SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 2.

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Sarah M. Graham
MLIS 7700

Special Collections 2.0: Incorporating New Technology into Special Collections
Abstract
In the age of electronic ubiquity, new generations of library users expect to have the ability to
access library resources online. Furthermore, in times of economic crisis, university
administrations rely upon special collections more frequently to dazzle potential donors and draw
funds to their institutions. This research seeks to explore the challenges presented to special
collections by user demand for a digital presence and the integration of Web 2.0 technologies
and social media and how academic libraries are attempting to meet users needs and market
special collections to a new generation of researchers and donors. This research will take a
deductive methodological approach and data will be gathered in the form of mail surveys
containing closed- and open-ended questions. The questions will seek to gather data about
current library practices as well as librarians knowledge, opinions, and attitudes about adopting
emerging technologies.
Problem Statement
While research libraries typically have digital catalogs and electronic resources for their general
collections, many special collections have a limited or non-existent online presence. While
materials in special collections are inherently different from those in the general collection and
thus present unique challenges for digitization, the fact that they are not represented digitally
means that they remain underutilized by a large portion of the scholarly community. In order to
overcome this limited access, it is imperative that the challenges libraries face in creating digital
resources for these materials are uncovered so that they can be addressed. Furthermore,
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surveying the solutions explored by other research institutions can advance the understanding of
the incorporation of technology into special collections and help institutions provide access to
and market them more effectively. The scope of this project will be limited to the University
System of Georgia, which contains many distinguished special library collections.
Literature Review
The prevalence of technology and social media in todays society is apparent. According to
Reding (2006), in 2004 and 2005 the number of weblogs on the internet doubled in 5 month
intervals and peer-to-peer activity became the highest source of traffic online. Additional studies
show that library users seek to access library computers rather than the reference desk for
research inquiries (Lubans, 2008) and that approximately fifteen percent of virtual reference
inquiries come from users inside the library (Black & Kilzer, 2008).
Black and Kilzer (2008) assert that college students turn to the web first for information
and that convenience is the primary criterion that influences their information seeking behavior.
An Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) study suggests that only two percent of college
information inquiries begin at the library webpage because internet search engines allow students
to find information with less effort (Lubans, 2008). This preference for the web has caused
library patrons to develop different use patterns and library services need to adapt to this change
in user demand (Lubans, 2008). Furthermore, users are seeking unmediated access to
information, causing the use statistics of mediated virtual reference services, like chat and email,
to be unimpressive (Lubans, 2008).
Huwe (2009) suggests that libraries can incorporate Web 2.0 technologies and social
media into their library web pages in order to reinvent collections and other library resources for
twenty-first century scholars. Doing so converts the library website into a social networking
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interface that is user-centered, socially rich, and communally innovative, effectively breaking
down the invisible barriers between librarians and users (Wang & Lim, 2009; Xaio, 2009). These
dynamic emerging technologies include weblogs, commenting, tagging, and wikis. Additional
benefits of Web 2.0 technology are that they expand access to collections, create excitement
about hidden or remarketed collections, and allow users to converse about collections, thereby
fostering community and dialog amongst library users, faculty, and staff (Huwe, 2009).
Additionally, these new modes of connectivity and communication foster collaboration,
information sharing, content development, and social organization (Virkus, 2009).
Social media and Web 2.0 technologies do present certain challenges in the library
environment including issues with governance and quality control (Reding, 2006). Another issue
is presented by the fact that our legal system of intellectual property rights protection has not
