Valorization of private collections in an academic library: dissemination, communication and research

Abstract

The “E.R. Caianiello” Central Library of the University of Salerno preserves many private bibliographic collections. This paper focuses on their valorization through an integrated approach encompassing dissemination, social media communication and research. The dissemination was developed as part of the collaboration to the Wikimedia projects. In particular we created a GLAM working group that enriched Wikipedia, Wikidata and Commons with contents and data related to the private collections. As for the communication, after drafting an editorial plan and a social media policy, the social media profiles of the library were used to provide information to the general public about the collections, including the bibliographic description and a link to the biographic article on Wikipedia, using a dedicated hashtag #fondispeciali. The research path included the organization of the conference “Biblioteca di biblioteche”, held on May 26, 2016 and supported by AIB Campania and Wikimedia Italia, which inaugurated a bio-bibliographic exhibition dedicated to the Cilento, Cuomo, Grottanelli and Paparelli collections. The valorization process generated a positive impact in many areas including the production of new referenced contents, the creation of collaborative networks with other cultural institutions and the continuous training of librarians involved in the projects.