This document discusses expanding the types of artistic works housed in museums and libraries to include more immaterial forms like poetry, drama, and opera. It outlines criteria for including different types of archived artistic content, like recorded performances and lectures. Examples are given of several online poetry archive websites that integrate social media and allow for ongoing access and sharing. Finally, an outline is provided for a proposed publication covering challenges of maintaining online archives, the role of archivists and librarians, and arguing for including poetry as a museum-worthy art form.

1. Reimagining artistic
content
in
art museums and
libraries

2. Are poetry, drama, even opera
“museum-able” art forms?
The dash to digitization changes all
the rules…
Artifacts, documents, antelopes,
performances can all be housed
and stored for display and
research, provided they meet the
criteria.

3. Criteria for inclusion (6 of 8)
• Covers a significant period
or a significant artist’s
works
• Recorded archives of actual
readings/performance
• Real-time broadcasts,
podcasts downloadable
• Includes lectures,
conferences, and
symposium proceedings
• Contains on-going courses,
lectures, MOOC’s
• Integrates with social media
for access and sharing
• Patrons can subscribe to
periodic updates
• Searchability across
multiple platforms or
websites

4. A sampling of poetry archive websites
• PennSound (writing.upenn.edu/pennsound)
• UBUweb (ubu.com)
• Poets.org (www.poets.org)
• The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org)
• The Poetry Center (www.sfsu.edu/~poetry)

5. The proposed publication will consist of the following chapters:
1. Introduction.
2. Staffing and resource challenges in maintaining an on-line archive.
3. Archiving collaboration across many related agencies.
4. Pedagogy of using on-line archived material in teaching, esp., on-line
courses.
5. Archivist, curator, collaborator, performer: managing the poetry
archive.
6. Fundraising and marketing for poetry archiving organizations.
7. Poetry as a museum-able art.
8. Library directorship in the on-line archiving environment.
9. Conclusion.

6. The original paper from
LSC 834 Art and Museum
Librarianship can be found here:
http://raymmaxx.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/684-art-and-museumlibrarianship-research-proposal/