The Value of Museums for Inquiry and Information Literacy

 Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Shofuso House in Philadelphia. The house was a gift to the United States from Japan in the 1950s. As I listened to the docent speak, I was very conscious about the wide range of information I was receiving and questions that I had about it. I thought about the context of the gift, the considerations the architect made during the design process, the current status of the facility, and numerous other factors about the institution. A museum experience, such as this one, provides a perfect opportunity for us to consider our thinking process, to reflect on how we build knowledge, and to challenge our inquiry skills.

As I explore and teach information literacy, I find myself wondering how others take in information. One can choose to look at the pretty Japanese garden and just enjoy the beauty, for example, but that only scratches the surface -- How big do Koi get? How do they survive the winter? How do they keep that tree pruned? Is a big pruned tree like that called a "Bonsai" tree or is that just little trees? From where did all these visitors here today come? How many gardens in the United States were gifted to us by Japan? How about other nations? Do the United States ever gift gardens to other countries? How do these gardens help us cross cultural boundaries? What does a natural paradise such as this one mean to the citizens of this area?

Objects are underutilized in the classroom to encourage inquiry and I would like that to change. I have written before about the value of objects for education. I have encouraged my museum colleagues to partner with others to introduce their objects to teachers and students, but some of the burden needs to be placed with educators too. Cultural heritage institutions exist, in part, to help you with your mission to educate. Think about the following:

• What kinds of objects will make your students more curious? 
• What kinds of questions do you want your kids to ask? 
• What connections between curriculum and "real world" should your kids be making? 
• What information links should they be forming to better understand contexts and develop information literacy skills?  
• What museums are in your area that can help?

School librarians, consider how you can use objects and museums to enhance your information literacy curriculum. How can you use object as a launching point into larger contexts? How can you relate objects to the written word? How can objects enhance the critical thinking skills you teach as an information specialist?

Information literacy involves layers of knowing and inquiry. It is our challenge as educators and keepers of objects to consider these layers, and to get our students/patrons to consider them too.

Celebrating Anniversaries. Commemorating Wars.

We have been commemorating the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War for years now. My twitter feed has been noting archival projects, social media blitzes, major reenactments, and museum exhibits throughout the events. Cultural Institutions began planning years in advance.  Internet outreach has enabled us to build up interest and create long running projects that aim to keep people engaged. I have very mixed feelings about these activities and while I tend toward the opinion that they are a good thing, a little piece of me thinks otherwise.

One way that cultural institutions aim to get the public involved is through Crowdsourcing. A good example of this is a project through the University of Iowa.

Saylor and her colleagues “crowdsourced” the Civil War by digitizing the letters and diaries and making them available to the public. They created a website where transcribers can choose a document, transcribe it in a niffy box, and email it to them for review.

Goals: To get the public involved, highlight a major event, and get much needed help for making archival materials more accessible.

The Civil War events are having a small lull. According to the civilwar150 site, not much of significance happened during the War in the spring and summer months of 1864. My Twitter feed on the events has been quiet. Perhaps, it's a good thing that the centennial of WWI is getting underway too so I have more commemorative articles to link to. (Am I being fascetious? I'm not sure. That's what I'm here to discuss.)

The United States World War One Centennial Commission has a wonderful web site to remind us about this oft forgotten catastophic event. 100-years after a War, it is easy to see it as ancient history. It is easy for us to forget how the events of the past have lead us to where we are today. The roots of Russian history and conflict go back this far, for one thing. As one example of the need for remembering our history - Understanding events in the Ukraine today can be related to World War One. And, yet, my mind still questions this "celebration" of anniversaries.

I fall victim to anniversary syndrome. For a Town's 250th I think, "let's do it up!" For my school's fiftieth I say, "let's plan retro events and highlight our community!" Anniversaries give cultural heritage professionals a chance to pull in the general public, to help them get as excited about history as we are. In some ways, these celebrations are artificial constructs. We can find an anniversary for anything and make it worth celebrating, but is that a bad thing? If the general public wants festivities to get excited about history, the fact that they are interested is a good thing, right? Anniversaries allow archivists to convince people to dig through their attics and basements to find materials that document our history. Society has used anniversaries to highlight our heritage for at least hundreds of years. We have highlighted war in this way for probably thousands of years -- from stitching battle history into tapestry to honoring our Veterans with special days each year.

2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of what we now sadly know as The First World War – it would never be The War to End All Wars.  As we look back over the century we should remember that these men did not die in vain – they fought a war that, like the one that followed only 25 years later, was necessary to contain the territorial ambition of a major European power.  About one hundred years before the outbreak of the First World War British and Allied troops had defeated France at the Belgium village of Waterloo - and contained a major European power.
Remember the courage and honour the sacrifice of the boys who became men 100 years ago and support the young men and women who have followed in their footsteps and are today's soldiers.  - (from Spirit of Remembrance  web site - "Battlefield tours for discerning travelers") 

I am a bit troubled by the hoopla. How do we pick and choose what anniversaries to mark? What anniversaries are we forgetting? Are there under-documented events/wars/communities that need more attention from the governments that sponsor them? Are we glorifying War -- molding it into something romantic through a "celebration?"  Are we all doing all of this for the right reasons?  

To be sure, much good work is being done. These anniversary events deserve remembrance. Cultural heritage institutions could use the boost, excitement, collections, and donations that come from these events. It is a fine line to walk. Anniversaries, especially those of war, deserve related activities that suit the occasion. We need to remember that these events involve people. We need to remember without a sense of adventure and without romanticism. We need to ensure that our communities are boosted by our commemorations. We run the risk of trivializing terror and giving an amusement park atmosphere to what should be solemn memorials.

Let's remember this as we go on to mark the third year in our commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam Conflict.

What do you think about using anniversaries to boost the work of cultural heritage institutions? Do these anniversaries help our communities? If these anniversary celebrations are a good thing, with whom should cultural institutions partner to make them worthwhile?

More Finds at the Local Antique Shop - Fiction Story Based on Orphan Photos

I just read an interesting fiction book called Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. For me, it was an entertaining light read. Aimed at a young adult market, the book is a fantasy that mixes supernatural and mystery. It focus on the relationship between a boy and his grandfather, who was full of fanciful stories from his past that left his family wondering about their veracity. Despite the fiction genre, the story prompted me to think about how family legends grow from untested stories and we are left to pick out the truth among the tall tales.

The aspect of the book that I found most interesting was a use of "authentic, vintage found photographs." The author seems to have used real, unusual pictures to mold his characters. Fitting in with my "More Finds at the Local Antique Shop" theme, the book is a perfect demonstration of how imagination can be stirred by abandoned orphan photos.

Author Ransom Riggs thanks those private collectors who contributed images for him to complete his first novel. He writes about the images at the end of the book, "They were lent from the personal archives of ten collectors, people who have spent years and countless hours hunting through giant bins of unsorted snapshots at flea markets and antiques malls and yard sales to find a transcendent few, rescuing images of historical significance and arresting beauty from obscurity - and most likely, the dump. Their work is an unglamorous labor of love and I think they are the unsung heroes of the photography world."

I look forward to Mr. Riggs next book and hope that he sticks with this writing method. Here is another Cultural Heritage Collaborator to add to our list. A fiction writer steeped in a love of primary sources can be a great friend to archivists. Such a person can sing the praises of cultural heritage resources and help the world realize their beauty and value.

