Collections in a Cold Climate
Alison Cullingford @speccollbrad
Historic Libraries Forum, 15 November 2011
Caring for and
sharing special
collections
in hard times
A Perfect Storm?
1. Cuts in the public sector …
A Perfect Storm?
2. Change and uncertainty in higher education …
A Perfect Storm?
3. Digitised rare books approaching critical mass?
Isn’t it all scanned in?
Why do we need these books
when they’re all on this EEBO
thing?
A Grim Picture!
Five Useful Angles
1. Treasure Trove
2. Much More Than Text
3. Power of the Real
4. Learning, Teaching & Research
5. Sharing via #AmazingNewTech
Social media
Linked data
Crowd sourcing
Ten Survival Tips
1. Proclaim Value
2. Take our Partners
3. Be “Lazy”
4. Explore New Tech
5. Think Mission & Strategy
6. Value our Time
7. Dare to Think Creatively
8. Skills Skills Skills
9. Knowledge is Power
10. I’ve told you mine, what’s yours …?
Thank you!
Photo credits: Special Collections, University of Bradford (and clip art)
Keeping in touch:
SpecialCollectionsHandbook.com
RlukUniqueanddistinctive.wordpress.com
AlisonCullingford.wordpress.com
#speccollshandbook
#rlukudc