Re-imagining the Attic: Creating User-centered Services for your Special Collections, presented by Chapel Cowden and Amanda Carter.

1. RE-IMAGINING THE
ATTIC
CREATING USER-CENTERED SERVICES FOR YOUR
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
AMANDA J. CARTER, MODERN POLITICAL ARCHIVE AT BAKER CENTER
CHAPEL D. COWDEN, UT CHATTANOOGA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

2. Use is the main rationale
for archival work in the
user-oriented archive.

3. DEFINING USER-CENTERED SERVICES
• Oxford English Dictionary definitions:
• User:
• “a person who has or makes use of a thing, esp. regularly; a
person who employs or practices something” (def. 1a)
• Centered:
• “placed at the centre [sic] or in a central position” (def. 1)
• Service:
• “friendly or professional assistance” (def. 19c)
• Therefore, user-centered services can be defined
as:
• friendly, professional assistance that focuses on the
needs and interests of the people who have or may
access your collections.

4. HOW DOES YOUR ARCHIVE IDENTIFY?
User Oriented Custodial Oriented
• Research Services • Reference
• Use is the main rationale for • Use is one of several rationales.
archival work. • User information-interesting but
• User information-essential for of secondary importance.
program planning. • Researchers are simply counted.
• Systematic gathering and • Marketing is secondary.
analysis of user information. • Promoting use, researcher
• Marketing is a priority. services are secondary to
• Promoting use, researcher appraisal and other functions.
services are regarded as • Reliance on provenance as a
program priorities. means of retrieval.
• Subject indexing fosters • Reference is mainly educating
retrieval. users to appreciate records,
• Finding aids and services are contexts, how the repository
geared to users’ needs. works.
Bruce W. Dearstyne, Managing Historical Records Programs: A Guide for Historical Agencies
(Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 2000), 105.

5. HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR
ARCHIVE TO IDENTIFY?
Archives 2.0 Archives 1.0
• Open • Closed
• Transparent • Opaque
• User-centered • Archivist- and record-
• Technology-savvy centered
• Archivist as facilitator • Technology-deficient
• Open to iterating products • Archivist as
• Innovative and flexible gatekeeper/authority figure
• Looking for ways to attract • Focused on “perfect”
new users products
• Adhering to tradition
• Relying on interested users
coming to the repository on
their own
Kate Theimer, A Different Kind of Web: New Connections Between Archives and Our Users
(Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2011), 335.

6. SERVICES COVERED
• Web 2.0 applications
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Flickr
• Blogs
• Digitization
• Creating shareable finding aids
• Exhibits
• …and potential challenges to implementing these
services.

7. KEEP IN MIND: HAVE A PLAN
No matter which option or how you choose to
implement or increase your user-centered services, it
is important to understand how you want to benefit
your institution.
• Define your goals
• Who is your audience?
• What do you want to achieve?
• What is your purpose?
• Tend your garden
• Don’t create & ignore. Practice good upkeep on the
services that you decide to implement. (e.g. post often,
check links, etc.)

8. MEETING YOUR USERS WHERE
THEY ARE, WEB 2.0-STYLE:
THE MAJOR PLAYERS

9. THE “F” WORD
(FACEBOOK)
• How To Use It:
• Establish a profile (location, hours,
contact info, etc.)
• Post frequently
• Engage your audience through events, contests,
news, and shared content (videos, photos, etc.)
• Push info from your other digital offerings into FB
(blog posts, tweets, YouTube videos, Flickr streams,
etc.

10. FACEBOOK EXAMPLE:
HOUSTON CO. ARCHIVES
Open Group
Recently celebrated
their one year
anniversary (Nov.)as
an established archive.
FB presence since
March 2011.
Post Types:
Images
Exhibits & Events
“Found in the Archive”
Shared articles
http://www.facebook.com/groups/190560887647081/

11. FACEBOOK EXAMPLE:
EAST TENNESSEE HISTORY CENTER
Organization Page
Post Types:
Images
Policies
Cross-posts from
other organizations
Ephemera
http://www.facebook.com/pa
ges/East-Tennessee-History-
Center/117404638280061

12. FACEBOOK EXAMPLE:
UTC SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Organization Page
http://www.facebook.com/UTCLibrary?ref=ts

13. TWEET WHAT? TWITTER WHO?
• How to Use It:
• Cousin to text messaging, but with more public and interactive
communication
• 140 character limit
• “Microblogging”
• Easy sign-up
• Create a profile
• Make announcements about events or new acquisitions
• Post links to news, blogs, Facebook, or new digitization efforts
• Follow a few other people or institutions to keep up with what is
new in the industry
• Some Lingo:
• @[username]: replies to other tweeters
• #[keywords]: helps to categorize your tweets
• bit.ly: shortened (tiny) URL can be a blog, image, webpage

14. TWITTER EXAMPLE:
TENEMENT MUSEUM
Blurb can
include mission,
overview, or
something a bit
more fun…
https://twitter.com/#!/tenementmuseum

15. TWITTER EXAMPLE:
CALVIN MCCLUNG HISTORICAL COLLECTION
Notice the
personalized
background
https://twitter.com/#!/similar_to/McClungHistColl

16. BLOGGING?
YOU MEAN I HAVE TO KEEP A JOURNAL TOO??
Implementation Options Blog Software
• special events
• new collections
• processing highlights
• varia
• how-to’s
• news
• ???

