Session 4
Alongside their traditional public of researchers, a lot of libraries holding manuscripts collections nowadays tend to receive enlarged audiences: younger ones, from schoolchildren to students, as well as older ones, pensioners or active people, eager to discover manuscripts as work of arts and unique evidence of writers’ work in progress or of historical events. This widening of the public has two sides: an educational or pedagogical one as well as a cultural one.
Up to recent years, temporary or semi-permanent exhibitions, coupled with visits, necessarily limited to a small audience, were the only way of displaying and explaining manuscripts. But nowadays digital copies of manuscripts are available in rapidly increasing numbers. They can be viewed online, or used in the library itself during visits, conferences and exhibitions.
The contributions in this session will develop different aspects of the subject of new audiences such as:
- Which new public can we and should we target? And how to keep the old public at the same time?
- How important is it to attract new audiences? Do national libraries differ here from, for instance from university libraries?
- How can we attract and keep the attention of visitors?
- Most university libraries make special collections available for students. However, due to reduction of academic curricula (especially since the implementation of the bachelor/master system) there seems to be less time for working with primary sources. - How to tackle this problem (faculty liaison)?
- What have we got to offer in terms of information and distraction? entertainment? How does the digital world complement, or compete with, the real world? When to allow or promote consultation of manuscripts ‘in the flesh’, especially in circumstances where digital facsimiles are available?
- Which partners should we seek: teachers, publishers, press, radio, TV, or even commercial concerns (derived objects sold in libraries and museum shops)?
Up to recent years, temporary or semi-permanent exhibitions, coupled with visits, necessarily limited to a small audience, were the only way of displaying and explaining manuscripts. But nowadays digital copies of manuscripts are available in rapidly increasing numbers. They can be viewed online, or used in the library itself during visits, conferences and exhibitions.
The contributions in this session will develop different aspects of the subject of new audiences such as:
- Which new public can we and should we target? And how to keep the old public at the same time?
- How important is it to attract new audiences? Do national libraries differ here from, for instance from university libraries?
- How can we attract and keep the attention of visitors?
- Most university libraries make special collections available for students. However, due to reduction of academic curricula (especially since the implementation of the bachelor/master system) there seems to be less time for working with primary sources. - How to tackle this problem (faculty liaison)?
- What have we got to offer in terms of information and distraction? entertainment? How does the digital world complement, or compete with, the real world? When to allow or promote consultation of manuscripts ‘in the flesh’, especially in circumstances where digital facsimiles are available?
- Which partners should we seek: teachers, publishers, press, radio, TV, or even commercial concerns (derived objects sold in libraries and museum shops)?
