Libraries, Archives, and Museums Today

This book offers insights into changes brought about by the enormous growth of the internet. There are new ways to share cultural heritage materials through online finding aids, exhibits, and other initiatives. What has been accomplished across libraries, archives, and museums? The authors consider that question by using case studies to explore activities in 14 libraries, archives, museums, and other heritage organizations. They consider what we can learn from current collaborations within and across libraries, archives, and museums and why some collaborations are successful while others cannot be sustained. Their findings are based on observations and interviews at institutions and organizations in the United States, Australia, and the U.K.

These organizations have worked to make their collections accessible. Some have simply digitized their collections, while others have enhanced their collection management systems. Others have incorporated digital asset management systems to organize and retrieve media, and to manage digital rights and permissions. Most of these institutions and organizations have succeeded through strategic partnerships, strategic planning, and insightful leadership. However, the book also contains examples of institutions that have undergone transitions: one of the museums closed, and another closed its library. Taken together, the fourteen institutions shed light on professional practices today.

Peter Botticelli is Assistant Professor at Simmons College School of Library and Information Science where he is program director for the Digital Stewardship Certificate. His current research interests are focused on digital preservation and the curation of digital exhibitions. Botticelli has A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an M.S.I. degree with a concentration in Archives and Records Management from the University of Michigan School of Information. His most recent position was at the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science, where he directed the School’s Digital Information Management (DigIn) graduate certificate program. Previously, he has held research positions at Cornell University Library, the University of Michigan, and Harvard Business School.



Michèle V. Cloonan is Dean Emerita and Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College. In 2012 she became editor-in-chief of Preservation, Digital Technology & Culture. She holds degrees from Bennington College, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois, from which she earned her Ph.D. She has published widely in preservation and the book trades. Her most recent book is Preserving Our Heritage: Perspectives from Antiquity to the Digital Age (2015). Her honors and awards include the 2010 Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award, from the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, American Library Association. With Martha Mahard and Peter Botticelli she coordinates the Cultural Heritage Informatics concentration at Simmons.



Martha R. Mahard is a Professor of Practice at Simmons College School of Library and Information Science where she teaches courses in management of photographic archives, art documentation, cultural heritage informatics, and digital preservation. She holds a Doctor of Arts in Library Administration from Simmons and degrees from Barnard College and Tufts University. Before joining the Simmons faculty, she worked in the Harvard University Library system for many years. She is the co-author, with Ross Harvey, of the Preservation Management Handbook: A 21st Century Guide for Libraries, Archives, and Museums (2014).