Second Stop...Curating a Collaborative Collection

At this stop on the Brain Train, we’ll be working together to create digital collections on the theme of travel.  We’ll be curating digital objects into different collections based on countries, cities, or places both real and imagined.  This station will focus on developing three of the Ten Skills.

• Virtual Collaboration – At this stop we’ll be working with others to pull together information found online into location-based collections.
• Cross-Cultural Competency - We'll be working together to explore a variety of cultures and cultural objects and records, pulling together what is specifically regional, but also finding common or shared ground.
• New Media Literacy – At this stop we’ll be evaluating online content by collecting the best sites, blogs, images, videos or audio that help us explore a place.  We’ll be using Pinterest to capture these collections.    

What is Pinterest?

Imagine a bulletin board where you pin interesting photographs or newspaper cuttings or images torn from a magazine.  Now imagine that your friends, family members and even people you don’t know have these kinds of bulletin boards too – and you can grab things from their boards that you'd like to put on your own.  This is Pinterest: an online bulletin board where you can grab things you like, organize them based on your interests, and share with others.

New to Pinterest?

First, go to http://pinterest.com/ and select to “Join Pinterest.”  If you’re already on Facebook or Twitter, you can use either of these accounts to create one for Pinterest.  You can also choose to create an account with an e-mail address. If you prefer, you can use your work email to create a work Pinterest account instead of using your personal Pinterest account.  Once you’ve created your account, take a look at the BrainTrain Pinterest Boards.  These are the boards that you will be contributing to.

Pinterest Primer

If you’re new to Pinterest or you’re on Pinterest already and need some help, take a glance at these helpful hints.

In the upper right-hand corner you'll see your Pinterest name and your avatar if you've uploaded one.  When you hover over your name, you'll see a drop-down menu that will help you navigate the site.  "Add a Pin" is one of the most important options you'll use during this project.  When you select "Add a Pin" you'll have two options: Choose File - or - Find Images to Pin.

Find Images to Pin: This is the primary method you’ll use to add content to the board or boards you’re interested in.  When you find a website worth adding and sharing, copy the web address.  Select "Add a Pin" and paste the web address into the space provided.  You’ll notice that it says “Find Images” rather than just “Pin It!”  Just like a bulletin board full of photographs, Pinterest is a very visual way of organizing content.  For some websites you might have several image options and others you’ll have fewer.  Scroll down through the images until you find one you like.  Make sure you select which board you want to pin to, add a description of what you’re pinning and then Pin It!

Choose File: Maybe you have a photo you’d like to upload to Pinterest to share with others.  If you select to choose a file, you’ll need to browse your computer for the image.  Once you find the correct picture, select open.  You should see a preview of your picture on the right.  Select which board you want to pin it to, add a description of what you’re pinning and then Pin It!

Create a Board: Boards are how you organize your pins.  I have boards for recipes, interior design, fashion, library program ideas, and books I’ve enjoyed.  I have friends who have boards just of cars, as a planning space for their child’s first birthday party, for health and fitness tips, or a place to put things they find inspirational.  The possibilities are endless.  If you are new to Pinterest, I would recommend creating a board or two to help get you comfortable with pinning.

Now that you’ve had a chance to learn about Pinterest, it's time to get started.

In this module, staff members will contribute to system-wide Pinterest board focusing on Travel (just in time for Summer Reading).  To earn credit for this module, you must pin a total of 10 items onto one or more travel boards, which can be found here.  You can choose to pin to a board that is already set up, or you may ask for a new board to be created.  When you are ready to start pinning, follow these steps:

1. Sign up for a Pinterest account.  If you already have a Pinterest account, you may use that or you can create a new one with your work email for the purpose of this module.
2. Click on this FORM and include the following:
1. Name
2. Branch
3. Work email
4. Email address used for your Pinterest account
5. Name of board or boards you would like to pin to or see created


You will then receive an email inviting you to begin pinning to your selected boards.  You must accept this invitation to begin pinning.
3. Pin items pertaining to that board’s travel destination.  Possible items to pin include books, movies, recipes, cultural information, fashion, sports, history or anything you think will be interesting to someone viewing this board.  Some of these boards may be highlighted each week on www.hcpl.net during the Summer Reading Program.  If you are pinning books or movies, they MUST be titles available in our system and the image must be taken from our catalog.  In addition, all books and movies must link back to the HCPL catalog.  For instructions on how to pin items from our catalog, please see How to Pin from the HCPL Catalog.
4. When you pin something, please put something short and descriptive in the comments box.  You must include your name and branch initials to receive credit for the pin.  For example Christina/NC or Meredith @ FM.
5. Important-please make sure your pins link to websites with good information.  Remember that these boards may be made available to the library's customers so make sure the links work and that they link to appropriate information.
6. If you upload personal photos, we must have photo release forms for anybody featured in your pictures.  Again, remember that these are public boards representing HCPL.
7. When you have finished pinning your 10 items, fill out this FORM telling us what you pinned in which travel destinations so that we can give you credit for completion.
8. Be sure to check the boards later!  It will be fun to see what other staff members find interesting about all of the destinations.


You will have until June 14th to contribute your 10 pins to the collaborative boards.
Happy Pinning!


When you have submitted your Pins for this station, you will receive your medal and get 1 hour of training.