Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Be Empowered! Take The 'Scary' Out Of Linked Data, Angela Yon, April K. Anderson-Zorn

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

The archives and library community has implemented linked data in recent years. Linked data empowers archivists to connect local data to a global audience using common identifiers and standards. However, due to the high level of institutional requirements that projects typically need with the high barrier of time and resources, many archivists have difficulty incorporating linked data practices into their daily descriptive work.

The Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield Archives at Illinois State University’s Milner Library received the opportunity to digitize a segment of the expansive Ken-Way Studio Photograph Collection. The collection encompasses 120 linear feet and documents the history of …

Digitization Is In The Details: Using Data From Patron Research Patterns To Enhance Accessibility, April K. Anderson-Zorn

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Materials like yearbooks, catalogs, and university governance are highly requested items at a university archive. For Illinois State University, we decided to digitize these items to make them more accessible to our out-of-town alumni and researchers. Digitizing these materials was a huge accomplishment for the department and helped us achieve our goal of gaining a larger web presence with our patrons. But where do we go from here? All too often, archivists tend to think we know what our patrons want but in some cases, our digital efforts are rarely viewed online. What parameters can we follow in choosing materials …

Yes, But What Is It That You Do?, Amanda Rinehart

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Despite carefully crafted job descriptions, e-science or data librarians find that there is little consensus on position responsibilities and required competencies. Consequently, these librarians tend to customize their positions around what their clientele require. Indeed, data “Curation Service Models [are] driven by user requirements”. Therefore, it’s not just about the data – it’s about the people. Specifically, it’s about the different cultures of user groups and librarians and how to communicate effectively across these groups. The “elevator speech” for a scientist might be quite different from the one for your librarian colleague. It’s no wonder that a recent survey of …