Memory Institutions Think Tank on the Post-COVID-19 Landscape

Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada

The historical moment we are living through seems to me to be one of those rare transformative times our descendants will read about and reflect upon for generations. The pandemic has been a “black swan” event for all of society, unprecedented in its impact—and the GLAMs (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector is no exception. It has transformed our working lives and our day-to-day existence.

That is why I organized the Memory Institutions Think Tank on the Post-COVID-19 Landscape: a forum for GLAMs to reflect on the new roles and opportunities that the pandemic has revealed, in light of changing social realities, and on the need for renewed strategies. We came together to share our ideas to enhance the digital presence of GLAMs, to demonstrate the relevance of GLAMs in this period of crisis, to build capacity at the local level, to redefine the social value of GLAMs, and, as a community, to begin to reinvent ourselves.

More than 60 diverse participants from various parts of the GLAM community contributed to the conversation, from one-person museums and remote libraries, to Indigenous communities, to university partners, to national and local institutions. I thank them for their thoughtful contributions to this undertaking.

This report highlights the key themes that emerged from the conversation, as well as some proposed ways forward for our community to consider. The issues we faced before the pandemic remain, but they have been changed and augmented, and we will need to find ways to adapt. We will also need to find ways to support each other even more than we have done in the past.

Ultimately, I hope to organize a summit (ideally, in person) to continue these conversations. I look forward to our continued collaboration!

1. Introduction

Recognizing the need for further reflection on how the pandemic is affecting the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) organized a virtual think tank in early 2021 to discuss the situation of GLAMs during and after COVID-19. The goal of the think tank event was to uncover new roles and opportunities for GLAMs that stem from the sector’s changing social realities, while addressing accompanying challenges.

This report presents an overview of the think tank and its related activities, including factors that contributed to the impetus of the event, a summary of the discussions that took place during its various sessions, recurring themes and questions that surfaced throughout, and considerations for the sector as it moves forward.

The report’s objective is to capture the invaluable observations and insights that were generated during the think tank in order to share them with a wider public. The report will also serve as the starting point for discussion of a set of guiding principles to help the GLAM community move forward during these transitory times.

2. Memory Institutions Think Tank on the Post-COVID-19 Landscape: Event Description

The think tank comprised four virtual themed sessions held between February 12 and March 16, 2021, as well as a fifth wrap-up session on March 23, 2021.

Leading up to each session, LAC invited a representative from the GLAM sector to write a discussion paper related to the theme in question. In addition to offering a perspective on key considerations for the GLAM community, these papers also provided a springboard for fruitful discussions during the sessions. The six discussion papers for the think tank are available on LAC’s website.

The think tank brought together diverse groups of individuals from local, regional and national GLAMs—as well as experts from the broader arts, culture and heritage community—to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas. A range of voices represented a variety of regions across Canada, as well as the perspectives of individuals of diverse backgrounds. For a complete list of think tank participants, please refer to the Appendix.

The think tank encompassed the following five themes.

3. State of the GLAM Sector Before COVID-19

Challenges facing the sector

Prior to the arrival of the pandemic, the Canadian GLAM sector had been experiencing a number of challenges related to public perceptions of their institutions, evolving social issues and concerns, the adoption of new technologies, and maintaining a place of relevance in the rapidly evolving information ecosystem. As Guy Berthiaume highlighted in his discussion paper prepared for the think tank’s final wrap-up session, decision-makers in the public and private sectors have seemed to lack an awareness of the value of GLAMs, which at times has resulted in GLAMs being overlooked when it comes to support for Canada’s cultural institutions.

Promising trajectories

However, these challenges were experienced in tandem with other, more promising developments in the Canadian GLAM sector. Over the past five years, the sector has sought a greater sense of cohesion, inspired, in part, by a series of GLAM summits organized by LAC and the Canadian Museums Association, as well as a number of projects spearheaded by the Ottawa Declaration Working Group. This sense of cohesion is based on a growing recognition of the role that GLAMs share as public spaces where dialogue and democratic engagement are fostered. As a way of acknowledging and supporting the collective work that they take part in within the sector, many GLAMs have publicly committed to increasing collaboration between their institutions. This expanding spirit of solidarity promises to help guide the GLAM sector in its future endeavours to educate the public on the value of GLAMs.

