In a lengthy editorial for The New York Times, author Anand Giridharadas details the way museums have – and continue to – adapt to the Internet’s shifting panorama.

After closely examining the ways the Internet has helped shrink the American dream for the better, Giridharadas muses that museums have asked: “Could our collection reach the villages of China and the universities of Peru and perhaps a prison or two? Could it touch those who have no chance of entering our physical doors? Could it spread to the whole world?”

His narrative follows two NY-based museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, both of which have learned to use the Internet’s ability to bring information and art to everyone everywhere at any given time.

Shelley Bernstein, vice director of digital engagement and technology at the Brooklyn Museum told Giridharadas, “The dream was that anyone, anywhere, could participate and would, if given the chance. I had the ‘anyone, anywhere’ dream. I remember sitting in countless meetings and arguing for that dream.” He notes that the Brooklyn Museum has been bolstering up their social-media efforts to provide a “closer-to-home approach” that allows them to use the Internet to bring viewers directly inside studios of local artists.

The Met, on the other hand, Giridharadas notes, is circumventing China’s bans on Twitter and Facebook to reach users on Weibo, a microblogging platform and using Instagram to reach audiences. Sree Sreenivasan, the museum’s chief digital officer, shared, “We really are committed to the idea of reaching people around the world. It’s not something we’ve given up on. We’re just getting started.”

A thorough look at the report can be found here.