Top Ten Stories of the Year - The Archives Year in Review

Welcome to the 2nd annual ArchivesInfo Top Ten Stories of the Year. Our list includes the stories that have impacted the cultural heritage professions -- more specifically archives, libraries, and museums - the most over the past year. These stories were greatly discussed, contributed to a change in our profession, and / or are on our radar as potential changers of the heritage we keep. They were garnered from the ArchivesInfo Twitter archives. I have evaluated my tweets based on my own personal outlook and welcome differing opinions. The list is admittedly biased toward the United States. I apologize to my international readers, but I have tried to recognize areas where we are greatly impacted by changes abroad and stories that take on a global perspective are given extra bonus points! (hint, hint!)

It is easiest to begin with stories that just missed the cut.  This year I have cut from the top ten: Archives and museum thefts in the U.S. including thefts by a presidential historian; Crowdsourcing; Hungary and the protection of communist files as it relates to protecting history and human rights; Libyan looting;  the loss of languages and discussions about why "obscure" languages matter; The Boston College and the Northern Ireland oral history project controversy; politicians erasing emails / FOI and accusations of federal and state governments withholding info; release of the Pentagon papers; Wikipedia; NYPL at 100; 30th anniversary of AIDS; a new focus on personal digital archives. Any of these topics could have comfortably fit into a top ten cultural heritage list, but I think they were outweighed by other stories. (Are there any up there that you think I should have kept in?)

So, without further ado...here's the ArchivesInfo top ten of 2011!

#10 The Nixon Presidential Library
There was much news about Presidential Libraries in the news this year. The Kennedy libraries digitization efforts are truly worth note, but it is the Nixon Library that made news that should be of interest to every cultural heritage professional. I think this headline sums it up: "What’s a Presidential Library to Do? Should Presidential Libraries show warts and all?" What IS the role of those who display / interpret collections for their audiences?

2011-03-31 Watergate gets new makeover at the #Nixon #library http://bit.ly/i3f2oj  #presidentiallibrary 

2011-04-01  #Nixon #Library Opens a Door Some Would Prefer Left Closed http://nyti.ms/gLAVZU   #watergate

2011-04-02 Nixon library is the big #archives news this morn. "At Nixon Library, A Raw Look At A Disgraced Leader. " http://n.pr/hvIL9M

2011-04-02 Timothy Naftali: Nixon's checker. Director of Nixon Presidential library discusses new Watergate gallery and more http://lat.ms/fN30pQ

2011-04-18 Bob Woodward, no longer banned, on making his first visit to the #Nixon #Library http://wapo.st/hcoN4E  #archives

2011-06-06 The Nixon Library That Wasn't http://bit.ly/lJWMAk politics of a presidential library. #Duke

2011-09-14 NYT: What’s a Presidential Library to Do? Should Presidential Libraries show warts and all? Reagan vs. Nixon library http://t.co/9rOsfCp

2011-11-01 Naftali, who helped re-image #Nixon library, resigns http://t.co/T8ZqrYgS 

#9. Ebooks:
With the closing of the Borders bookstore chain in part blamed on the rise of the ebook, libraries fighting publishing companies over ebook circulation, and discussions about the future of print, this technology is altering the landscape for our profession, for businesses, and for culture in general. Returning to our list for the second year in a row, ebooks continue to hold our attention and it will be interesting to see how they develop.

2011-02-27 Cultural shift hurt #Borders' image - mass marketing of #books has lost appeal http://bit.ly/i4kwTm

2011-03-15 NYT: Publisher Limits Shelf Life for Library E-Books – Harper Collins boycott  http://nyti.ms/i3Pekl

2011-03-17 Library bodies warn publishers off 'retrenchment' over e-book lending http://bit.ly/eKb3x8

2011-09-18 RT @GalleyCat: Borders closes forever today. Here's a heartbreaking picture: "I cannot live without #books" http://t.co/vNrPl4GD

2011-10-18 the Future of Endnotes in the Era of E-books. (via H-Net]Finding Footnotes and Chasing Citations http://t.co/GhCqAH94 #books

#8. Natural Disasters - Japanese Tsunami, Australian floods, U.S. Tornadoes
The need for careful disaster planning for cultural heritage institutions has become intensely apparent in recent years. 2011 had a remarkable string of natural disasters worldwide.

2011-03-24 System protects historic buildings from #earthquakes with a new anchoring system.  http://bit.ly/i4p3D2

2011-03-11 #Archives of Tragedy - new ArchivesInfo blogpost during the World #Tsunami crisis http://bit.ly/hU8SZ6

2011-03-14 RT @KPKollenborn: #Japan Earthquake: before & after: Aerial photos reveal the scale of devastation http://bit.… (cont) http://deck.ly/~Kt8M4

2011-03-15 RT @presarch: Archives and Disasters: http://wp.me/pGA9r-fH #japan

2011-03-15 RT @japansociety: Wonderful NYT op-ed by JS member Marie Mutsuki Mockett: ”Memories, Washed Away:" http://ow.ly/4f6Kc  #japan

2011-03-16 Hawaii: Tsunami damage including flooded spaces holding #archives and artifacts http://bit.ly/g8XyKQ  via Archivists listserv

2011-04-04 Japanese #Tsunami Damages National Treasures http://bit.ly/g9Ygxc  #japan

2011-04-20 RT @the_archive: Why do the #archive, archives, & the act of archiving matter? New AP blog re: Japanese tsunami tragedy http://bit.ly/epQRmf

2011-05-01 Help Tusaloosa tornado victims find family photos http://on.fb.me/ktGeJ2  via @subclassz

#7 Digital Projects by Institutions

One of four categories to make the top ten for a second year, digitization has significantly slipped from their number one standing. This is not because digitization has slowed down, nor because we are not as interested in its developments. New collaborative digitization projects among museums, libraries and archives continue to spring up. We are coming up with more remarkable ideas and fine tuning our efforts within our institutions. Many such fine projects are represented in our list of tweets this year. Here is a sample of projects we took on:

2011-01-15 RT @RAINbyte: Rockwell museum shares its digitization project with the world - Bennington Banner http://bit.ly/dOI2GK

2011-01-18 Oregon: Local poets can participate in digital-audio archive project http://bit.ly/dLlTRl

2011-01-21 GSU Library awarded grant to digitize Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization records http://bit.ly/gQyGgu 

2011-01-27 Community Digitization Project. Online photos, audio recordings and more bring Ontario's past alive http://bit.ly/fSDZq2

2011-01-28 Websites expand access to New Jersey and Pennsylvania state archives http://bit.ly/gVR9VE

2011-02-01 U. Texas: Digital Collection Highlights Photos Taken In Corpus Christi During Great Depression http://bit.ly/fDQBSc

2011-02-02 Online exhibit from London foundling hospital http://bit.ly/edVQnf  {I adore this!]