4. Context for GLAMs: Some Key Impacts from the Pandemic

The Canadian GLAM sector was hardly immune to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While galleries, libraries, archives and museums have experienced the impacts of the pandemic differently, each type of institution has known intense struggles over the past year.

Financial challenges

Many GLAMs are experiencing budgetary restrictions resulting from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, as well as revenue losses from having to shut their doors to visitors. This has led to employee layoffs, reduced services and the forced delay of key projects.

Hurdles in going digital

Some institutions have had to shut down completely due to a lack of resources and capacity to transition services online. Others have found creative solutions for overcoming restrictions and been able to enhance their digital services. However, the digital divide has meant that some users—such as those in Indigenous communities where broadband is limited—have been disproportionately affected by a lack of access to the equipment and infrastructure required for online engagement.

Negative impacts on staff

This is the content fAs with all other employers during the pandemic, GLAMs have had to address the general strain and unique challenges that COVID-19 has imposed on their staff. This has meant prioritizing the health and safety of employees, finding ways to boost morale, and supporting the well-being and mental health of staff members who are being asked to work under less-than-ideal and stress-inducing circumstances.

5. Think Tank Sessions: Summary of Discussions

The discussion summaries below, provided by session participants, include examples of innovative projects and responses that GLAMs have cultivated in the face of key challenges posed by the pandemic.

Session 1: Enhancing the Digital Presence of GLAMs

Throughout the session, participants shared diverse success stories of how institutions were able to improve their digital offerings and bolster the digital skills of their staff. The discussion also raised a number of challenges related to going digital, including the need to balance investing in digital with investing in physical spaces, as well as addressing the digital fatigue that some people are beginning to experience.

On the other hand, participants noted that one possible silver lining of the pandemic is the sense of urgency felt by GLAMs to move their institution into the digital era; this has helped some institutions to overcome internal resistance to change. The importance of GLAM collaboration with the open-access community, in order to extend the reach of their collections and better integrate into the broader knowledge ecosystem, was also highlighted.

In addition, increased professional development opportunities and partnerships between GLAMs can facilitate the scaling-up of digital offerings and help smaller institutions to build digital skills within their organizations. In that light, it is important to expand how GLAMs approach digital in order to go beyond issues of access and discoverability, and consider how digital can facilitate human connections.

GLAMs can build community and improve the accessibility of their collections by engaging the public in activities such as crowdsourcing. Going digital provides GLAMs with an opportunity to critically self-reflect and prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion by removing many of the traditional barriers to broad community engagement and involvement.

A few examples of innovative projects:

• Partnership between Ryerson University Library and the Aga Khan Museum that harnesses digital technology to create innovative experiences for the museum’s new Remastered exhibition
• This Month in GLAM newsletter, featuring international reports on how GLAMs are using Wikimedia, Wikipedia and sister projects of the Wikimedia Foundation to amplify the reach of their collections
• The repurposing of the United States’ National Archives and Records Administration’s Citizen Archivist program in order for staff to overcome technical barriers as they worked from home

Session 2: Demonstrating the Relevance of GLAMs in a Crisis Context—Building Capacity at the Local Level

This session brought together Francophone representatives from the GLAM community to discuss two key themes: demonstrating the relevance of GLAMs in a crisis context, and building capacity at the local level. The fruitful discussion emanating from this session centred on the role that GLAMs can play in reviving communal social spaces post-pandemic and the need to further invest in services that support vulnerable populations. Furthermore, participants emphasized the need to reinforce and expand networks that allow GLAMs to share resources, infrastructure and expertise between institutions.

It was noted that it is precisely GLAMs’ spirit of innovation and adaptability that will allow them to find solutions and respond effectively to the current public health crisis. However, it is essential to move beyond vague or theoretical talk about social responsibility, and to take concrete actions that can be evaluated and improved upon—an idea that was often repeated throughout the think tank sessions.

GLAMs have yet to demonstrate to policy makers that they provide essential services, and GLAMs should prioritize advocacy in this area. The pandemic provides important opportunities for GLAMs to study their value systematically, and to underline for policy makers the negative impacts that restrictions to knowledge, culture and leisure can have on individuals.

In addition, participants suggested that now is the time for GLAMs to reflect on whether they are in fact the institutions that they believe they are, and to evaluate whether they are actually doing the work that they profess to be doing within their communities. At the same time, it is important to recognize the toll that the pandemic has had on people’s mental health and resilience—both the public and GLAM staff—and to take steps to support them on these fronts.

