Emma Brodfuehrer Hastings Catholic University of America
Source
Journal of Academic Librarianship Volume 50, Issue 1, January 2024, 102814
DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102814
Abstract
Exhibits are an increasingly common means of outreach for academic libraries, leading to a growing interest in how librarians curate exhibits to intrigue, educate, and collaborate with users. This study examined digital exhibits produced by ARL-member academic library systems in order to explore the nature and use of exhibits. The study sampled a total of 147 digital exhibits created by 68 academic libraries, developing an original framework for content analysis of the exhibits. The findings confirm that academic librarians use digital exhibits to highlight their collections, inform and entertain visitors, contribute to the instruction of students, and forge and strengthen relationships with various communities through collaborative exhibit creation. These findings can inform practitioners and provide valuable insight into the development of digital exhibits within the academic library context.
Word cloud depicting the 75 most frequently used words in the introductory text for all analyzed exhibits. (Source: 10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102814)
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