2011-02-02 Vassar College: Special Collections digitizing #archives http://bit.ly/hRpJJT

2011-02-05 Digitization, Special Collections & University Archives, U Iowa #civilwar #sequicentennial  http://bit.ly/gV3ST0

2011-02-13 RT @Arquivistica NY Metropolitan Museum of Art seeks new audience online: a virtual expansion  http://nyti.ms/f0nOIn 

2011-02-17 New website gives rare glimpse into times past - #Scotland's Places, views of city 1830+ and 16th c maps: http… (cont) http://deck.ly/~JXPeZ

2011-02-20 Abu Dhabi: National Library to post historical content online http://bit.ly/hbfIKx [UNESCO's World Digital #Library collaborative 

2011-03-24 RT @subclassz RT @johnxlibris: The NY Philharmonic Opens Digital #Archives to the Public http://bit.ly/fCbB2q #music

2011-05-03 US #Holocaust museum to put records online http://bit.ly/jMciDj  #genealogy

2011-05-11  The “National Jukebox” - An Online Destination For Historical Sound Recordings http://bit.ly/lGbOj1  #archives

2011-05-11 Yale announces free online access to #museum, #library, #archives collections. first in Ivy League http://bo.st/jpJl7B #LAM

2011-05-26 Houston Area Digital Archives posts 3 volumes of Love letters donated by Lawson family http://bit.ly/lszW6A

2011-09-06 Du Bois papers now available on the Web http://t.co/SzU7RSV #archives

2011-10-18 Library completes digitization of medieval manuscripts http://t.co/74p0dqA0 

2011-11-03 #BBC #radio #archives to go online http://t.co/kwyTFmni

#6 Library of Congress Archiving Tweets

The news that the Library of Congress is Archiving Tweets can be seen as a game changer for the archives profession and the study of history and culture. Now, the words of the "average" person will be preserved for posterity in a way that they have never been in the past. As we change the way we communicate, we change the idea of civilization itself. Whose voices can be heard has been forever altered. Who can make an impact in this world has been altered. There is no going back. The Library of Congress, recognizing the amazing Twitter voice, has given it official status and recognition by formally seeing humanity's tweets as collection worthy.

2011-01-25 RT @paige_roberts: "Trouble for the tweet keepers?" Boston Globe: http://bit.ly/h7seK4

2011-06-02 How the library of congress is building the Twitter archive http://is.gd/C2B75k  via Library journal on Facebook

2011-06-09 Gnip to deliver archive of public historical #twitter data to the U.S. Library of Congress http://bit.ly/k1cQP5  #loc

#5 Wisconsin Protests and Occupy Movements

Perhaps emblematic of the rest of the nation, perhaps even forerunning of Occupy movements around the world later in the year, Wisconsin citizens took to the streets to protest budget cuts in their state. As humanity considers our future direction, libraries, archives and museums are not only impacted by decisions, but we are also poised to document them and the events that took place that helped us make them.

2011-03-02 Wisconsin Historical society documents budget battle http://bit.ly/euAsCf

2011-03-14 Wisconsin Librarians' March Merges with Tractorcade http://bit.ly/gSFwOe #library 

2011-04-26 Wisconsin’s public libraries in peril http://bit.ly/igP2eV #savelibraries

2011-10-10 wow. this is nutty RT @AASLH: OH GEEZ: Conservative journalist says he infiltrated, escalated DC #museum protest http://t.co/Mw94aURd

2011-10-16 Just thinking...This is one of those moments when a word's meaning may be changing. I think the word "occupy" will never be the same.

2011-10-20 Occupy Wall Street Archival Project http://t.co/CXtexDlm #archives via@archivesnext

2011-11-03 I told you recently that the word "occupy" would take on new meaning! RT @geneabloggers: Occupy Genealogy http://t.co/wQ2Gc70E

2011-12-01 National Museum of American History collects Occupy Wall Street memorabilia http://t.co/GTxmrXOl  #museum #OWS

2011-12-01 Occupy Wall Street and #Archives - new ArchivesInfo blog post bit.ly/u5FasF   #OWS  #WashingtonTimes

#4 Copyright and SOPA

We are grappling with all kinds of copyright issues from how to deal with orphan works when digitizing to international ILL. Potentially one of the most influential copyright "events" for cultural heritage and information management professionals is the SOPA bill that is poised to censor the Internet in the United States. The struggles over copyright will shape the way we care for and manage information many decades into the future.

2011-01-11  Brussels Wants 7-Year Limit on Works Digitized by Google http://nyti.ms/ffaJUA
2011-02-18 RT @conservators: Funding for Conservation facing deep cuts! action needed now. Visit our Advocacy page: www.conservation-us.org/advocate

2011-03-11 RT @jennydigiMdHS: USA Today: "Misinformation about your #photography rights continue to spread" http://usat.ly/W2gIt  #copyight #civilrights

2011-03-08 RT @mrlibrarydude: New Supreme Court Copyright Case: The Supreme Court will weigh in on a law that has l... http://bit.ly/exMj97 

2011-03-31 RT @LibraryLaw: Stanford not fazed by #Google #Books decision http://tinyurl.com/6yxhymd

2011-04-15 Europe creates orphan works registry, copyright ID system http://bit.ly/g6nMw3

2011-05-25 RT @lynnemthomas: RT @blefurgy: EU rules on "orphan works" proposed to help digital libraries http://ow.ly/51UiR  #copyright

2011-06-22 Coalition of #Library Consortia Joins ARL in Opposing Publishers' Position on International ILL http://bit.ly/jYVLQi  #copyright

2011-06-07 RT @lynnemthomas: RT @LibraryStuff: Why non-academics should be following the Georgia State U case http://iti.bz/2f7  #copyright

2011-09-28 RT @JPvE: Princeton bans academics from handing all copyright to journal publishers http://t.co/Ikv2dpxr  #copyright #writing

2011-12-20 #SOPA debate brings millions in political contributions from Hollywood, Silicon Valley wapo.st/vyLFmy 

#3 Egypt
Uncertainty and dissatisfaction with government policies has been followed by unrest around the globe. Continuing events in Egypt have the world watching to see what change will be brought about by revolution. Egypt also has us concerned about the fate of cultural objects that many have claimed are part of the heritage of all nations and not Egypt alone. Looting, destruction, and safeguarding of the world's cultural heritage is a great concern and Egypt is the most explosive microcosm of our struggles to maintain this heritage in a time of upheaval. 

2011-01-24 Egypt officially requests return of ancient Nefertiti bust http://bit.ly/ea9nk

2011-01-24 German foundation refuses to return Nefertiti bust http://bit.ly/gfX6FZ

2011-01-29 RT @theplayethic: The human wall protecting Cairo museum. So beautiful http://yfrog.com/h7h2fwj

2011-01-29 RT @arttheft: Photos of Egyptian Museum damages accessed via http://bit.ly/fFEZG

2011-01-29 RT @cortsims: No kidding! “@science: Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit - Nefertiti's bust will stay in German capital http://bit.ly/gwL5aY”

2011-01-29 RT @RAINbyte Breaking: Images of Egyptian Museum Damage via Al-Jazeera http://bit.ly/gEohuV

2011-01-30 RT @cortsims ART THEFT IN EGYPT "Those were our own people" The Egyptian Museum in Cairo has been looted by own guards. http://is.gd/8TuFFA

2011-01-30 RT @historyancient: News from Cairo: ARCE Director Dr. Gerry Scott talks abt the crisis & Egypt’s Antiquities http://bit.ly/eVclIw

2011-01-30 Were Tut's treasures damaged? http://on.msnbc.com/eDFcKB

2011-01-31 RT @AntiquiTweet: Some of Egypt's oldest pyramids are among the tombs that were broken into at Saqqara - http://ow.ly/1s0sGp

2011-01-31 Egyptians bravely defending cultural heritage, according 2 librarian of Alexandria/director of Bibliotheca Alexandrina. http://bit.ly/hBH6EH

2011-01-31 Egyptian soldiers arrest 50 men attempting to break into famed antiquities museum http://bit.ly/i4nk85

2011-01-31 good idea!RT @kv64info: Egyptological Looting Database 2011: To help maintain a site by site list of looting  http://bit.ly/fo9wd7

2011-02-01 RT @cortsims:  WSJ: Egypt's Antiquities Fall Victim to the Mob  http://is.gd/hxVCIm

