SPEC Kit 341: Digital Collections Assessment and Outreach · 15
report successfully overcoming challenges, though,
by evaluating and tracking projects and activities
using a socio-technical approach that combined hu-
man and technical infrastructures to build the tech-
nological, stakeholder, and community supports for
a data repository.
Digital Collections Outreach and Promotion
A set of outreach and promotion questions focused
on how libraries raise the visibility and use of cul-
tural heritage and other locally curated content. The
approaches used to raise awareness of collections
depend on a variety of factors, including staff and
other local resources, and consideration of the target
audiences for the collections. The purpose of the out-
reach and promotion also contributes to the type and
frequency of engagement.
Because of the distributed nature of digital collec-
tions, most respondents (37 or 54%) indicated that no
specific outreach plan covers these resources. About
a third (22 or 32%) have an overarching outreach plan
that covers these collections, but only 10 (15%) have a
plan specifically for locally curated digital collections.
Among the reasons for not developing a specific plan
is that respondents felt these collections should not be
differentiated from physical or other digital collec-
tion and that promotion for digital collections is the
same as for other collections, including commercially
purchased resources. One commenter indicated that
outreach efforts were not effective: “We have made
attempts at outreach but have found they were not
effective. To date, we do not have an outreach plan
because we have not found something that works.”
As with assessment, having a plan doesn’t nec-
essarily correlate with whether the library has per-
formed outreach activities to promote these col-
lections. Comments indicate that while no specific
program exists for all locally curated content, out-
reach still occurs through regularly planned outreach
or instructional activities not specific to a collection,
such as discussion about a particular collection in
subject matter instructional sessions.
The target audience usually determines what
method of contact is used to share information about
locally curated collections, and the majority of re-
spondents (39 or 58%) use different outreach and
promotion strategies for different user groups (e.g.,
faculty, students, other researchers). To reach a broad
audience, libraries use their websites for collection
updates (64 responses, or 93%) and finding aids (51
or 74%). Libraries may actively use their social media
presence, including blogs, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook,
and Pinterest, to connect to student users. Since some
target audiences, such as faculty and the public, might
not be reached through social media as effectively
as students, outreach initiatives might target more
traditional print and online methods. Direct mes-
saging and contact with faculty (56 or 81%) and lo-
cal/registered users (18 or 26%) are effective one-on-
one approaches.
Other notable outreach methods include creation
of printed materials (brochures, newsletters, post-
cards, and bookmarks), traditional press releases,
articles in magazines and other external publications,
and media outlets, including radio broadcasts. Two
respondents report that Wikipedia can be used to
provide additional information about collections one
notes that those entries “are gold.” One respondent
offered that a full website is sometimes necessary to
provide interpretive and critical essays on a collection.
Another noted that their outreach strategy involved
“customiz[ing] outreach based on skill sets of our
different user groups.” Face-to-face methods include
open houses, opening receptions for a collection ex-
hibit (with outside speakers), and presentations at
conferences, brown bags, faculty and student orienta-
tions, during Open Access Week, and at appropriate
campus events, such as GIS day. This use of a variety
of channels offers much broader reach to the target
audiences, especially off campus users.
The individuals who provide outreach support
vary as much as the methods. Sometimes marketing
teams for digital collections take on the role. Other
times curators may be responsible for efforts related to
specific collections. In some libraries subject liaisons
provide outreach to faculty. Marketing staff members
within the library may also be tapped to promote
digital resources.
Instruction
A majority of the responding libraries (44 or 64%)
deliver instructional workshops to promote digital
report successfully overcoming challenges, though,
by evaluating and tracking projects and activities
using a socio-technical approach that combined hu-
man and technical infrastructures to build the tech-
nological, stakeholder, and community supports for
a data repository.
Digital Collections Outreach and Promotion
A set of outreach and promotion questions focused
on how libraries raise the visibility and use of cul-
tural heritage and other locally curated content. The
approaches used to raise awareness of collections
depend on a variety of factors, including staff and
other local resources, and consideration of the target
audiences for the collections. The purpose of the out-
reach and promotion also contributes to the type and
frequency of engagement.
Because of the distributed nature of digital collec-
tions, most respondents (37 or 54%) indicated that no
specific outreach plan covers these resources. About
a third (22 or 32%) have an overarching outreach plan
that covers these collections, but only 10 (15%) have a
plan specifically for locally curated digital collections.
Among the reasons for not developing a specific plan
is that respondents felt these collections should not be
differentiated from physical or other digital collec-
tion and that promotion for digital collections is the
same as for other collections, including commercially
purchased resources. One commenter indicated that
outreach efforts were not effective: “We have made
attempts at outreach but have found they were not
effective. To date, we do not have an outreach plan
because we have not found something that works.”
As with assessment, having a plan doesn’t nec-
essarily correlate with whether the library has per-
formed outreach activities to promote these col-
lections. Comments indicate that while no specific
program exists for all locally curated content, out-
reach still occurs through regularly planned outreach
or instructional activities not specific to a collection,
such as discussion about a particular collection in
subject matter instructional sessions.
The target audience usually determines what
method of contact is used to share information about
locally curated collections, and the majority of re-
spondents (39 or 58%) use different outreach and
promotion strategies for different user groups (e.g.,
faculty, students, other researchers). To reach a broad
audience, libraries use their websites for collection
updates (64 responses, or 93%) and finding aids (51
or 74%). Libraries may actively use their social media
presence, including blogs, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook,
and Pinterest, to connect to student users. Since some
target audiences, such as faculty and the public, might
not be reached through social media as effectively
as students, outreach initiatives might target more
traditional print and online methods. Direct mes-
saging and contact with faculty (56 or 81%) and lo-
cal/registered users (18 or 26%) are effective one-on-
one approaches.
Other notable outreach methods include creation
of printed materials (brochures, newsletters, post-
cards, and bookmarks), traditional press releases,
articles in magazines and other external publications,
and media outlets, including radio broadcasts. Two
respondents report that Wikipedia can be used to
provide additional information about collections one
notes that those entries “are gold.” One respondent
offered that a full website is sometimes necessary to
provide interpretive and critical essays on a collection.
Another noted that their outreach strategy involved
“customiz[ing] outreach based on skill sets of our
different user groups.” Face-to-face methods include
open houses, opening receptions for a collection ex-
hibit (with outside speakers), and presentations at
conferences, brown bags, faculty and student orienta-
tions, during Open Access Week, and at appropriate
campus events, such as GIS day. This use of a variety
of channels offers much broader reach to the target
audiences, especially off campus users.
The individuals who provide outreach support
vary as much as the methods. Sometimes marketing
teams for digital collections take on the role. Other
times curators may be responsible for efforts related to
specific collections. In some libraries subject liaisons
provide outreach to faculty. Marketing staff members
within the library may also be tapped to promote
digital resources.
Instruction
A majority of the responding libraries (44 or 64%)
deliver instructional workshops to promote digital
