Thursday, April 19, 2018

Several factors are blurring or sharpening the distinction between libraries, archives, and museums. For example, technological developments such as digitization help us share best practices or lessons learned, but divergent metadata standards pose a challenge for potential cooperation or collaboration. And while LAM institutions all strive to increase accessibility and embrace diversity, their unique composition and relationships to users have them charting different paths. The speakers are librarians who participated in a year-long national research cohort exploring library, archives, and museum cultures. They share the group’s findings with an eye toward increased interdisciplinary collaboration, cross-sector continuing education, and professional development. Some compelling emergent models for cross-sector projects are highlighted, including blended LAM research events, single-focus projects, innovative research portals, super-regional research platforms and affinity networks, and emerging communities of practice.