2011-02-01 RT @cortsims: Interesting Blog Post. Egypt Museums and Archaeology News http://is.gd/fWYTyh    

2011-02-02 RT @amlibraries: Photos of people guarding the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in #Egypt: http://bit.ly/fYMTvD

2011-02-03 Museums rally to protect Egyptian sites. Intl archeologists volunteer 2 help protect country's cultural heritage http://bit.ly/fGdLv5

2011-02-07 WSJ: Alexandria #Library is A Symbol for the New #Egypt http://on.wsj.com/e3pQgO

2011-02-11 RT @kv64info: Restoration of Objects in the Egyptian Museum: W/ blog post from Egyptian Minister of State fo… (cont) http://deck.ly/~ZGowT

2011-02-14 RT @archivistabby King Tut statue among missing #Egypt treasures - http://bit.ly/g0l8oQ

2011-02-14 Egypt's Missing Treasures Shown in National Geographic Photos http://bit.ly/f4WDGn

2011-02-15 RT @Bennu: "Get out," crowd of 150 archaeology graduates chanted outside office of Antiquities Minister Hawass: http://bit.ly/fkHvyy

2011-03-03  Egypt: Protesters demand removal of National Library chief http://bit.ly/dNhsu2

2011-03-04 Egyptian antiquities attacked and under threat. Alarming report on the widespread looting and vandalism http://bit.ly/hJ1iwT

2011-03-05  RT @dvergano: Egyptology: Zahi Hawass confirms his resignation, discusses reasons. ScienceFair: http://usat.ly/g8yL9y

2011-03-16 RT @paige_roberts: #Egypt releases illustrated list of 54 objects missing from Egyptian #Museum http://bit.ly/eLie36

2011-03-17 RT @EgyptologyNN: Ancient Egyptian artefacts found and thieves apprehended: http://bit.ly/b5yLCi

2011-03-23 UNESCO helps #Egypt's Museums. Director expresses how remarkable human shield formed by civilians 2 protect #museum was http://bit.ly/fTHeE9

2011-04-17 RT @ArchaeoNewsNet: Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass sentenced to one year in jail http://nblo.gs/gLwir

2011-04-21 Egypt erases history: 5 places where the Mubarak name will be removed http://bit.ly/fIaKqC   #history

2011-05-24 Egypt in the Early 1900s: Rare Brooklyn Museum Slides http://bit.ly/iRbJdR 

2011-12-18 #Egypt Institute Burns; Scholars Scramble to Rescue #Manuscripts http://bit.ly/uQ2o6R #archives

#2 Funding

Once again making our number two spot - funding for libraries, archives and museums is under close watch. There have been other times during modern history when cultural heritage institutions struggled to sustain themselves and sometimes redefine themselves in response to outside events, changing society, and funding crises. This year, funding concerns in the United States and Britain have reached a critical stage. Many institutions have cut staff, merged, and even closed in response to monetary pressures. (Great Britain responded early in the year with a #savelibraries campaign that helped set a tone for 2011.) The institutions that make it through the next few years will be those that have been able to create a strong, sustainable business model and will define the charge of cultural heritage institutions for the 21st century.

2011-01-12 Brown Proposes Eliminating All State Funding for California Libraries http://t.co/EIhwZgk

2011-01-15 Exploring the economy’s toll on local #museums http://bit.ly/fTvLRU

2011-01-16 Watching #savelibraries with fascination in U.S. Good luck British friends! I see important implications for cultural heritage around world…[lots more]

2011-01-19 London museums urged to show more 'hidden' artefacts. Despite economic climate, challenge to offer more to the public. http://bbc.in/fFXaT0

2011-01-19 RT @Shahalti: Bill That Kills Historic Preservation Funding (Along w/ Public Broadcasting) http://bit.ly/i7s1B7

2011-01-19 RT @UKpling This is the reality of volunteers running libraries http://tinyurl.com/6hxtqrn  It   simply is not good enough.

2011-01-25 Proposed Budget in #Texas Nearly Zeros Out Key State Library Funds http://bit.ly/hWnsJM

2011-02-04 RT @MarDixon: Protests across the UK expected for Save Our Libraries Day http://bit.ly/gfnikS

2011-02-08  RT @MarDixon:RT @CollectionTrust: '#savelibraries World Trending' By @mardixon & how Museums can fight for the future http://bit.ly/eTT5yj

2011-02-11 NPR: Britain Faces Closing The Book On Libraries http://n.pr/f6iAZU

2011-02-11 RT @gordonbelt: Archivists, B vry afraid: http://bit.ly/hEFYv7  Why U ask? I'll tell U: http://bit.ly/9ri9aE  [sounds lk all shld B afraid.]

2011-02-12 RT @CSMlibrary: One of saddest photo galleries @csmlibrary ever saw. Camden NJ Library closes for good. http://bit.ly/dTfF7V

2011-02-18 RT @gordonbelt: National Archives budget would drop 10 percent under current proposal: http://bit.ly/gik6Ny

2011-02-18 RT @conservators: Funding for Conservation facing deep cuts! action needed now. Visit our Advocacy page: www.conservation-us.org/advocate

2011-02-19 Librarians in Texas Protest Proposed Cuts http://j.mp/hWkfTU (noticing funding issues across spectrum – colleagues in libraries, especially in U.K. most active in media?)

2011-02-23 archivesinfo: #Texas #librarians offer a taste of protests to come http://bit.ly/hwyVW3  

2011-03-03 TN: Jesse Owens park, museums expect state funding cuts http://bit.ly/f85fwQ

2011-03-04 UK - Cambridge: Scorn for plan to run library with volunteers http://bit.ly/f1tX2f 

2011-03-05 RT @MarDixon: Exactly what @archivesinfo suggested bit ago RT @PaulFraserWebb:  interesting - UK map of heritage cuts: http://bit.ly/g2t7mY

2011-03-10 Petition 4 #TX libraries: Please RT http://tiny.cc/DefendLibraries When libraries cut digital divide widens @GITANAJAVA #savelibraries

2011-03-18 RT @CILIP_LSG: #savearchives Georgia Archives facing devastating budget cuts http://exm.nr/g1nkpT  #genealogy #archives #sunshineweek

2011-03-18 RT @LISNews: US Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) wants to rescind all IMLS and LSTA moneys http://tinyurl.com/4wzfnmq  #museum #libraries #archives

2011-03-23 Reading more on Klamath County #Museum funding in OR. gr8 explanation on why voters should support them http://bit.ly/hV6p7I #savemuseums

2011-03-23 Oregon: Answers to #Museum funding not so simple http://bit.ly/ew4vs7  #savemuseums @MarDixon

2011-03-31 RT @CSMlibrary: BPL elimination of Sunday hours shows deeper woes at library. #Boston Globe editorial http://bo.st/gfUmTt  #library #BPL

2011-05-23 Even considering closing Oakland libraries infuriates many http://bit.ly/iOrVfa  #savelibraries

2011-05-29 #Tennessee State #Library, #Archives Lays Off 9 Librarians http://bit.ly/iQLw7d

2011-06-11 Texas parks, #libraries, #arts, historical sites facing deep budget cuts http://bit.ly/mC4SlS

2011-06-17 Oakland's African American Museum and #Library survives, for now http://bit.ly/l43RPa   #savelibraries

2011-07-07 RT @AAMers: House Appropriations Subcommittee just passed version of FY2012 bill cutting NEA & NEH far below already reduced levels. #museum

