Catablogs: Expose your archives collections with ease

Catablogs: Expose your collections with ease Matt Herbison Drexel University College of Medicine herbison@gmail.com www.hotbrainstem.org twitter: @herbison DVAG Meeting October 18, 2010

A catablog does what? • Uses popular blog software to expose your resources • Each collection is entered as a “blog post” • Provides easy, ﬂexible, and inexpensive setup and maintenance. • Readily supports user interaction and other community features. • Encourages (but doesn’t require) well-structured and consistent metadata. • Gives users multiple access points in a way they ﬁnd both simple and familiar.

Who’s using a catablog? • UMass Amherst Special Collections & University Archives - “UMarmot” [link] • The “original” catablog and probably the most mature in its features, content, and slickness • Drexel University Special Collections & Archives [link] • Brooklyn Historical Society “Emma” [link] • Norwich University Archives & Special Collections [link] • Lawrence (MA) Public Library Special Collections [link] (hosted on wordpress.com)

Demo of catablog admin • Independence Seaport Museum catablog (under development) • All thanks to intern Jenny Barr (you should hire her, by the way...and go to her MARAC talk in Harrisburg) • What we started with...a list of abbreviated call phrases • Went from 180 WorldCat records and 25 ﬁnding aids to 550+ collection-level records in the catablog

Why use a catablog? • Easy • Free • Searchable • Findable • Interactive • Low-maintenance • Low-tech Thanks to Audra Eagle, Wake Forest U, librarchivist.wordpress.com

Why use a catablog? • Easy: Startup in 20-60 minutes • Free: Or low cost ($80-$150 per year) • Searchable: From inside the catablog • Findable: From outside, using Google or Bing • Interactive: Comments, conversations, widgets • Low-maintenance: But easy to add features • Low-tech: But looks better than most • Fun and extremely gratifying!

Will a catablog help you? • Easy to maintain: e.g., If you’ve been manually maintaining online thematic pathﬁnders, a catablog would allow you to edit in a single place and your changes will show up across the board. • Really depends on what other tools you’re currently using to provide access to collection info. • If you have weak IT support, catablogs are good for you. • What about Archivists’ Toolkit and Archon? A catablog might end up being a redundant system

Catablogs: Expose your archives collections with ease

by mherbison on Oct 20, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

Catablogs: Expose your archives collections with ease — Presentation Transcript