Panel 1: A Shared Past: Public Outreach and Interaction
Creating a Digital Presence: How State Archives are Utilizing Facebook to Further Their Mission
Location
Campus Center, Room 2540, University of Massachusetts Boston
Start Date
29-3-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
29-3-2014 10:30 AM
Description
With the rise of social media more and more businesses and institutions are finding innovative ways to connect to a wider audience. Museums and archives are no exception. Most public archives are based around the ideas of access and outreach, so it is important to see how these goals can be pursued using newer platforms.
By investigating the Facebook pages of archives from around the country this paper will highlight the many different ways that social media is being employed by public archives. Using this research I plan to address key questions, such as:
- To what extent is Facebook being used by state archivists throughout the country?
- What types of materials can be found on these pages?
- How are visitors to the page interacting with archival staff members?
- What challenges do archivists face while trying to use Facebook as an outreach and access tool?
To help focus the scope of this research topic I will look specifically at Facebook pages from state archives in the United States. This criterion will allow me to employ a sizable sample while still getting a nice variety. Using each and every state will also allow me to avoid a bias towards any regions or areas. Hopefully this research can serve as a starting point for a discussion about the many innovative ways archives are connecting to the public using social media.
Creating a Digital Presence: How State Archives are Utilizing Facebook to Further Their Mission
Campus Center, Room 2540, University of Massachusetts Boston
With the rise of social media more and more businesses and institutions are finding innovative ways to connect to a wider audience. Museums and archives are no exception. Most public archives are based around the ideas of access and outreach, so it is important to see how these goals can be pursued using newer platforms.
By investigating the Facebook pages of archives from around the country this paper will highlight the many different ways that social media is being employed by public archives. Using this research I plan to address key questions, such as:
- To what extent is Facebook being used by state archivists throughout the country?
- What types of materials can be found on these pages?
- How are visitors to the page interacting with archival staff members?
- What challenges do archivists face while trying to use Facebook as an outreach and access tool?
To help focus the scope of this research topic I will look specifically at Facebook pages from state archives in the United States. This criterion will allow me to employ a sizable sample while still getting a nice variety. Using each and every state will also allow me to avoid a bias towards any regions or areas. Hopefully this research can serve as a starting point for a discussion about the many innovative ways archives are connecting to the public using social media.
Comments
PANEL 1 of the 2014 Graduate History Conference features presentations and papers under the topic of "A Shared Past: Public Outreach and Interaction."