GLAMs will also need to re-evaluate user needs and expectations post-pandemic, particularly when it comes to the growing emphasis on digital transformation.

A few examples of innovative projects:

• The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec provided a drop-in centre (French only) for Montréal’s homeless, turning its space into a temporary shelter where people could find warmth and security
• The halte-connexion service (French only) offered by a Montréal network of community organizations was expanded during the pandemic to ensure that elderly residents continued to have Internet access

Session 3: Building Capacity at the Local Level

Discussion during the third session focused on the remarkable successes that GLAMs have had in reinventing and retooling core services and resources in order to support their communities during the pandemic (a theme also addressed in session two, with Francophone colleagues). It also addressed practical challenges faced by local institutions, such as balancing the safety of staff with the needs of community, and taking a realistic approach to going digital that accounts for resource constraints. Paradoxically, during the pandemic, more traditional technologies such as the telephone have experienced a resurgence in utility as they provided a practical and effective means for GLAMs to engage in community outreach.

In some ways, the pandemic has acted as a particle accelerator, exacerbating points of weakness within GLAM institutions and forcing a rapid evolution in how they work. The pandemic has also allowed GLAMs to start relationships and conversations with non-traditional collaborators without needing to commit to official partnerships. However, significant challenges remain. The past year has demonstrated the crucial importance of inviting government into conversations in order to inform and stay informed.

This time has also seen a surge in collegiality and resource sharing between GLAMs, something that institutions should sustain going forward.

A few examples of innovative projects:

• Toronto Public Library and local food banks partnered during the pandemic to serve the community
• The Canadian Urban Libraries Council has created a COVID-19 toolkit that makes resources readily available in order to share best practices, expertise and lessons learned across libraries
• The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria partnered with the digital arts initiative Field Trip: Art Across Canada to deliver arts experiences with some of Canada’s most celebrated artists
• The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec offered “Un brin de lecture pour les aînés,” which is a read-aloud program delivered to elderly users by telephone
• The Canada Aviation and Space Museum’s science advisor conducted interviews about the landing of the Perseverance robot on Mars, adding the museum’s informed and authoritative voice to conversations related to the event
• Royal Alberta Museum curators have been expanding on the traditional scope of their activities in order to collect documents related to the pandemic in real time

Session 4: The Social Value of GLAMs in a Post-COVID-19 Landscape

The fourth session’s discussion centred on a recognition that the disruption caused by the pandemic has both brought into focus urgent social and environmental issues that need to be addressed, as well as created opportunities for GLAMs to reassess their core practices, institutional priorities and even their worldviews. Issues of equity, diversity and inclusion figured prominently in this session’s discussion. GLAMs have an opportunity to more actively support social change and the advancement of their communities. In order to do so, they need to rethink their visions, missions, values and strategic priorities; recognize that they are not neutral institutions; and enter into public discourse with a renewed sense of confidence.

The disruption caused by the pandemic has given GLAMs an opportunity to consider alternative, non-hierarchical organizational designs, to experiment with collective leadership models, and to question their participation in the creation of potentially unnecessary infrastructure. The move to digital has also created unprecedented opportunities for those who traditionally face barriers to access, including people with specific accessibility needs. Unleashing the power of digital means adhering to standards and guidelines to ensure that the digital experience is equitable for everyone.

That said, participants in this session emphasized that when public institutions enter into activist spaces, they need to acknowledge who is already there. GLAMs should ensure that increased involvement in these spaces lends support and does not usurp or displace grassroots institutions that are already established. GLAMs have an opportunity to rethink how they approach building the collective memory. It is essential that they get involved in capturing historic events as they unfold—whether those relate to a pandemic, to racial justice movements, or to the climate crisis. Further, it is important for GLAMs to avoid politicizing issues and frame them instead in terms of equity, particularly issues related to human rights and the climate crisis.

Finally, it is essential to acknowledge and actively attempt to remedy issues related to the digital divide. GLAMs should consider how to advocate on behalf of remote communities that do not have access to the communications infrastructure needed to participate in the digital environment, as well as people with print disabilities, who rely on screen readers and other assistive technologies.

