Your Archives, Through Social Media

The National Archives and Records Administration is going all-in with social media in hopes of assisting and expanding its audience. And the agency isn't approaching it haphazardly -- look across Facebook, Flickr and Twitter and you'll find consistent names and information, as well as a centralized "one-stop shop" for social media on the Archives.gov website.

The goal is two-fold, said Jill Reilly James, social media lead for the National Archives. First, the team aims to enrich relationships with researchers and people who already are aware of the Archives' offerings. Second, they hope to reach the general public who may not be familiar with the agency's resources and events. In both cases, social media is used to build conversations and communicate in an informal way.

Archives has 15-plus Facebook pages, including one for each region and presidential library. Each is a niche community with targeted news and events, said James. For example, the page geared towards researchers in April launched a Civil War-focused scavenger hunt across the Archives' social media sites, including Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

Links to the agency's six blogs, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube pages and Twitter/RSS feeds all can be found off the website's homepage.

The agency also is using Wikispaces, a collaborative tool for crowdsourcing similar to Wikipedia, and plans to launch a research-focused pilot wiki later this summer. When complete, the wiki will allow the research community to use and annotate finding aids and share tips and information.