Social Media Collecting at the National Library of New Zealand

Collecting content from the internet is an increasingly significant part of collection building at the National Library of New Zealand. Social media collecting is a new aspect of our digital collecting. We currently collect social media both under our legal deposit legislation and through donation as part of personal papers or archives. Social media offers unique content and voices, not always available in other formats. While this gives us new opportunities to diversify our collections, it isn’t without challenges. Content is shifting away from traditional websites to social media. This is understandable – it’s easier to post content, quick to circulate and cheaper. However, it is also comes with new collecting challenges.