Linking libraries, museums, archives
The archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, says that one of the core challenges facing today’s librarians, archivists, and museum curators is the need for them to work across disciplines to deliver the integrated, seamless level of service that tech-savvy users are increasingly coming to expect. “We are all in the same business: protecting, collecting, and allowing the use of information,” he told a packed audience during a “Harvard Library Strategic Conversation” on integrating libraries, archives, and museums (an initiative referred to as “LAM”) held Monday at Longfellow’s Askwith Hall. Ferriero, previously director of the New York Public Library (he also held the top position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Library), spoke of the necessity of understanding exactly how users interact with information as the foundation of LAM integration. “We need to focus on user behavior. We don’t know enough about how they use resources,” he said, but “users expect to...