kept pace with technological progress and does not effectively protect user-created digital
content (Reding 2006). Another challenge is the possibility that librarians will desire to maintain
the responsibility of authoritative metadata (Yakel, 2006). Despite these challenges, however,
some libraries are effectively introducing social media and Web 2.0 technologies into their
online presence for general collections.
According to Xiao (2008), the University of Southern Californias Science and
Engineering Library incorporated Web 2.0 technologies into their subject web page, which
caused the site to attract new users and existing users began to access the site more frequently
and consistently. The librarians reported that use of Web 2.0 technology on the site allowed them
to understand the literacy level and needs of patrons, which assisted in preparing in-person
library orientation and workshops (Xiao, 2008). Additionally, the frequency of virtual and in-
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person reference transactions increased dramatically, most of them being advanced reference
questions (Xiao, 2008).
In another case study, Black and Kilzer (2008) reported that the Thompson Library at
Ohio State University saw a massive increase in use of their library wiki after they incorporated
Web 2.0 technology to help minimize service disruptions during a library renovation. A large
percentage of these new registered wiki users were not affiliated with the library, suggesting that
Web 2.0 technology and social media generates interest outside the library and can provide
enhanced marketing opportunities (Black and Kilzer, 2008).
While libraries are making great strides in providing dynamic web content to users of
general research collections, materials in special collections pose some unique challenges for this
endeavor. According to Yakel (2006), librarians and archivists may worry that digitizing special
collections and creating easily accessible web resources for these materials will create an
overwhelming demand for the digital availability of larger portions of the collection. He posits
that this anxiety causes librarians and archivists to be resistant to the development of digital
initiatives in special collections (Yakel, 2006). Yakel (2006) also suggests that slow adoption of
new technology in special collections could be the result of the threat it poses to the traditional
user and librarian relationship. Despite Yakels claims, there is no empirical data to support these
assumptions. Conversely, Huwe (2009) posits that the largest challenges in creating an online
presence with digital resources in special collections are uncovering hidden collections and
securing funding to convert them. Nevertheless, users are seeking unmediated access and without
a digitized collection researchers must rely on the librarians as their point of access for special
materials (Yakel, 2006).
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Efforts to create an online presence for special collections are being made in some
libraries, but they are primarily used to publicize holdings. In a study conducted by Love and
Feather (1998) of the special collections libraries of international importance in the United
Kingdom, they found that most special collections sites are in the very early stages of
development and are primarily used to provide on-site and access information to potential
visitors. In a survey of library personnel, they discovered that most special collections libraries
viewed the online exhibits as a means to preserve the real exhibition for the future and not as
an opportunity to present new and innovative electronic reference resources (Love & Feather,
1998, p. 216). One library respondent in the study did suggest that perhaps online exhibits were
the first step to electronic document delivery of special collections materials and this response
was described by the researchers as an interesting and imaginative approach (Love & Feather,
1998, p. 216). This attitude about the purpose of digitization is causing many special collections
libraries to fail to offer the basic electronic reference services that are viewed as critical in the
operation of general collections today.
Some case study research was found to support the idea that some special collections
libraries and archives are ahead of the curve by not only offering digital library services, but
incorporating social media and Web 2.0 technologies into their digital web presence. The
University of California-Berkleys Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Library
converted their analog materials to digital files conforming to Metadata Enhanced Transmission
standards (METs) to help overcome some of the descriptive and preservation challenges
presented by special collections items in the digital realm (Huwe, 2009). Furthermore, the
Everglades Digital Library
1
allows users to rate electronic resources and receive

