Historical Research and Storytelling Through “GLAMs”
Historical Research and Storytelling Through “GLAMs”
What are GLAMs?
GLAM institutions (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) are creative spaces of cultural heritage preservation, record management, and valuable sites for accessing knowledge in material and digital forms. One common characteristic is that these spaces are often said to be maintained in the public interest; however, it is also important to note that public in this sense does not mean equally accessible or free to everyone. Although GLAMs often share characteristics of preserving cultural heritage, research- and arts-based institutions, and sites of record-keeping, they do differ in other ways. These differences, some more subtle or obscured than others, might include: underlying infrastructure, core principles, level of interaction with the public, protection and accessibility of materials, curatorial power, core values, and funding models. Some of these are more subtle or obscured than others.
Below is a brief overview of some distinguishing characteristics, which should be read as partial and dynamic, particularly when considering how (or whether) digitization and other digital media practices have changed the dominant classifications of GLAMs over time.
Galleries are curator-driven and highly selective, with a primary focus on various forms of art (visual art, sound installations, textiles, and so on). Like other GLAM institutions, galleries are rapidly changing with the rise of digital technologies and digital (or crypto) currency that reimagine the meaning and value of art, collection, collector, ownership, and domain.
Libraries tend to take in and provide access to individual items, including digital and analogue media such as books, audiovisual materials, and maps. Libraries tend to be more user-driven and items are generally available to the public (although often require registration and come with borrowing privileges or digital licensing). Many digital libraries are also user-driven and sometimes crowd-sourced, with some vetting from the institutions before making records available.
Archivestypically house more “complete” groups of works that are chosen under relatively strict archival acquisition policy. Preserving context of the collection is a major focus for archives, including regard for provenance. Access to archives tends to be more restricted, although this has changed to some extent with the digitization of archival materials and born-digital data.
Museumsare cultural heritage institutions that collect specific objects for public display, while also storing and preserving artifacts not on display. Museums often rotate public-facing collections and are more likely to respond to public interest of the moment. Curators occupy an important position, providing context for the displays.
In the required reading for this module, archivist Kate Theimer (2012) discusses the need to better contextualize the histories of GLAM institutions to avoid flattening the dis