2011-08-25 #Minnesota Historical Society Announces Jobs Cuts; Fee Increases http://t.co/ds1UobC   #museums #savemuseums

2011-11-03 #Canada. Professors decry cuts to Library and Archives. http://t.co/TikGfG3I

2011-11-17 #Libraries in Crisis http://t.co/q6CsQMq0 [gathering of news articles related to library closings. well worth a look]

2011-11-27 #Texas: State budget cuts hit rural #libraries hard http://t.co/Nk2QO9H2

2011-11-29 Britain: #Museum Workers to Strike Over Pensions http://t.co/UhZKUeN0

2011-12-02 "Enough is Enough": Cultural Workers and #Museum Staff Join in the UK's "Strike of a Generation" http://t.co/wv5i97OJ

2011-12-01 RT @ALALibrary: Chicago's neighborhood #libraries in a bind | News | Chicago Journal http://t.co/YzQWb9pM  Use up, funding cut

#1 The Digital Public Library of America

While institutions continue to work on using computers to make their collections more accessible, projects like DPLA are drastically altering the digital landscape.Boldly joining Europeana and other large scale collaborative efforts world-wide, the United States has begun churning its wheels to get its own national digitization project going. It is poised to change our professions, our own focused projects, and the world as we know it.

[*Google was left off the list this year, but I struggled with the decision to keep it off. On last year's list at #4, the Internet company's efforts to "digitize everything" have been seen as heroic by some and scary by others. DPL perhaps offers an alternative to Google. Perhaps one day it will find some kind of partnership with them...but for this year at least, the Digital Public Library's early efforts are outstanding. The goal to collaboratively link information professionals worldwide to provide extensive access to cultural resources overshadows efforts to privately digitize these materials.]

2011-01-08 New York Times: U.S. Playing Catch-Up in a Digital Library Race http://nyti.ms/etD5BM
2011-01-11  U.S. slow to digitize nation's cultural heritage http://bit.ly/fkSU5u

2011-01-11 Digitizing Public Domain in The EU http://bit.ly/efolbk

2011-01-27 Contributor Enhancing Europeana, the great European digital library http://bit.ly/hBge8p

2011-04-01 How Europeana, crowdsourcing & wiki principles are preserving European history http://bit.ly/hzfh WH #archives #digitization

2011-04-04 NYT: Ruling Spurs Effort to Form Digital Public #Library http://nyti.ms/fSgdmL

2011-04-13 Harvard Leads Digital Library Initiative. Digital library might eventually include all printed books  http://bit.ly/eDGWQB

2011-04-22 Digital Democratic Vistas. re: "Digital Public Library of America " http://bit.ly/hq7btu

2011-05-25 Demise of Google Newspaper Archive Shows Need for National Digital Library Policy http://bit.ly/ioULKM

2011-05-25 Re: Google newspaper project, ""They need to give their head a shake here and realize they have some public re… (cont) http://deck.ly/~SdYvZ

2011-05-25 Google archive decision 'astonishing.' End of newspaper digitization effort disappoints originator of technology http://bit.ly/iTtFwX

2011-10-21 Digital Public Library of America inauguration. Live stream: http://t.co/DthSMucl #dpla via @archivesnext

2011-10-21 Yay! thank you! RT @digpublib: If you can't view live-stream, keep up with our liveblog http://t.co/kuGpjbqq@digpublib

2011-10-24 RT @connecthistory: #Digital public library of America & Europeana collaborating on opening up cultural #heritage http://t.co/ZvgIEf81 #dpla

2011-10-24 @digpublib listening remotely last week stirred some thoughts. I wrote abt concern that small orgs be included in #dpla http://t.co/l48Qtprb

2011-10-24 National Digital Public #Library November meeting in LA - http://t.co/iC9XmZNO #ndpl #digitization #dpla

2011-10-24 Archived #dpla plenary meeting http://t.co/1I5SkahH  #digitization #archives

2011-11-16 British Library joins collections from seven countries for Europeana World War I project http://t.co/kwIHHi3b #archives

2011-11-17 Researchers work to build a national online #library to house Canada's history http://t.co/qGbNJkpO  #canadiana #canada #digitization

2011-11-20 Digital Public Library of America quotes me on "The Digital Divide" http://t.co/d8Hz5C4I

2011-11-29 RT @Riparchivist: #Digital Public #Library of America » Blog Archive » John Palfrey: A Future for Libraries http://t.co/LkGfEeOI

2011-12-02 RT @digpublib: John Palfrey Presents at the LA Public #Library Conference http://t.co/DqDyzPmu - building a national digital public library

A Student of Communities and Santa's Celiac Baker

Forgive the cliches, but sometimes I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. Other times, I feel like a square peg who fits comfortably in a much larger round hole. Please bear with me while I explain.

I have never been a "traditional" archivist. At various times in my life I have worked as an assistant curator, a reference librarian, an "Internet Coordinator," as well as an archivist. I've worked in historical homes, city archives, museums, a science institute, public libraries...in fact, probably a wider variety of places than I can count on two hands. So, rather than self-identifying with any one type of place or profession, I  lately have been calling myself a cultural heritage professional with a specialty in archives. I spend my life exploring all of these institutions -- examining archives as a common thread among them. Today, while taking a long walk, I realized that I should also consider myself a student of communities because what really interests me about all these institutions is their community connection.

Outside of my consulting work, one of the largest projects on my plate is my Life in Context Project in collaboration with Sue West of Space4U Consulting. I will not rehash what I've written before about "Life in Context," but a meeting with Sue yesterday got me thinking about this subject. We are currently working on an aspect of "Life in Context" called "Food Memories." I am not a foodie by any means. I eat what I can on a restricted Celiac diet. I usually only cook big meals at Thanksgiving and other special occasions. I like to go out to eat, but I'm not a connoisseur. However, food is a good launching point for self-exploration and for exploring how one fits into a larger society. We all eat! And once I start thinking about a particular subject, my mind jumps to connections. Sometimes, serendipitously the connections present themselves.

As a case in point: This week, my daughter and I are preparing for our baking weekend. We bake cookies for our friends and for Santa. I only bake gluten free, since I have Celiac Disease. One year, we were concerned that my daughter might have Celiac Disease too, so gluten free baking was particularly meaningful. That year, we discovered that each December Santa sets up a fabulous little shed-like house at the end of a cul-de-sac in a neighboring town. We were told that the lighted houses along the street were a sight to see and Santa would be waiting for us at the end of the road to listen to what we want for Christmas. We drove up in our car. My daughter hopped onto Santa's lap and he offered her a candy cane. I told him, "I'm sorry Santa, but my daughter needs to eat gluten free and we are not sure if the candy cane is okay for her." Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, but I'm glad I  did. Mrs. Claus started practically jumping up and down. "Santa has to eat gluten free too!" Who knew? So I drove home and grabbed a tin of my special gf cookies. I drove back with my family and gave Santa the tin. "Merry Christmas Santa! You can have these cookies. They are gluten free." I thought Mrs. Claus was going to cry. We visit Santa's special shack every year and bring him his cookies. Mrs. Claus gives my daughter a special ornament instead of a candy cane. (I don't have the heart to tell her that after receiving medical test results we learned my daughter can eat normally now!) We also leave gluten free cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. I tell my daughter to not divulge to her friends that Santa is a Celiac because they would feel badly about leaving him gluten cookies all of these years!