A few examples of innovative projects:

• The National Archives of Australia has launched a new policy to help build trust in the public record and ensure that government information and data related to the pandemic are not lost to future generations
• The book Museum Activism (2019) includes examples of how museums, galleries and archival practitioners are using their personal and organizational agency to improve the world
• Halifax Public Libraries’ Pride Portal offers an example of a GLAM supporting rather than driving community activism
• The National Network for Equitable Library Service works to make copies of books in accessible formats available to readers in Canada who have print disabilities, and it works with publishers to create born-accessible e-books that work for all readers

Session 5: Reinventing GLAMs (wrap-up)

The final wrap-up session of the think tank was a tour de force, with participants expanding on recurring themes identified during previous sessions and contributing creative takes on how GLAMs can reinvent themselves moving forward. Participants maintained a focus on the social value of GLAMs, encouraging the sector to push beyond the traditional boundaries of their work, enter into the realm of activism, and craft a set of principles to guide progress. The discussion was characterized by noble aspirations as well as by observations grounded in the day-to-day realities that GLAM institutions face.

Participants observed that GLAMs need to work proactively on increasing society’s information literacy and supporting democratic integrity; they can host difficult conversations and provide a place for people to resolve opposing views.

Collaborations between GLAMs should go beyond projects related to operations, exhibitions or collections; partnering on initiatives related to social issues holds deep potential. As well, it may be time for GLAMs to consider innovation in a broader sense, including social innovation; at what point do GLAMs stop putting digital and physical in opposition, and create social structures that reflect their integration?

As Big Tech continues to expand into spaces traditionally occupied by GLAMs, the discussion noted, GLAMs need to be proactive in determining what their relationship with them will look like, to ensure that profit is not the sole motive behind how the information landscape is shaped.

Importantly, the financial impact of COVID-19 requires GLAMs to let go of certain traditional activities in order to create something new that is immediately relevant. Further, an environmental focus is essential to GLAMs’ evolution as institutions and as a sector; the core work of GLAMs and how their collections are used reflect the values of a sharing economy, and GLAMs should harness their experience in this area to challenge mass consumption.

Finally, as GLAMs engage in critical reflection, they need to ensure that expertise can flow from the local to the national. This will help them to address prejudices within their institutions and bridge schisms that impede certain communities from participating in their work. And as GLAMs reinvent themselves, they will require a cohort of leaders who are willing to engage in activism and to challenge internal and external power structures.

A few examples of innovative projects:

• The National Gallery of Canada is shifting away from a focus on visitor experience in order to prioritize audience building with the hope of bringing in people from underserved communities
• Researchers at the Université de Montréal’s École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information are engaging in the co-construction of library spaces with architects and urban planners as a way to establish dynamic, creative spaces
• Durham University Library is involved in a street art project where they take objects from their collections, create facsimiles, then display these facsimiles in windows in town, so people can see art in those spaces when they cannot go to galleries
• The local library of the Walpole Island First Nation is attempting to address food security issues within the community by seeking grants to fund the planting of an orchard
• The Council of Australian University Librarians has mapped the ways in which libraries support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

6. The GLAM Post-COVID-19 Landscape: A Call to Action

Throughout the five think tank sessions, a number of recurring themes emerged. These themes, highlighted below, signal a commonality in outlook as GLAMs process the changing social realities brought on by the pandemic, as well as the evolving roles they play within their communities. The recurring themes evoke important questions for the future of the sector and raise a call for action as institutions recalibrate.

Environmental justice should be a top priority for GLAMs

The climate crisis has moved beyond being a contested political point. Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities. An environmental focus can no longer be missing from how GLAMs evolve as institutions and as a sector. This is a time for GLAMs to move beyond the realm of leisure and culture in order to commit to addressing key issues faced by the planet.

Participants offered a number of suggestions regarding how GLAMs can make environmental justice a priority. GLAM institutions have community locations where constructive conversations about the climate crisis can be hosted. They are also repositories of reliable and trusted information, which should be shared more actively with the public. In terms of evaluation, acquisition and preservation, it is time for GLAMs to reassess policies that have traditionally guided these activities, being more selective in identifying what is worth saving given the inevitable, low-energy future that GLAMs are moving into.

The human must not be lost in the digital

As GLAMs pivot online and invest in their digital offerings, it is important to maintain a parallel focus on the key role that the sector will play in reviving public spaces and promoting human connection post-pandemic. The physical distancing and lockdown measures put in place during the pandemic have exacerbated the epidemic of loneliness that has been growing over the past decade. At the same time, these measures have led to exciting innovations in how people can connect virtually.

