Discovery - Making your collections accessible

Basic approach to making collection available online

Once you have captured images, digital stories and oral histories in digital formats, you can place content online for free with most social media platforms like blogs, Flickr, Facebook, Historypin, Wikipedia and Twitter. These are fun ways to share and to make your content discoverable with minimal staff time or expenditure.

You will need to be able to upload your images and audio. If you are not sure how to upload, check with your local public library.  Many offer free computer and social media classes.

Some of the social media platforms that SLQ uses are:

• SLQ Blogs
• Flickr Commons
• SLQ Facebook Page
• Historypin – pin Queensland photos on this website
• Wikipedia Commons
• SLQ Twitter Account

You may be able to set up your own discovery platforms

• Your blog
• Your website
• Your electronic newsletter
• Your portal
• Joining in with others in community portals
• Historypin

How to network your distributed collection in Queensland

• Share information with other organisations electronically.
• Cross-post your content with community organisations’ newsletters and blogs.
• Talk about your content with community groups.
• Schedule talks about digitised content, how to find and how to use.
• Make it accessible!

How to get help/training

SLQ offers Wikipedia training
Speakers for Historypin

Share with SLQ

Be a guest contributor to the John Oxley Library Blog or the Queensland memory enewsletter. Blogs and newsletters are usually free. Both provide a great way to share and network with other communities throughout Queensland.

Advanced approaches

If you have funding you may want to consider more advanced ways of making your digitised collections discoverable.  This may involve expenditures and long-term budget commitment.

• Create a website for your organisation.
• Keep it fresh and interesting with updates and new images.
• Make sure you provide access to your Queensland heritage collections.
• Make sure you have contact information so people can share with you.
• Remember to archive web pages and content (Check out Pandora).
• Purchase a dedicated, secure server.
• Make sure your server is backed up.
• Make sure you are able to migrate your materials as new technology emerges.
• Have a preservation plan for your server and your content.
• Purchase an Integrated Library System.
• You may be able to join a cooperative to keep costs down.
• Provide an Online Public Access Catalogue of your collections.
• Require dedicated servers, backup systems and long-term preservation plans.
• Check out open source library systems that are free as an alternative.

Whichever approach works for you, it is possible to digitise your Queensland heritage collections and make them accessible to your community, Queensland and the world.

SLQ provides support and training. Make sure you check our website for latest information, ideas and sharing of your Queensland memory.

Fact sheet 4: Discovery - Making your collections accessible [PDF 114kb]