The goal of access is closely related to the activities of outreach, and presenters and attendees of the symposium shared many great ideas for attracting people to holdings of special collections. One repository in South Carolina has started reaching out more to tourists, as the heritage tourism economy has surged. Archivists at two medical libraries speaking on the topic of privacy encouraged their colleagues to publicly tout the benefits of research that uses medical records, rather than shy away from potentially sensitive material. As most institutions have a presence on social media, one attendee noted the importance of using tools like Facebook and Twitter to engage in two-way conversations with users and potential users of collections. To show visitors the work involved in cataloging and preserving a recently acquired collection of Churchill Weavers textiles, the Kentucky Historical Society temporarily put its own staff on exhibit. And WGBH archivists in Boston invited the community to help decide which analog videos from hundreds of public television programs should be digitized and mounted online.

Here at PHS, we’re always trying to reach new audiences while assisting the researchers and supporters who already know about the treasures in our collection. Professional development opportunities like the CLIR symposium inspire us with new ideas about how to fulfill our mission to collect, preserve, and share the stories of the American Presbyterian experience.