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Advice to museums, historic sites: Pin it!

Rutgers–Camden hosts a workshop on using Pinterest for public history organizations.

Chances of local museums and historic sites reversing their "Do Not Touch" policies may be slim, but a new phrase might soon pop up: Please pin it!

A workshop next Monday at Rutgers–Camden will explore the possibilities of using Pinterest for public history organizations, including museums, libraries, and historic sites.

Michelle Moravec, a history professor at Rosemont College and director of the school's Women's and Gender Studies program, will lead the two-hour boot camp, which begans 10 a.m. in the Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers–Camden.

"Pinterest is seen as this site where people just pin pictures of food and clothes and pretty things, but what [Moravec] is going to be talking about and teaching people to do is think about how Pinterest can be so much more than that," said Mary Rizzo, the public historian in residence for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers–Camden.

About two dozen attendees are expected, Rizzo said. They include directors of area historical societies and museums, she said.

"How could you use Pinterest to create a tour of your local area, or the area around your museum? Or how can you use Pinterest to connect to an exhibit that you're doing at your historic society?" Rizzo said Tuesday. "It really is a pretty intriguing twist on how we generally think of how people would use Pinterest or really any social media platform."

The workshop begins with the technical basics of using the site, but is also focused on the creative thought process behind adapting the social media site to individual organizations' needs.

"It is really important for public history organizations like museums and historical societies … to think about how they can use that to make themselves more visible, increase engagement … and deepen their connection with the public," Rizzo said.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Digital Studies Center at Rutgers–Camden. Registration costs $15 and is available online.