SEMINARS

Job Burnout - dying battery or blown bulb?

Organizer: Linda Callahan, Mount Holyoke College
Presenter: Sally B. Philips, EdD, CEAP, University of Miami

Every job has the potential of draining and debilitating its worker. Every worker has the professional responsibility of maintaining him or herself in good working order. Thus, tension may exist between the demands of the job and the recharging needs of the worker. In any complex situation, self-discipline is a necessary component in creating a resolution. Yet, without a clear understanding of one's values, a commitment to act on these values, and knowledge of useful options, self-discipline may not be enough. This seminar will explore ways in which professionals, no matter what their professions, can make self-preserving choices and continue to contribute to challenging jobs. In particular, the special challenges of being visual resources professionals in a rapidly changing technological landscape will be addressed.

Seminar 2
Monday March 7th, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Case Studies in Digitizing: image databases, course reserves, and finding aids

This panel will discuss ways that the speakers created digital image collections, from digitizing images for a single course to scanning an entire slide library.  Speakers will emphasize "case studies"; goals and intentions, project management, problems, successes and surprises that they encountered.

Moderator: Maryly Snow

Presenters:
1.  Kristin Solias, UMASS Boston. Starting a Digital Program One Image at a Time

2.  Vickie O'Riordan, UC San Diego. There's No Crying in Grant Work: UCSD's Slide Digitization Project

3.  Ed Loera, Portland State University: Open  Source Software: A Viable Option for Art   Libraries

Seminar 3
Tuesday March 8th, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Creating a Digital Strategic Plan: from start to finish and somewhere in-between.

Organizer and moderator: Lynn M. Lickteig, University of Colorado at Denver

 As the currently evolving state of an image collection makes the transition from analog to digital, many VRA members have been asked to create a digital strategic plan to address this transition in their institutions.  A number of questions arise with this challenge:  What are the preparatory steps that need to be addressed before a plan can be written? What are the key components of a plan? Who is the intended audience for the plan? What time frame should the plan cover? What impacts will the plan have on staffing?  What technical issues should be addressed in the access, retrieval and delivery of digital information?   How does a multi-campus or unit plan differ from a departmental plan?  Panelists will address these questions from their own experiences on the topic, including the reality that many plans never made it to a final written form, and that modifications often had to be made on the fly.  

Presenters:
1.  Elaine Paul, University of Colorado at Boulder. Planning for the Plan: Preliminary Steps Toward Articulating Needs and Garnering Support

2.  Eric Schwab, Ontario College of Art and Design. Moving from Analog to Digital: How to Plan When No Plan Exists.

3.  Lynn Lickteig, University of Colorado at Denver. The Nuts and Bolts of a Digital Plan: From Outline to Final Form

4: John Taormina, Duke University "Ideal Plans, Real Executions: Developing a Flexible Digital Strategy"

5.  Ann Baird Whiteside, University of Virginia. Opportunities for Creative Staffing: How to Make More Out of Little

6.  Trudy Levy, Image Integration. Access: Retrieval and Delivery

7.  Maureen Burns, University of California at Irvine. The Value of Experiential Learning: The University of California's Digital Image Service Demonstrator Project

8.  Christina Updike, James Madison University. A Campus Collaboration: Implementing a Digital Strategic Plan

Seminar 4
Wednesday March 9th, 12:30 pm-2:00 pm

Educational and Career Opportunities for VR Professionals

Co-organizers: Hemalata Iyer, The University at Albany, SUNY and Jeanne M. Keefe, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Moderator: Jeanne M. Keefe, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

A descriptive overview of alternative career opportunities for people currently in the VR profession. Aside from the traditional librarian and curatorial tracts, we will discuss the opportunities available to those who are willing to redefine their careers in archival work, publishing and the communication fields for example. For those needing to upgrade their academic credentials, we will discuss opportunities for higher education, programs and coursework that are appropriate for those wishing to expand their present careers or facilitate a change to a higher level of participation.

Presenters.
1. Hemalata Iyer, The University at Albany, SUNY. Educational preparation for a mid-career
"COURSE" change.

2. Liz Edgar Hernandez, Working Outside the Box:  A Visual Resources Professional in the Private Sector. 

3. Jeanne M. Keefe, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. From Photo Archivist to Slide Curator to VR Librarian and Beyond....: