Dreanna Belden

Harnessing Social Networks to Connect with Audiences

ABSTRACT Digital libraries offer users a wealth of online resources, but most of these materials remain hidden to potential users. Established strategies for outreach and promotion bring limited success when trying to connect with users accustomed to Googling their way through research. Social Networks provide an opportunity for connecting with audiences in the places they habitually seek information. The University of North Texas Libraries Portal to Texas History (http://texashistory.unt.edu) has experienced dramatic increases in Web usage and reference requests by harnessing the power of social networks such as Wikipedia and MySpace.

Development of a portal to Texas history

Purpose – To help information professionals learn about issues and considerations in portal building.Design/methodology/approach – The University of North Texas Libraries’ Portal to Texas History provides long‐term storage and access to digital copies of important original materials illuminating Texass past. This paper describes the development of the Portal technology and content – presenting objectives, processes, and future plans – and defines the larger goal of facilitating collaboration among resource‐holding institutions.Findings – Practical aspects of creating and populating the portal include development of specifications and standards, construction of an application framework, selection of content, production of metadata, and refinement of user interfaces. Planned future enhancements to the Portal will augment sustainability and provide added value for users. The portal project may also serve as a catalyst for wider collaborative efforts in digitization.Originality/value – The Portal to Texas Hi...

Integrating Controlled Vocabularies into Cultural Heritage Digital Collections: The Portal to Texas History Experience

Paper accompanying a poster for the 2007 ASIS&T Annual Conference. Paper discusses the University of North Texas Libraries digital libraries implementations experience. It discusses various scenarios and strategies for integrating controlled vocabularies in the uncontrolled digital library world.