Presentation

Building a Statewide Digital Readiness Community of Practice

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Abstract

Recollection Wisconsin is partnering with WiLS and the Wisconsin Historical Society to cultivate a community of Wisconsin local history practitioners engaged in digital work. Vicki Tobias and Kristen Whitson will relate their experiences launching this initiative, highlight real-life examples of post-custodial practice, and facilitate audience discussion around strategies to empower small organizations to steward their own cultural heritage. Two Wisconsin local history practitioners, Robin Untz and Janean Mollet-Van Beckum, will share their digital project experience and how participating in a collaborative community of practitioners informs their digital work. Our NHPRC-funded project, Building a Digital Readiness Community of Practice, helps small and under-resourced repositories grow and sustain their digital collections in an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment for peer-to-peer learning and mutual support around digital work. Information gathered through surveys, community conversations, strategic planning and research inspired this initiative to bring together and support local history practitioners by providing digital readiness resources, tools, and learning opportunities. A key component of this community is the Digital Readiness Levels, a tiered structure that provides a pathway and resources to work through all aspects of the digital project lifecycle, using approachable language and appropriately-scaled practices.

How to Cite:

Tobias, V., Whitson, K., Untz, R. & Mollett-Van Beckum, J., (2021) “Building a Statewide Digital Readiness Community of Practice”, MAC Annual Meeting Presentations 2021(1).