Marketing, Advocacy, and Outreach

The archiving of the digital universe...

While marketing may not sound like an obvious part of the digital curator's job, advocacy and outreach skills are important elements. The digital curation professional needs to be able to demonstrate the value of digital curation generally and of the specific materials being archived, whether that value is being conveyed to members within the organization, potential donors, or the public.

Depending on the specific situation and nature of archived materials, the digital curator may consider both the direct and indirect value. The direct value refers to that value "to the user, for example, as measured by increased skills, knowledge, enjoyment, or financial savings (with an emphasis on user satisfaction)"1 while the indirect value means the materials' or organization's value "to society generally, for example, as measured by greater levels of education, generalized trust, job creation, or support of the publishing cycle and national cultural growth (with an emphasis on the broader social impact."2

For example, consider an archive of Broadway musical theatre materials. The direct value of these materials and their digital curation might include the value to historians conducting research in this or a related area; theatre practitioners seeking inspiration for a new project, or attempting to re-stage an older work; musical theatre students learning their discipline's history in order to be better in their profession; or even a casual fan, curious to read a script or view video footage of a musical produced long before he or she was born.

Communicating this Broadway archive's indirect value may include the importance of the Broadway musical as a part of American history, and the benefits of art and culture in society.

In the same category of values communication skills may fall grant writing skills. Obviously, in writing a grant proposal, being able to convey value is of huge importance. Knowledge and skill in grant writing generally is also of great use for a digital curation professional working in a field or organization that relies on this for funding.

 


 

  1. Stenstrom, 205, p. 273.
  2. Ibid.