Shopping for History

By Dannielle Blumenthal, Ph.D. Opinions expressed here are the author's own and do not

reflect the view of the National Archives and Records Administration, or the U.S. government.

Think

Customer

First.

ResearchersWant Documents

TeachersWant Lesson Plans

MoviemakersWant Storytell ing

Aids

VeteransWant Service

Records

Family-SeekersWant Info & Photos

The Public Wants: Facts

Memorabil iaExhibits

Customer Service Thinking

Has Evolved

To Serve Them.

The Age-Old “Lockdown Approach”

(Access 0.0)Hide It In A Building

…Preferably At The EndOf A Faraway Path

Late ‘90s – ‘00s Thinking (Access 1.0)

Make It Available Online- But At A Custom-Built

(Diff icult to Use) Agency-Controlled “Storefront”

2010-2012 Thinking (Access 2.0)

Go Where The People Are Online – With Social Media

2013 Thinking (Access 3.0)Pull It Apart

For Use & Reuse –

As Open Data

2014 & Beyond (Access 4.0)Open Data +

Retail = Make It Easy To “Shop For History”

Free or Paid

How To Do It

(Theoretically)

Step 1. Sift & Digit ize AtThe Point of Preservation…Or You Lose Too Much Time & Create A Backlog

Step 2. Put All Digital Data In A Single Container – 3

Versions:•Minimal Quality (Free)•High Quality (Paid)•Immaculate Quality (Archival)

Step 3: Build A Monster Data Repository That

Holds It All

Step 4. Partner With Retail

Environments To Offer

“Sponsored Search

Results”

Step 5. “One Stop Shopping” – All Customers Use Same Login & Payment Methods

Step 6. Contracted Order Fulfi l lment Provider…

Step 7. …With Comprehensive Customer

Support

Think About The Customer.

Thank you.