1
http://everglades.fiu.edu/index.htm
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recommendations based on the ratings, the Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections
2
allow
users to bookmark their favorite items and collections, Archives Hub
3
provides a blog for
information, news, and public comment, and Library of Virginia
4
provides electronic discussion
groups for their collections (Yakel, 2006).
Based on prior literature published on this topic, it is clear that social media and Web 2.0
technologies can greatly enhance library service offerings and user experience. If implemented
thoughtfully, it is possible that these technological advancements can offer the same advantages
to special collections that they do to the virtual research presence of general collections;
however, despite the wealth of theoretical postulating about digitization and, more remotely,
social media and Web 2.0 technologies in special collections, there is a distinct lack of empirical
research about why these technologies are not more widely incorporated into innovative special
virtual research collections.
Methodology
This research is exploratory because social media in special collections is a new research area
and there have been no prior studies conducted to explore which social media technologies
special collections are currently employing, if any, and the challenges faced in adopting and
implementing emerging technologies in special collections. Exploring the challenges librarians
face may reveal areas for further study. Since this research involves defined research questions
and seeks to describe the current landscape of the use of new technologies in special collections,
then it is also descriptive. This research will take a deductive approach to measurement. Based
on the literature reviewed, basic assumptions can be made about the types of social media and

2
http://polarbears.si.umich.edu/
3
http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/
4
http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
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Web 2.0 technologies special collections are likely to employ and barriers they may face in
implementing new technologies, but this research seeks to reveal concrete empirical evidence on
these topics.
Since this research is only interested in studying special collections libraries, the
purposive sampling method was used to narrow the sample to the special collections libraries of
the University System of Georgia. Neuman (2007) states that this sampling method allows
researchers to identify particular types of cases for in-depth investigation (p. 143). The
University System of Georgia is geographically convenient and contains special collections of
varying scope, from small informal collections to those of museum quality, thus providing a
sample containing unique and informative cases.
Data will be gathered by surveying because surveys are appropriate for research
questions about beliefs or behaviors (Neuman, 2007, p. 167). This research is interested in
studying current library practices as well as librarians knowledge, opinions, and attitudes about
the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, therefore, surveys containing both closed- and open-ended
questions will work best. Questions about current library practices will be asked in the form of
closed-ended questions so that answers can be statistically analyzed and compared. Questions
about knowledge, opinions, and attitudes will be asked in the form of open-ended questions to
allow for detail, self-expression, and range of answer variance. Additionally, since this is
exploratory research, open-ended questions will be useful as they allow for the discovery of
unanticipated answers.
For the purposes of this research surveys will be administered by mail. Mail surveys are
inexpensive and manageable for a single researcher and Neuman (2007) suggests that response
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rates may be high for an educated target population (p. 186), making them appropriate for
researching academic institutions.
Data Analysis and Results
As surveys are returned, the data will be coded and organized into categories representing
various themes. Responses to closed-ended questions will be precoded and assigned numerical
values, so that responses may be quantitatively analyzed. This data will then be entered onto a
codesheet so that frequency distributions and measures of central tendency can be easily
calculated. Measures of association will also be calculated to help reveal relationships in the
data. The results for the closed-ended questions can he represented in graphic form in the final
report by using raw count tables, percentage tables, pie charts, and bar charts. Quantitative data
analysis is best for closed-ended questions about library practices because it will allow the
researcher to statistically represent similarities and differences in current behavior.
Given the possible variation in responses, the open-ended questions will be qualitatively
analyzed. During open coding data will be assigned codes corresponding to emerging themes.
Once the preliminary theoretical concepts have been defined the data will be axially coded and
theoretical concepts will be analyzed. The axial coding will help reveal relationships in the
themes and inform the development of theoretical statements about the data. During the selective
coding phase, themes will be compared and contrasted. Qualitative data analysis is most
appropriate for the open-ended questions because responses could vary wildly and these data
analysis techniques can reveal anomalies and, more importantly, commonalities in special
collections librarians knowledge, opinions, and attitudes about employing social media and Web
2.0 technologies in their online presence.
Conclusion
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In this research, a deductive methodological approach will be employed to gather data
and draw conclusions about special collections libraries current use of social media and Web 2.0
technologies as well as the knowledge, opinions, and attitudes librarians hold about the
challenges in implementing these nascent technologies. The results of this research will be used
to inform the special collections library community about the ways in which some libraries have
succeeded in incorporating these new technologies into their online presence to provide a richer
user experience. Results of this research will further be used to outline barriers to adopting
emerging technology for further exploration.














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References
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State University Libraries. Public Services Quarterly, 4(2), 93-109.
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Huwe, T. (March 2009). Exploiting synergies: Among digital repositories, special collections,
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Love, C., & Feather, J. (1998). Special collections on the World Wide Web: A survey and
evaluation. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science, 30(4), 215-222.
Lubans, J. (2008). I can't find you anywhere but gone, revisited. Library Administration &
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Neuman, W. L. (2007). Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches.
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