Why am I telling you this? Besides being timely, this food story reveals my interest in communities. First of all, and perhaps most obviously, this annual December "event" is special to my whole geographic community. Cars line up down the street to see Santa in his shack. Secondly, I feel like I have a special connection to Santa since we are both members of the Celiac community. Third, I find it funny that I tell my little girl to not divulge Santa's food secret. When I was young, I didn't celebrate Christmas and my mother used to tell me to not tell other kids that Santa isn't real! My daughter is a member of a community in which I was not and it's interesting to see how some aspects of her childhood differ from mine because of it.

So, as a student of communities and a cultural heritage professional with my feet in many different camps, I sometimes see things in unique ways. I suspect that is the case with us all. While we may identify firmly with certain communities to which we belong, we may just have a bit of a toe dipped in others. To me, cultural heritage and "memory" institutions are fascinating for this very reason. They stand as their own communities, they can be vibrant parts of a larger community or communities, AND their holdings include the resources that shed light on societal groups - how they overlap and differ.

So perhaps my world-view and my professional view is a little different. (In fact, I was even the girl in high school who floated from one group to another group. I was a jock, an artist, and a school newspaper editor - taking it all in and examining my place.) I have always explored the idea that no matter what you believe, where you live, or what you do, you can find some community connection to anyone else on earth. I find this fascinating. I'm looking forward to continuing my exploration of documents as a "lens" into communities and to exploring communities more fully through my work with our collaborative "Life in Context" project.


***
If you are interested in learning more about our soon to be launched "Food Memories", See "Life in Context" on Facebook or follow URlifeincontext on Twitter.

For more about my work with communities see www.archivesinfo.com

The Value of Cultural Knowledge

On this blog in the past I have written about the value of archives to society, but to treasure archives we must first recognize the importance historical knowledge in general. We must also understand how accurate historical knowledge is upheld by cultural heritage repositories. Why are our cultural heritage repositories continually under attack for funding? What can we do about it? Part of the problem is a lack of appreciation for our heritage, which can cause a casual, but often highly charged, denial of the fundamental value of understanding our past.

A few weeks ago I read an editorial in a local paper. I wish that I saved it so that I can quote it, but I have seen the sentiment in other places so I think I can paraphrase. There is a particular view that cultural repositories are "fluff." (I was going to write that "museums, libraries, and archives are fluff," but I think that many of these writers do not know what "archives" are. How can they possibly value them?) During difficult economic times, those who hold this point of view think that museums and libraries (and possibly archives) are the first that should be denied funding. These things are nice to have, but we don't need them to function as a society. However, this view is sadly misinformed. These institutions ARE necessary for us to properly function as a society, because they hold the truths that make us a "society" in the first place.

I am currently reading "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch Jr. This book, originally published in the 1980s, argues that kids "are not mentally prepared to continue the society because they basically do not understand the society well enough to value it." We have reached a critical point where these children of the 1980s are the adults making decisions today and they are misunderstanding the value of cultural institutions and heritage resources because they do not understand history. According to "Cultural Literacy, "Only by accumulating shared symbols, and the shared information that the symbols represent, can we learn to communicate effectively with one another in our national community." In other words, American citizens are not all on the same page. Some of us know our history. Some of us do not. Some know some of our history and others know other  parts of our history.  Many cannot identify the historical knowledge they do have as valuable because they do not understand the full context of that history in terms of how it influences our behaviors and decisions today. They do not recognize that repositories support our understanding of history and without them, truth and fiction are muddled.

I am reading another book with my young daughter. It is a children's book called "The Raucous Royals" and discusses historical rumors, exploring how rumors get started and if particular rumors that have pervaded historical knowledge have any basis in fact. The book begins, "Dear Reader, Once rumor is born, it never truly dies." I have used our reading together as a way to develop my daughter's critical thinking skills. One of the group of rumors examined relates to Richard III of England., It discusses how he is suspected of killing his nephews to get to the thrown. It also discusses how over time, Richard was portrayed as a hunchback with a withered arm. My daughter learned that Shakespeare wrote about Richard and based his writing on a biography by Thomas More, which was written after Richard's death. I asked my daughter if these writings were accurately portraying Richard. I asked if they were even trying to accurately portray Richard. Later in the book we learned about Henry VIII's eating habits. We learned that the king would often eat 4,500-5,000 calories for dinner. A menu of the foods he would serve for the meal was included for illustration. I asked my daughter if this was more accurate than the Richard III info. She said yes and I asked why. What is that menu? Where would they get that information? A small smile lit her face and she said, ARCHIVES!"

Today, it often seems to me that rumor is taken as fact without examining its context. Much of the information we believe and the growing amount of misinformation we see spread by media and politicians is not given an historical context. "I heard it so it must be true" is not good enough. Our cultural institutions, including the knowledge they hold and have the capacity to share, can level the playing field and give all of our citizens a common foundation of knowledge, cementing a national identity based in reality. Whether or not we agree on all issues is less vituperative when we know that we all have a common understanding of fact and hence of common cultural values. Cultural institutions hold the shared symbols to which E.D. Hirsch refers.They are part of the foundation that helps our citizens understand our society well enough to value it. Without the institutions, our sense of self is perverted and the glue that holds us together as a nation with a common identity falls apart.

Currently

Inspired by Diary of a Girl Abroad, I have made a list of things I am currently "obsessed" with. Unlike Girl Abroad, this list is not a personal one. (Though if you must know, I am currently obsessed on a personal level with multi-colored long red hair, hydrangeas, pretty and yet comfortable shoes, sharing Harry Potter with my daughter, kickboxing, vintage clothing, meditation, rainbow colored foods, and scooters.) Here is a list of  current cultural heritage related trends and favorites on my radar. (This brings me back to my teenage days of making lists of my favorite things in the backs of my notebooks. I hope that you have fun with it too!):

Current experiment: QR codes

Current documentation method: Lifestreaming

Current up-and-coming professional colleagues: "Community Archivists" (which I have been told is an "in" thing to be at my alma-mater)

Current favorite archives web site: The National Jukebox

Current preservation project: Copp's Hill Cemetery in Boston

Current social media project: Ask Archivists, June 9

Current fundraising tool: KickStarter

Current share site: Flickr

Current documentation project: Food Memories at Life in Context

Current connecting with the public: Civil War Sesquicentennial

Current chapter: Recording Unrecorded History (upcoming book "The Unofficial Family Archivist")

Current tool: Scanner (for "More Finds at the Local Antique Shop" blog posts and presentations. It beats out my all-time favorite tool, the microspatula, by just a micro-smidgeon for this list.)

Current crazy news story: "Astonishing" Google news 

Current fabulous find: Rhode Island Charter

Do you have a current trend or favorite to add?

 

Teach the Young: Create Connections Binding Cultural Heritage

I was toying with whether or not I wanted to post this today. Then, @evolvingcritic posted on Twitter that today is National Arts Advocacy Day. It seems appropriate.

***

Once a month, I visit my daughter's classroom to take part in a series our school calls "It's A GAS."


"The Great Artist Series is an innovative and unique way in which your children learn about the Great Artists of our time. Volunteers will visit a classroom each month and discuss the life and times of an artist and then sponsor an art project which related to the artist’s style or medium."


When I was an art history student, I worked on stipend to write lesson plans similar to those provided to volunteers here. The idea behind this program excited me as a young woman, showing me an avenue for sharing my passion for arts and cultures with a younger generation. Today, as a cultural heritage professional and a mom, the program shows me the true power that art has over children, empowering them to be creative, encouraging them to consider the context of artist's creations, and helping them understand connections between themselves and a larger history.


