let me tell you about my grandpa: a content analysis of user annotations to online archival...
DESCRIPTION
Examining the characteristics of user engagement with online archival collections via 2.0 tools (specifically, through commenting functions). Also compares results/variances across digital collections that are designed and presented to users differently.TRANSCRIPT
Let me tell you about my grandpa:
jessica sedgwickarchivist for women in medicineharvard medical school13 august 2009
A content analysis of user A content analysis of user annotations to online annotations to online archival collectionsarchival collections
Image from Beyond Brown Paper, courtesy Plymouth State University
Archivists are very busy!
…and other limits on archival description
Meanwhile…Archivists are experimenting with “2.0” approaches
Concerns about user-engagement:•What is the value?•Cost of implementation and maintenance• Loosening our grip on authority control
Image from Library of Congress, “1930s-40s in Color” set on Flickr
Study design
• Content analysis
• Collected publicly-contributed user comments from online archival collections
• Analyzed comments against a set of categories
• Counted each comment toward as many categories as it represented
Online collections examined
•Keweenaw Digital Archives
•Beyond Brown Paper
•Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections
Data set
Total comments collected: 568
Breakdown for each site:
279
177112Keweenaw DigitalArchives
Beyond Brown Paper
Polar Bear Expedition
Codebook
Category Description
identification identification of subject (person, place/building, thing) not already identified in metadata
correction correction to existing archival metadata
further information further information about subject such as date, explanation of contextual information
link to additional resources
links and references to resources for further information, including websites, books, and email addresses of those with personal knowledge to offer. includes citations to original or other sources of material (see example)
answer answers to questions posed by other users (back-and-forth communication)
comment general comments (non-informational), opinions, and praise
personal connection establishing personal connection to subject, such as noting a family member, providing an anecdote, etc.
question asking questions
donation offer offering to donate further materials
order request request for copies of materials
translation translation provided for non-english annotations
edit edit or addition made to metadata based on user contribution
Results overall
Category Comments Subject identification 321 Providing further information 297 Linking to additional resources 116 Establishing personal connection 84 General/opinionative comment 68 Correction 66 Asking a question 42 Answering a question (from other user) 36 Donation offer 9 Translation of non-english comment 8 Edit to existing metadata (by archivist) 3 Complaint 3 Request for copy of item 2
#1 Subject identification
Image from Beyond Brown Paper, courtesy Plymouth State University
#2 Providing further information
Image courtesy Michigan Tech Archives
#3 Linking to further resources
Image courtesy Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
#4 Establishing personal connection
Image from Beyond Brown Paper, courtesy Plymouth State University
#6 Correction
Image courtesy Michigan Tech Archives
Results compared across sites
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Iden
tific
atio
n
Furth
er in
fo.
Link
to fu
rth.
Perso
nal c
onnec
t.
Correc
tion
Gen
eral
com
men
t
Que
stio
n
Answer
perc
enta
ge o
f com
men
ts
Beyond Brown Paper
Keweenaw Digital Archives
Polar Bear Expedition
Implications
Users are willing to contribute, how willing are archivists to let them?
Considerations:• Encouraging and managing comments• Maintaining clear spaces of authority• Making user comments searchable• Incorporating user comments into archival
description
Encouraging your user community
Image and screenshot from Joyner Library Digital Collections, Eastern Carolina University
Authority control
Image courtesy Michigan Tech Archives
Searching across comments
Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
Incorporating user-contributed content
Image from Beyond Brown Paper, courtesy Plymouth State University
Incorporating user-contributed content
Image courtesy Michigan Tech Archives
Final thoughts and questions
• How is user engagement affected by:• format of materials (textual vs. photographic)• amount of metadata provided
• Implications for finding aids?
• How to verify accuracy (and why bother?)
• How to encourage and shape user engagement?
Thank you!
Complete study available online:http://etd.ils.unc.edu/dspace/handle/1901/561
Image from Beyond Brown Paper, courtesy Plymouth State University
email: [email protected]: jm_sedgwick
Special thanks to The Donald Peterson Student Award Committee