[Posted on behalf of the Member Engagement sub-team of the ArchivesSpace User Advisory Council]
The Member Engagement sub-team recently worked with the ArchivesSpace program team to develop a new resource to encourage membership in ArchivesSpace. Knowing what a challenge it can be to communicate the value of membership and member benefits to various stakeholders, and having received feedback that a resource like this might be helpful in advocating for membership, the Making a Case for ArchivesSpace Membership talking points were born! You can access this resource directly from the ArchivesSpace website or pick up a copy from the ArchivesSpace team when they are exhibiting at a conference.
What is it and Who is it for?
Making a Case for ArchivesSpace Membership is a resource for anyone who would like to advocate for ArchivesSpace membership at their institution. The page is organized into three, quick, bulleted, sections based on different kinds of stakeholders:
- Archival Professionals
- For archivists and others working directly with the collections
- Tech Folks
- For your IT or Systems department, Digital Archivists, Managers and Directors
- Organizational Leaders
- For the leaders at your organization, project managers, University Librarians, Deans, Directors, Board Members
Ways to Make the Most of this Resource
Rather than spending time trying to determine how best to communicate benefits to a variety of individuals at your organization, you can quickly prepare for a variety of scenarios — whether you’re hopping into the elevator with the systems administrator, preparing for a meeting with the Dean of special collections, or just chatting with fellow archivists over lunch.
Read over and review this page when preparing to make a case using:
- Elevator pitches
- Emails
- Meetings/Presentations
Share the webpage virtually so that stakeholders can see the benefits outlined for themselves and on their own timelines.
The website also has a link to a printable, PDF version of the information contained on the site. Print a few copies and get them into your stakeholders’ hands to keep ArchivesSpace membership on their radar.
Combined with the Member Benefits page of the website, the Making a Case for ArchivesSpace Membership page has everything you need to successfully communicate the value of membership to a variety of stakeholders at your institution.