Assessment and Outreach for Digital Collections

Kate Otto & Kadie SeitzUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Information Studies

AbstractAs digital archives collections become more abundant in institutions advocating education and information literacy, the Library and Information Science field will need to address standard methods to measure the assessment and outreach of these resources. Currently, little scholarship exists in how digital collection outreach, and less research addresses how managers assess the use and relevancy of digital collections. This poster will use three unrelated digital collections from the Wisconsin Historical Society, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Archives, and Milwaukee Public Library as cases studies to demonstrate how three distinct institutions assess and promote a digital resource. The poster will display the collections' common and unique characteristics, draw connections those digital resources have to the ways each institution has carried out assessment, and address outreach measures. Digital collection assessment and outreach is significant to the future of digital collections as they will only gain importance as research and pedagogical tools.

Wisconsin Historical Society

Description•The Wisconsin Historical Society has had some form of web presence since 1996. •The WHS website hosts a variety of digital collections and databases accessible to researchers

Assessment Techniques•Page views in Google Analytics•Carefully monitoring feedback through website•Number of likes, comments and shares on Facebook postings•Sales numbers for documents in two ecommerce applications connected to digital collections

Outreach Activities

•Uses digital (social media, email and listserv postings) and analog (direct mail, print material) means to raise visibility of digital collections•Outreach efforts do not necessarily lead to a direct increase in traffic counts or revenue•Most effective discover tool is proper search engine optimization

Milwaukee Public Library

Description•The Milwaukee Public Library hosts 12 digital collections of its own and 27 other collections from smaller institutions around Wisconsin•Most successful MPL-owned collection is the Milwaukee Historic Photo Collection

Assessment Techniques•Page views Google Analytics•Addthis widgit also used to analyze usage

Outreach Activities•Largely outreach is done through digital means including Facebook, library blogs, Twitter and Pinterest•New collections are advertised through various media outlets

University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeDescription•While the Archives website hosts a variety of collections, the “March on Milwaukee” collection proves to be one of the most popular•More than half of site views come from Milwaukee area, Madison, Chicago and Waukesha areas•Usability problems remain

Assessment Techniques•Page views in Google Analytics•Carefully monitor feedback through the Web Site’s “Feedback” section•Facebook and other social media are rarely used•Personal conversations with colleagues and community members

Outreach Activities•Grant writing is the main source of funding for specific digital collections•Connects with Milwaukee Public Schools students and teachers, who visit the libraries for in-person instruction sessions