Yesterday, I had the honor of introducing children to one of my favorite artists, Claude Monet. I headed to school in my little white car. I grabbed a large "Create and Barrel" bag filled with books, postcards, and art supplies from the passenger seat and popped open my purple umbrella to protect it all (and my hair that tends towards the frizzy) from the raindrops. It was a perfect misty Monet kind of morning.


I began by reading a children's book about Monet's work to the students. They enthusiastically raised their hands to interject stories about times they encountered his work in a museum or to tell me if they thought something was particularly beautiful. Then, the children eagerly sorted through postcards to find inspiration for an art project we did together after story time. They talked about color and light and painting outside.  The "oohs" and "ahs" over Monet's art work were enlightening. This quiet class that I am lucky enough to lead once every other a month for an hour is always attentive. They are always interested, but the reaction to this particular artist's work was beyond the norm. There was a true passion for what they were seeing that reverberated through the room. 


During our time together, I try to make connections between art and the larger world. A couple of months ago I discussed Louis Comfort Tiffany with the children. I brought in pictures of Tiffany with his children. I explained that these famous artists are just like us. They have families. They were once children with big dreams just like them. Each time I visit, I talk about how we preserve memories of the artists' by displaying their work, but also by keeping their letters, photographs, and even by maintaining their homes. I explained to the children that Monet's house in Giverny is still there and is open to visitors who wish to see the "real" waterlilies and bridge.


These connections are valuable to a child's understanding of history, culture, and the child's own place in the world. The connections cross disciplines and show the value of cross-professional collaboration to strengthen the overall value of cultural work by demonstrating the blanketing nature of the information that we have to share. Art is not just about the canvas. Art history is not just about the artist. It is a discipline among many forming a foundation for our understanding of humanity and what binds us.


One of Monet's powers was in his ability to see and show beauty in the world around us. The children immediately recognized and appreciated that vision. I think that the uplifting imagery spoke to their innocent view of the world. The children wanted to share the happiness they felt when viewing the images. They understood on a gut level the bond they felt to Monet. They connected his work to what they know and appreciate while demonstrating a curiosity for the artist's life and times. I watched them process the information I gave them when I explained  that the art they so immediately liked and identified as good work was not appreciated by the majority of the art world when the Impressionists first started showing their paintings.The children absorbed human ideas that were formed a long ago time, considered how ideas change, and sought to connect these ideas to themselves. I tried to drive home that they should trust in their own creativity and try new things.


For me, It's a Gas is more then learning about the "Great Artists of our times." It's a Gas is empowering kids to use art, history and stories to better understand their own place in the world. That is what cultural heritage work is all about - connecting the past to the future.


Happy National Arts Advocacy Day! 

Creating online resource for heritage institutions active on social media

 If your New England based heritage organization is active on Facebook, Twitter, or blogs, please send me information about what you are doing. I am working to create an online directory to help professionals in the region share information. This directory aims to be a comprehensive resource for locating historical societies, museums, and archives actively using social media to communicate with their audiences. We can learn a lot from each other. The willingness and eagerness our professions demonstrate to embrace social media will have a direct impact on our future missions and functions. It is my hope that institutions will be able to use this directory to explore more easily what others in the field are doing to take advantage of Twitter, Facebook and blog platforms. The directory aims to help us make stronger connections among communities and potential supporters. Innovative early adopters of social media in the cultural heritage professions will serve as models for others.

Please send me your organization's name and link to your site or your Twitter handle. I hope to have a first group of institutions online very soon.

(This may be another case of my curiosity getting the better of me...It happens often I'm afraid. It's not as if I really needed another project...Please help make this easy! Write to me so I don't have to perform extensive research to find you.)

The Value of Twitter for Cultural Heritage

A museum registrar friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that she would like to use Twitter, but didn't really understand it. It launched me to comment on the value I see in Twitter as a social media outlet for cultural heritage professionals and how one would use it to one's advantage. The following is a list of some of the things I value about this unique form of social media. I hope that my observations and comments will encourage others in the field to consider how Twitter might boost their personal online presence or that of their cultural heritage institution.


How to use Twitter (in brief)


Twitter allows you to "follow" people and to keep your eye on conversations revolving around different subjects. The site recommends people who may interest you and you can seek people who are talking about specific topics you seek. If you are looking for a topic, search with # and then enter a term. I always have a window up that tells me what people are posting for "#archives." I periodically check in on other things that interest me. 


Find interesting things happening in your field or interesting things happening in your day to "tweet." Retweet what others say. Respond to what others say. Use hashtags in your own tweets to highlight topics. People will start to follow you if you have interesting things to say. In the beginning I posted short "tips" about managing records. It took me a few weeks to catch on and then I started having short conversations with people. Most of my posts center on diverse cultural heritage, collaborative cultural heritage and documentation projects. 


Twitter events such as "AskaCurator" and "Save Libraries" are just the tip of the iceberg for Twitter's potential for cultural heritage. Explore ways the medium can promote the value of what you do.


The Value of Tweeting


1. Networking - Twitter has allowed me to meet colleagues from all over the world who share my interests. By posting what interests me, highlighting relevant terms with hashtags (#), and seeking out others who "tweet" about topics that I find noteworthy I have been able to build a network of fascinating individuals in related fields.


2. Expanded Perspective - Twitter has expanded my understanding of my field by connecting me to people in archives related professions such as oral history, genealogy, archaeology, architecture, and more. It has also given me a more global perspective by making it as easy to "meet" people who live on the other side of the world as it is to meet people in my own state. Furthermore, it has encouraged me to make a habit of reading the news in my field every day, so I can share what I've found and explore diverse perspectives.


3. Support - Some in this network of people have become personal friends to me. Others have become online friends. We support each other by sharing ideas through Twitter. We also support each other's projects and serve as information resources for one another. If an online friend has an archives question, they can come to me. If I'm looking for a genealogist who knows about Polish history, I have easy access to someone with that information. If someone in the network is promoting a fabulous documentation project (such as Linda Norris' interesting "Pickle Project,") I'll re-tweet what she has to say.


4. Piece of Social Media Puzzle - Twitter serves as one piece of a social networking puzzle. I use Twitter to make short statements about my own projects and refer people to my web sites, Facebooks pages, and blog when appropriate. (Be careful when you tweet not to focus on yourself though. I find it off-putting when people do this. Twitter is about sharing information and not spamming people about you and your work.) I use Twitter to relate other people's projects to my own work and to promote colleagues. Through Twitter, I have invited people to write blog posts for my blog and I try to help promote them through all my social networking sites. (I have been asked to blog for others this way as well.) Collaborative promotion across platforms is good for cultural heritage in general. Boosting others on the long run helps both you and your profession. 

5. Promotion - Using Twitter has helped me better shape my personal "brand." Branding is one of the key components of professional life in our society today. Twitter allows me to speak out in a crowd. I try to do it at least a few times a day. When I post about things related to the work I do, people get a better idea of what that work is. As they read my postings, consider re-tweeting what I say, and I re-tweet what others say, my brand is becoming linked to their brand. People can get a good idea of who you are, what you do, and how your work can benefit them through Twitter. 


6. Collaboration - Twitter is transferable to real life. By finding like-minded people and people who have skill sets that complement my own, we have begun to transfer our online ideas to create collaborative projects in the form of workshops and community preservation work. Twitter provides a great platform for melding ideas and is a natural fit for collaboration.




