On May 20th from noon-1pm PDT / 3-4pm EDT / 8-9pm BST, we are hosting a Twitter chat inspired by our recent report Total Cost of Stewardship: Responsible Collection Building in Archives and Special Collections. We’ll discuss your thoughts on the ideas presented in the report, resource-sensitive collecting in archives and special collections, and how you might approach conversations or strategies in your own institution to collect in a way that is resource-sensitive. We really hope you will join us!
I’ll offer details here about the plans for our Twitter chat, as well as some information about how Twitter chats generally work, in case you’re joining one for the first time or could use a refresher.
Questions for Discussion
Over the course of an hour, participants will introduce themselves and then discuss four questions. I’ll be abbreviating Total Cost of Stewardship to TCoS and we’ll be using the hashtag #OCLC_TCoS. I’ll also be hosting the chat, so I’ll tweet out each of the questions, including the question number, and the #OCLC_TCoS hashtag.
These are the questions we’ll discuss over the course of the hour:
- Question 1: What does collecting look like where you work? Are there clear guiding principles for collecting? Who makes decisions? Are you a part of the decision-making process, and if so, how? #OCLC_TCoS
- Question 2: After reading the TCoS report, does working in a way that is aligned with the TCoS framework make sense to you? Where do you think the greatest areas of need are at your institution to start working toward that goal? #OCLC_TCoS
- Question 3: Have you had any conversations with colleagues about TCoS since reading the report, or would you like to? Tell us about the reaction — what you talked about or what you want to talk about? #OCLC_TCoS
- Question 4: What challenges do you think you might have, and what strategies are you thinking about employing, to move toward a more resource-sensitive approach to collection building and stewardship at your institution? #OCLC_TCoS
How Does a Twitter Chat Work?
Twitter chats are planned conversations that happen via the Twitter platform. The host tweets out a series of questions using an agreed upon hashtag, in our case #OCLC_TCoS. Participants then answer those questions, using the answer number and hashtag. By using the hashtag, everyone can follow along in real time, seeing both questions and answers from anyone participating, and replying to others in the conversation.
Our chat will last an hour. I’ll welcome everyone to the chat and ask those participating to introduce themselves. We’ll then move into the questions outlined above. I’ll pose them one at a time, about 10-12 minutes apart, so you have time to reply and read and respond to others before another question rolls in. I will number the questions and include the hashtag, and anyone responding can number their corresponding answer to make it easier to follow along. So an example would be:
- Q1: Would you please tell us about your favorite cardigan? #OCLC_TCoS
- A1: My very favorite is a vintage navy cashmere cardigan that is extra soft and warm. #OCLC_TCoS
You’ll be able to follow along with the chat in real-time by clicking this link. The results there will include all tweets with the #OCLC_TCoS hashtag, allowing you to see our questions and responses by other users as they happen. Alternately, you can search the #OCLC_TCoS hashtag on the Twitter interface to follow along – just make sure you are looking at “Most Recent” tweets to see the full conversation.
You can answer some or all of the questions, or just follow along via the hashtag to see the conversation. The value of the conversation comes from the experience and ideas of the group, so we invite you to jump in and participate as you feel comfortable. This will be my first time hosting a Twitter chat, so if it is your first time participating in one, you will be in good company!
I am really looking forward to this conversation and hope you will join in! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me using the contact information in my profile below.
Chela Scott Weber is a Senior Program Officer for the OCLC Research Library Partnership, where she focuses on issues related to archives, special, and distinctive collections.
