Citizen science and small libraries

Considerations on the involvement of volunteer re- searchers in the Kreisarchiv and Landeskundliche Bibliothek des Märkischen Kreises

Abstract

Objective — Are small libraries suitable for citizen science projects? The aim of this article was to examine whether participatory research projects involving interested citizens can be implemented without the technical and personnel infrastructure of large institutions.

Methods — The first task was to define a robust concept of citizen science. What is the difference between citizen science and citizen humanities? In order to check whether sources could be found in the holdings of the examined Archive that would enable a common approach, other institutions were evaluated with regard to the topics of their citizen science projects. Subsequently, selected best practices were evaluated according to a defined catalog with regard to the technical implementation and personnel requirements of their projects and compared to the own institution.

Results — The holdings of Kreisarchiv and Landeskundliche Bibliothek are suitable for joint processing with the interested public. The institutions examined show that the technical implementation of a project is possible with small capacities.

Conclusions — The success of citizen science projects does not depend on the size of the institution. The decisive factor is the commitment of the employees involved and the work carried out in the run-up to the participatory project. If the target group is clearly defined, the sources have been prepared and the appropriate tools are chosen, it is possible to implement projects even with a small team.