Web-based discussion forum

The autumn 2010 edition of History News, a well-known magazine in the United States affiliated with the American Association for State and Local History, will be featuring an article on community documentation and cross-professional collaboration. A web based “discussion” focusing on this topic will be open to cultural heritage professionals around the world. Article author Melissa Mannon is seeking people to help answer the questions: How does your institution work to support the documentary record? Is collaborative collection development across cultural disciplines a good idea for your institution and community?

Based on the new book Cultural Heritage Collaborators,  released this summer through Amazon.com in the U.S., the article examines the desirability for collaboration to achieve collection development goals. Both the article and the book examine the “Community Documentation Strategy,” which enables institutions to systematically gather and maintain materials that are vital to the story of civilization. This strategy has been used by some archivists as a tool to support collection planning for the past three decades. The writings argue that cultural heritage professionals working in museums, libraries, and archives can modify this approach to promote diverse partnerships, professionalism, and focused purpose, while increasing the likelihood of success in documenting cultural heritage.

For a sample discussion and for more information on the “History News Community” see http://aaslhcommunity.org/historynews/.

If you would like to contribute to the next discussion with author Melissa Mannon, please contact her directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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