VRA Conference Minneapolis 2024

Visual resources curators, librarians, and archivists play a pivotal role as stewards of invaluable digital collections within academic and cultural institutions worldwide. However, they encounter significant challenges in enhancing the impact of these collections, particularly when it comes to scale and discoverability. Since the launch of Artstor’s Shared Shelf in 2011, now called JSTOR Forum, ITHAKA has been meeting cataloging needs for the visual resources community. In 2020, we embarked on the Open Community Collections initiative, a groundbreaking charter program designed to explore the effectiveness of sharing JSTOR and Portico infrastructure with institutions for the discovery, use, and preservation of their digital collections. Through this initiative, we partnered with over 300 institutions, extending our participation and offerings to address a broader range of audiences and needs. In the process, our core VR audience have found novel ways to engage with Forum and new services, establishing themselves as invaluable collaborators both within and across institutions and departments.departments. Join us in this session as we delve into the insights and achievements gleaned from our collaboration with partner institutions. Discover how VRA members have leveraged their participation to expand the reach of their collections, fulfill the needs of their broader institutions, and foster collaboration with diverse groups, both internally and externally.