NDSA:Content Team To-Dos

Background Reading: Blue Ribbon Task Force Report

As we prepare for working together on Content Teams, Abby Rumsey recommended CWG might want to read (or reread) the Blue Ribbon Task Force report [ http://brtf.sdsc.edu/biblio/BRTF_Final_Report.pdf] executive summary (p1) and also the sections on the four content domains and recommendations for stakeholders to take action – how archives can be there before (to help them create archival content) and when donors are ready to hand-off content in need of preservation.

Development of Content Case Studies

+DRAFT+DRAFT+DRAFT+

1. Content teams decide categories of content that are important in their groups at whatever granularity works best for the exercise (ie. Blogs of NGOs, legal blogs, citizen science, local newspaper websites, digital art, local government information).

2. Develop one or more case studies that could be shared broadly to get others thinking about the topic. One way to approach it might be for content team members to share experiences they’ve had already, document successes and failure in negotiating such relationships around content they know and care about.

Case studies ideally would define:

• Establish Value/Rationale for collecting – what value does the content have? Is anyone collecting it? What factors affect its risk of disappearance—small audience, gnarly formats, proprietary software, tight copyright restrictions, etc.?
• Document recognized opportunities - are there workflows in the creation or distribution of content that preservation could be worked into?
• Description of Target Audiences: who would find value in this content,. is the short-term audience different from the long-term audience? How?
• Outline a plan for educating Stakeholders - how might NDSA or an organization go about raising awareness, and to whom? (content creators, publishers, educators, libraries, researchers, donors)
• What are the obstacles or risk factors? - describe barriers for users/creators/preservationists – what challenges have you/might you face?
• Actionable items – what can we do next, as a community (or individual institution)? [is this a next step? after we gather case studies?]

UNT will provide a sample from a recent experience they've had that could serve as a useful model.

3. Share results with broader CWG members for discussion and feedback. Ultimately, we'll want to share more broadly to raise awareness about risk and value of content.