Think tank participants had a number of ideas for ensuring that human connections are not lost in the shift to digital. One session saw the proposal of a hybrid model for providing user-centred programming and services both in person and online. Another session featured a discussion that reframes how social innovation is currently understood, suggesting that it is time to construct social structures that more appropriately respond to a hybrid environment of digital and physical.

GLAMs are natural innovators

GLAMs have a demonstrated history of harnessing technology in the service of their mandates. This experience bodes well for their continued innovation in a post-pandemic world. Information professionals have successfully navigated the rise of the personal computer and Web 2.0; they are now experimenting with the application of tools powered by artificial intelligence and the potential of linked open data.

One recurring suggestion related to this theme centred on the need to play the long game when it comes to innovation. Participants pointed out that many technology companies that were once successful have now disappeared. GLAMs, however, have the resilience to last longer because of their history, mandates, missions and heritage. Examples of future directions for innovation that GLAMs can take included participating in a national plan to combat the digital divide, as well as considering having fewer physical collections in favour of maintaining an optimal fluidity in the development of digital collections.

Collaboration is no longer merely an ideal—it is essential

The pandemic has demonstrated that collaboration—whether between GLAMs or with other community partners—is indispensable during times of crisis in order for GLAMs to effectively serve their communities. In light of the challenges that the pandemic has imposed on the GLAM sector, it is important to design collaborations in ways that channel knowledge, expertise and resources from national institutions to local institutions. Moreover, having common causes to rally around can help institutions to overcome competition and build momentum as the sector works toward social and environmental justice.

Participants suggested that the GLAM sector explore collaboration in the realm of collective collections, considering how infrastructure shared between institutions could be developed to support the collection and preservation of materials that face particular risks, such as multimedia objects. Other suggestions included cultivating international collaborations, perhaps with UNESCO as a partner, that would allow GLAMs to engage in positive disruption within the context of major global challenges. Finally, participants suggested developing a set of values and principles centred on the idea of social cohesion to guide the sector as it works together.

This is a time for critical self-reflection

The disruption caused by the pandemic is providing GLAMs with an opportunity to critically self-reflect on their current ways of working and to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion. Accelerated digital transformation and other forms of disruption caused by the pandemic offer opportunities to embed such priorities within novel ways of thinking and doing. The pandemic is also offering GLAMs the opportunity to ask themselves whether they are in fact the institutions that they believe themselves to be.

Participants in a number of sessions stressed the need for critical self-reflection and the decolonization of GLAM institutions to occur with regard to both the public-facing aspects of GLAM institutions as well as internal aspects such as the ways collections are catalogued, how categorization is conceived of, and strategic hiring and training programs. Many participants also challenged GLAMs to lay to rest the idea that their institutions are neutral. As one participant put it, “A good museum should also be an argument.”

The value of GLAMs is being reframed once again

The pandemic is shifting the focus of the value of GLAMs from the economic back to the social, with emphasis once again being placed on the roles that GLAMs play in providing access to reliable information, promoting knowledge and culture, and fostering social cohesion. As was pointed out by a number of participants, the pandemic has not only created a health crisis—it has also sparked a social crisis. Luckily, it is within the capacity of GLAMs to help alleviate a range of social stressors that their community members are currently experiencing.

Many participants encouraged GLAMs to leverage their collections in order to combat disinformation and inform public discourse surrounding contemporary social issues. As for demonstrating their value to decision makers and the broader public, some participants suggested that GLAMs take a simplified approach to discussing the ways in which GLAM professionals contribute to society, composing concise statements that help to focus the public’s attention. Finally, fostering timely responses to issues as they surface in the media can help GLAMs illustrate their relevance, in addition to putting out reliable and authoritative information.

7. Conclusion: What Is Next?

The Memory Institutions Think Tank on the Post-COVID-19 Landscape brought together approximately 60 participants, generated over eight hours of discussion, and raised countless valuable insights that can help provide the GLAM sector with some key direction in the coming years.

LAC hopes to organize a GLAM summit within the next 18 months that will further mobilize the community as it responds to the disruption caused by the pandemic. The summit would also leverage the momentum stemming from past GLAM summits, work done by the Ottawa Declaration Working Group, findings from the Value Study of GLAMs in Canada, as well as the GLAM narrative.

We look forward to collaborating together!

Appendix: List of Think Tank Participants