Are you an archivist wondering how you could use blogs, Flickr, Twitter, podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, or another “Web 2.0″ technology to promote your collections and reach out to your users (or potential users)? Then this book is for you.
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Are you an archivist wondering how you could use blogs, Flickr, Twitter, podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, or another “Web 2.0″ technology to promote your collections and reach out to your users (or potential users)? Then this book is for you.
I recently finished reading Web 2.0 Tools and Strategies for Archives and Local History Collections by Kate Theimer (New York : Neil-Schuman Publishers, 2010), and I must say, it is definitely recommended reading for anyone working with historical and cultural collections : archivists, local history librarians, and perhaps also museum folk (although the book is not specifically geared towards museums, per se). Even if your organization has not given much thought to Web 2.0 interaction before, you should give this book a once-over just to see some of “what’s out there” and what you could be doing.
Theimer admits that Web 2.0 may not be for every organization, but she suggests : “If you want to project an image of being forward thinking and people centered, then Web 2.0 tools may help to shape that image” (p. 208).
Well, of course, who doesn’t want that? But some might wonder : What the heck is “Web 2.0,” and how can I use it to promote historical collections? text Theimer starts at the beginning, explaining what “Web 2.0″ means and exploring it in general terms, before getting down to business with individual chapters on various Web 2.0 technologies (like blogs, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook) and how they can be utilized by cultural institutions. She explains the basics of each technology and gives examples, including case studies and interviews with representatives from real cultural institutions that are using it.
There is also a chapter on how to evaluate the success of your project : what are your goals, and is the project “working”? Another chapter on discusses management and other issues : legal issues, preservation, workloads, and getting institutional “buy-in”.
And just in case you’re like me and years of history coursework has trained you to flip to the back of the book for the “About the Author” section (translation: why should I trust you?), Kate Theimer has credentials out the wazoo to show that she is “qualified” to advise you on this stuff. She has a Master of Information Science degree with an archives concentration, experience working at the National Archives and the Smithsonian, and she is the author of a popular archives blog called ArchivesNext.
