable without the framework of an organised event. An experimental day could also be run with ICT and curatorial or audience-facing staff experimenting with collections data together.
The Ariadne issue is packed full of articles I've marked 'to read', so you might also find them interesting.