17. BLOGGING?
YOU MEAN I HAVE TO KEEP A JOURNAL TOO??
• How to Use It:
• Post often to keep audience interest
• Include images when possible
• Prominently display subscription options (RSS feed
and/or email)
• Encourage commenting & be responsive when
comments are made
• Tag posts
• Title posts thoughtfully for SEO
• Promote the blog
• Be patient! 

18. Implementation:
Processing Blog
http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/morton/

19. Implementation:
Humor

20. Implementation:
Blog as website
http://blog.lib.utc.edu/archivist/

21. FLICKR
• Why Flickr?
• Crowdsourcing materials
(especially photos)
• Inexpensive way to
display digital exhibits
or collections
• Sharing event/other photos
• Enormous potential
audience

22. LOC FLICKR REPORT
“The Flickr project increases awareness
of the Library and its collections; sparks
creative interaction with collections;
provides LC staff with experience with
social tagging and Web 2.0 community
input; and provides leadership to
cultural heritage and government
communities.”

23. FLICKR
• How To Use It:
• Select content
• Upload content & create metadata
• Tag images
• Interact with users
• Can begin with free account, then upgrade
when necessary.

24. LOC ON FLICKR
“Flickr members
have found family
members through
the photographs,
they’ve helped
commemorate
individuals whose
stories aren’t well
known but deserve
to be remembered,
they’ve solved
mysteries, and
they’ve helped us all
appreciate the
technology and art
of photography.”

25. FLICKR COMMONS

26. YOUTUBE & VIDEO SHARING
How To Use It: What To Film:
• Create a profile • Tutorials
• Record video • Webinars
• Upload content & create • Advocacy
metadata • Basic information
• Tag video • Tours
• Interact in the comments
section

27. LOC ON YOUTUBE
Personalized
banner includes
navigation
http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress

28. UTC SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ON
YOUTUBE
http://www.youtube.com/user/utclib/

29. DIGITIZING FOR YOUR USERS

30. DIGITIZATION
• Why? • What?
• Your users want it! • Just about anything
• Promote access • Per request
• Demonstrate • Determined by plan
holdings • How?
• For remote users • Create a plan. See
• Preservation Handbook for Digital
Projects
www.nedcc.org/resources/digitalhandbook/dman.pdf

31. TSLA’S TENNESSEE VIRTUAL ARCHIVE
http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/

32. VOLUNTEER VOICES
Statewide digitization
program
Goals:
• Improve access to digital
collections
• Facilitate use
• Offer training opportunities for
staff to learn digitization
standards/best practices
Digital Collections from:
• KCPL-McClung
• MTSU
• NPL
• TN Encyclopedia of
http://www.volunteervoices.org/ History & Culture
• TeVA
• Volunteer Voices

33. CREATING SHAREABLE
FINDING AIDS

34. CREATE SHAREABLE FINDING AIDS

35. WAYS TO SHARE FINDING AIDS
1. Put them online (users are expecting this more
than ever)
2. Place the URL in the catalog record
3. Link to FA’s through website collection overviews
4. Create a Google Search for FA’s (or have IT build
you a search)
5. Place FA’s in a national database (e.g.
ArchiveGrid)

36. EXAMPLE:
BAKER CENTER MPA
Can view in
sections or as
one document
http://bakercenter.utk.edu/modern-political-archive/archival-collections/

37. EXAMPLE:
UTC SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
http://findingaids.library.utc.edu/Allen.html

38. CREATING PHYSICAL EXHIBITS

39. WHY
PHYSICAL EXHIBITS
1. Educational and aesthetic purposes
2. Showcase types of materials found in the
archive
3. Highlight new collections or hidden gems
4. Draw attention or interest to the special
collections or archives department
5. In collaboration with other departmental
events or to celebrate holidays
6. Pique interest to bring in new users

40. HOW
TO DISPLAY EXHIBITS
1. Decide on a theme.
2. Display options:
• Covered display cases, hang framed objects
• Digital displays or screens
• Interactive components
• Guestbook for comments
3. Try to include a small note or card summarizing what
the materials are and how they relate to the theme.
Display cases and digital displays may not be within the
budget so get creative in deciding how you would like
to show off items from you collection.
• Creating posters using images of items from the collection or
digitizing the images to display on your website could work.

41. WHAT TO INCLUDE
IN PHYSICAL EXHIBITS
• Pamphlets, flyers, posters
• Medallions, pens, awards
• Shiny objects usually catch the eye of passer-bys
• Art
• Cartoons, doodles, art gifts to the creators of the collections
• Handwritten letters or postcards
• Am I the only one that loves this kind of stuff?
• Anything that seems unusual or unique, but still falls
in line with the theme
Removing items from the collection can be tricky. Be
sure you have a good tracking and replacement plan.

42. EXAMPLE: POLITICAL CARTOONS
MODERN POLITICAL ARCHIVE AT THE BAKER CENTER

43. EXAMPLE: COLLABORATION
MPA AND BAKER CENTER

44. CHALLENGES
• Maintaining context
• Online efforts will not reach everyone.
• Blurring of lines between personal & professional in
Web 2.0 endeavors
• Maintaining quality and trust.
• Acquiring approval
• Avoiding the bandwagon.
• Measuring success

45. WRAPPING IT UP
• Don’t like these tools? Get creative.
• Google+
• Pinterest
• Widgets
• Class instruction
• Blurbs in department newsletters on new finds
• Things to Remember:
• Have a goal
• Make a plan
• Tutorials are helpful
• Have fun with it!