Co-Curation: New Strategies, Roles, Services, and Opportunities for Libraries in the Post-Web Era and the Digital Media Context

Abstract

The author reasons that libraries need to expand their traditional services in the Post-Web Era. A library’s core values are reflected in the convenience it brings to users for quick access and consumption of content. The traditional value chain of libraries (acquisitions - catalog - discovery and access-based services) significantly lags behind the current times, and thus can no longer effectively serve the library’s core values. It is critical for libraries to amend the value chain at the point of content use (acquisitions - catalog - discovery and access-based services - use). The new value chain incorporates co-curation services between library staff and users and among users themselves. Not only does the author discuss the significance for such an extension, but he also demonstrates possible new roles for libraries in content utilization through an innovative project of the Emory University Libraries, Readux (Read Edit Annotation Digital User Experience). By enabling co-curation (read, annotate, describe, collaborate, share, import, export, and publish), libraries will create new opportunities to support users and themselves in the digital media context.