So, give Twitter a try and stick with it for awhile. Find people to whom you can reach out. Consider how their work relates to yours. Think about how this can benefit the cultural heritage community. See Twitter as a part of your working life. Use it as an outreach and networking tool. As the world relies more and more on digital environments, your time to start tweeting is now. Help develop the use of the technology to benefit our profession so that it can best suit your needs.  

Participatory Community Documentation

The archives community documentation model described in Cultural Heritage Collaborators is quite naturally a participatory one. Diverse members of communities work together to ensure that there is sufficient documentation to describe all aspects of their society for future generations. This type of collection development work involves archivists, museologists, librarians, the professional community members with whom they interact from day-to-day, and their patrons. However, the community documentation work I described in my book is from an archivist's perspective, relying most basically on our standard methods of collection development that include listing what information we seek and who might potentially have knowledge of it. My museum colleague, Nina K. Simon, helped add a new dimension to my thinking when I saw her new video"Visitors as Participants" yesterday. (Though I've read her book The Participatory Museum, there was something about her presentation that helped ignite a spark in my brain and I highly recommend that you watch it too.)

Though archivists create marvelous exhibits and have opportunities to create interactive and educational programming for an audience, this is not at the heart of what we do. I think it is fair to describe us as gatekeepers of information -- gathering, holding, and providing access to recorded forms of human knowledge for those who wish to delve into it. The resources we hold have the potential to educate, challenge, and open communication about human activities as much as a museum artifact. If archivists recognize this potential, we can find new and perhaps better ways of accomplishing tasks we've performed in the past.

Archives collection development relies on the attention of our communities. We need to explain to the average person why their personal papers may be of interest to us. Over and over again we hear stories about valuable manuscripts are found in someone's attic. Or, we hear about newly found documents that shed light on a particular issue, changing our thinking about history. Creating an understanding that the old papers may have value is not an easy task. The participatory museum model offers us a valuable method for public outreach and attention.

I am reiterating the need for archivists, librarians and museum professionals to work together. Here is an opportunity for archivists to collaborate neatly with their museum counterparts who are generally more expert at this type of work than we are. Through the creation of activities that invite audience participation, Nina describes institutions gathering new documentation that offers diverse perspectives on culture. The Minnesota 150  project conducted by the Minnesota History Center is one model Nina offers us. The Center sought nominations for "the people, places and things that shape our state," then created an exhibit and book based on their work. Information such as that gathered here could be a boon to archivists seeking to document humanity.

With this in mind, I will leave you with these two questions:
1. Have you explored what aspects of your community need documentation? How can you invite outsiders, who may have more knowledge about certain community activities than you, to give you their ideas about what should be documented?
2. Presuming you have a strong mission and collection development policy, and know what needs more thorough documentation in your community, how can you invite community members to give you information? How can using the museum world's participatory model help you reach out more effectively to a potential audience? Are there museum people in your community who can help you do this? How would both groups benefit?

If you are not already doing so, invite the cultural heritage professionals in your community to sit down together for discussion regularly. Explore ways you can help each other reach out to new audiences. Take advantage of your diverse expertise to make your work better and to make your community a better, more self-aware, and more culturally enriched place.

ArchivesInfo Year in Review

The last week in December provides a perfect opportunity for review of the past year. In a way, this post falls under the heading of "shameless self-promotion," but I hope that you will bear with me and take interest in our cultural heritage work. You may find something here that encourages you to participate in our efforts or inspires you to take a harder look at your own community documentation efforts.

For ten years, ArchivesInfo has worked to promote archives management to ensure that community history is documented, preserved, promoted, and made accessible. My consulting work has aimed to preserve cultural knowledge through the building of strong collections that help tell the story of a community's past to guide its future. An important part of the ArchivesInfo mission has always been to secure cultural heritage by encouraging collaboration among cultural heritage professionals.  However, professionals are discovering that serious work with the public will help to ensure stronger archives programs and better documentation of society. We are realizing that archivists not only have a lot to share with the public, but that the public can share a lot with us.  It has been my goal this year to strengthen that public bond.

Once focused primarily on helping museums, libraries, archives and varied institutional collections, this past year ArchivesInfo has reached out to individuals with personal papers in their homes. This effort is an outgrowth of our "Preserving Memories" program, which has run for many years to provide information  about protecting family archives. The decision to reach out more directly to individuals is also a result of the publication this year of my book "Cultural Heritage Collaborators:  A Manual for Community Documentation," which describes methods for working together to preserve local culture and my new program "Life in Context: Telling Your Story," which I am running collaboratively with organizing guru Sue West of Space4U organizing.

1. I joined Twitter in 2009 (I think), but began tweeting in earnest under @archivesinfo this past year. My tweets cite interesting news in the  museum, archives and library fields with emphasis on preserving our cultural heritage and collaborative projects. Through Twitter, I have met many professionals around the world in related fields from oral history to archaeology. I have also met many people in seemingly unrelated fields, such as mathematics, who have demonstrated an interest in preserving cultural heritage. It perhaps has been my biggest pleasure to meet individuals interested in preserving their local and family history. I am honored to be told by some that they have learned much about archives from my tweets.

2. This year, ArchivesInfo also established a Facebook site. The ArchivesInfo web site has existed for a decade and has tried to include information that helps people with their archives management needs through a regularly updated list of helpful web sites, a newsletter, and other information laden pages. Facebook has given me the opportunity to try to create more of a back-and forth dialogue with an audience. In addition to the ArchivesInfo page, I maintain a page called Cross-Professional Collaboration in Museums, Libraries and Archives and a brand new page called "Life in Context: Telling Your Stories."

3. My summer book release of Cultural Heritage Collaborators: A Manual for Community Documentation was the result of twenty years of experience in archives and packs in advice from ten years of consulting for local communities. The book focuses on preserving cultural heritage through archives management. Its audience includes professionals in museums, libraries, archives, town governments, and other organizations charged with caring for historical records. I am currently writing a book that is set to be released in 2011 and focuses on preserving cultural heritage for the non-professional. These two books will work together to promote community documentation work and the safeguarding of historical resources. The book release this year was followed by the publication of my article "How Collection Planning and Collaboration Supports The Cultural Heritage Institution and Community Memory" in History News this winter. The article is the first by a History News "outsider" to be featured online in AASLH's History News Your Turn. It promotes the principles I outlined in the book.

4. The ArchivesInfo blog began in 2010 and basically (but not totally) replaces the ArchivesInfo newsletter. I found that I had too much to say and wanted more of a back and forth dialogue than the e-mailed newsletter afforded me. Blogging has been a wonderful way to explore news in the field and to share some of my expertise. At times it is also cathartic. I have enjoyed providing my reaction to controversies such as the recent National Gallery censorship issue and to create more lighthearted posts such as my "More Finds at the Local Antique Shop" bits. The newsletter still goes out once a month and highlights my favorite ArchivesInfo tweets and blog posts. I find that it is a vital and more visible way to stay connected to my local community and my core customers.

5. My work with repositories continues and I have also had some opportunity to work with individuals one-on-one to help them preserve papers in their homes. This continues to be my bread-and-butter work. My work with actual people is also the most rewarding, giving me an opportunity to see some of the things about which I write put into practice.

Next year should bring an even greater emphasis on locating family papers that are valuable for our cultural heritage and promoting their safekeeping. Despite difficult economic times, institutions have an opportunity to expand their outreach to the public. We must relay the importance of maintaining historical resources and work harder to include individuals in collecting work. I look forward to playing a part in these efforts and also toward continuing to help develop and properly maintain repository collections. I hope that you play a role too.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!
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later this week...the 2010 field in review