36 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 300 2020 GLAM Collaborations beyond COVID-19 With so much of our lives upended, this is a time to choose what to accelerate in pursuit of the shared mission, and what to stop. All of the interviewees see the potential for significant opportunities while acknowledging significant challenges. Now there is an opportunity to accelerate the ways in which the GLAM community helps people discover the myriad materials available to them from GLAM institutions—particularly in terms of integrating the collections intellectually in ways that engage the intended audiences. This will also highlight GLAMs’ role as trusted stewards of information. The synergies are multiple. The collections serve as rich resources of research materials for scholars. As part of a curated experience (online or in person), the collections are packaged as a powerful narrative presented in a digestible way for general audiences—and as an inspiration for future scholars. By working with faculty together, GLAMs engage them in finding complementary collections, and in teaching students with all types of materials represented in the shared collections. GLAM institutions reinforce the inherent human story in their collective knowledge assets. By increasing digital access to collections, together the GLAM community has an opportunity beyond providing a service. Digitization becomes another path to collaboration and to human insight. With an emphasis on digital access, even more collections are likely to be digitized and more electronic records made available. Partnerships among the GLAM community and with the public create trust and inspire engagement. Examples of such partnerships include the Library of Congress crowdsourced transcriptions projects,7 NARA’s citizen archivists,8 and the role of University of Delaware as a hub By increasing digital access to collections, together the GLAM community has an opportunity beyond providing a service. Digitization becomes another path to collaboration and to human insight.
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