Over the course of our two-year project, members of the project team often heard a question along the lines of: “We’ve read the Santa Barbara Statement, the Facets, the Personas. We’re subscribed to the google group. But where do we start? How do we move collections as data forward at our own institution?”
50 Things (pdf, csv, a randomizer) is aimed at helping to address that where to start question. It is intended to open eyes, stimulate conversation, encourage stepping back, generate ideas, and surface new possibilities.
The project team has collected and refined this list of 50 Things over dozens of engagements. Participants at our second National Forum provided the main initial corpus, when they generously responded to a series of questions, including: “Within the next 1-6 months, what can you do within your own workplace to realistically and relatively easily improve/ move forward collections as data work?”
We hope 50 Things provides an impetus for exploring, learning from your colleagues, deepening your knowledge and understanding, and taking that first step.