Tweeting Tennessee’s Collections: A Case Study of a Digital Collections Twitterbot Implementation

Abstract

This article demonstrates how a Twitterbot can be used as an inclusive outreach initiative that breaks down the barriers between the web and the reading room to share materials with the public. These resources include postcards, music manuscripts, photographs, cartoons and any other digitized materials. Once in place, Twitterbots allow physical materials to converge with the technical and social space of the Web. Twitterbots are ideal for busy professionals because they allow librarians to make meaningful impressions on users without requiring a large time investment. This article covers the recent implementation of a digital collections bot (@UTKDigCollBot) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and provides documentation and advice on how you might develop a bot to highlight materials at your own institution.