Wednesday, March 28
7:30-9 a.m.
First-Time Attendees and New Members Breakfast
Rooftop Bar
This annual breakfast is a great chance for those who are attending their first VRA conference to mix and mingle with both new and longtime members of the Association. It is also a terrific opportunity to be paired with an experienced VRA member through the VRA mentor program, so be sure to sign up when you register for the conference!
7:30-9 a.m.
Meeting: CCO Committee
Pavilion One
8 am-6:00 pm
Registration Desk
Pavilion Five
VRA History Display
Pavilion Foyer
8 am-5:00 pm
VRAffle
Pavilion Six
9-10:30 a.m.
Session 4: Strategies for Data Migration in the age of CCO and VRA Core 4.0
Salon lll
The publication of Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO) and the upcoming release of the VRA Core 4.0 represent significant milestones for the visual resources community, but these developments come with a host of challenges for image collections seeking to upgrade their existing databases to conform to the new standards. Chief among the challenges for these collections is moving from item-level cataloging in a flat structure to implementing related work and image records in a relational environment. Depending on the nature of the database, this transition will often mean migrating legacy data from a flat system into a relational one.
The purpose of this session is to first address the problem of data migration from a theoretical perspective, and then to provide a series of case studies showing how the problem has been dealt with in a variety of real-world contexts. The goal is not to present a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather to demonstrate a variety of strategies of data migration in different contexts ranging from small visual resources collections with minimal support to a large museum with an extensive infrastructure. The case studies will endeavor to show both the successes and necessary compromises made in the course of the migration and how these have affected the final outcome and the ongoing processes.
| Moderator: | Jan Eklund, University of California, Berkley |
| Speakers: | Trish Rose-Sandler, University of California, San Diego Johanna Bauman, Bard Graduate Center Susan Jane Williams, Saskia Ltd and Scholars Resource Billy Kwan, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Seminar 2: 35mm Slide Collections: Retention Criteria, Preservation Issues, Donation Ideas
Salon ll
What should happen to the 35mm slides that have been the mainstay of visual resources collections for the past 25 years? As collections move increasingly towards digital media, how can curators best judge what 35mm slides to keep and what to discard? How can we best preserve the slides we do keep? Can we donate de-accessioned slides in a meaningful and legal manner?
This panel will examine the 35mm slide collection in transition. We will discuss ideas for retention criteria, best practices for preserving slides and housing them in VR facilities of the 21st century, and some avenues for donation of discarded material.
| Organizer: | Heather Seneff, University of Washington |
| Moderator: | Eileen Fry, Indiana University |
| Speakers: | Jenni Rodda, New York University, Institute of Fine Arts
Meghan Dougherty, University of Washington |
11 am-12:30 pm
Session 5: From Fair Use to Fair Trading: Creating a Digital Image Matchmaking Commons
Salon ll
Should the VRA facilitate the establishment of a digital image matchmaking commons--a virtual, utopian place where potential partners can publicize goods or discover a good match thereby fostering expanded cooperative endeavors? Now that professionals are deeply engaged in the transition from analog to digital images, and considering image services, software development, and emergent business models, might an extension to collaborative models of "fair trading" be possible? This session will explore possibilities, raise questions, and provide a forum for brainstorming about: 1) how to find collaborators, 2) what form such a commons might take, 3) the thorny issues associated with shared digital resources, and, 4) how the interests of disparate groups might be integrated through the creation of a VRA digital image matchmaking commons.
| Organizer: | Jacquelyn Erdman, Florida Atlantic University |
| Moderator: | Maureen Burns, University of California-Irvine |
| Speakers: | Allan Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art & Design
Richard Urban, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign Christina Updike and Andreas Knab, James Madison University |
| Sponsored by the DIAG (Digital Initiatives Advisory Group) and complementary to the session “Is Anyone Using?: A Cavalcade of Interoperability Strategies” | |
12:30-2 pm Lunch
Meeting: VRADS Committee
Pavilion One
Meeting: Development Committee
Pavilion Two
Meeting: Financial Advisory Committee
Conference Suite 441
Ask the Experts
Jenni Rodda, Bridging the Gap Between Analog and Digital
Wondering how to interest your constituents in new digital tools? How to handle the changes in administration that changes in technologies bring? Confused about the difference between licensed content and licensed access? Bring your questions--and your coffee-- to this 'Ask the Expert' session, chaired by Jenni Rodda, IFA/NYU.
Megan Battey, Teaching Teachers ARTstor and MDID
I have conducted intensive one-on-one training sessions with faculty (art history and other disciplines) and taught group workshops as well. Adapting my training to the different learning styles of the faculty, I have enjoyed some success breaking down barriers of those who are reluctant or technology-resistant. I would be happy to share my insights and strategies with others.
Trudy Levy, Strategic Planning
This Experts session will help you find the missing pieces in your plan. Haven't started one? Then lets talks about the form and questions you need to answer.
By Prior Reservation Only. Contact Marcia Focht, mfocht@binghamton.edu for more information.
Birds-of-a-Feather Network Luncheons:
Oak Room
The MDID2 System
Christina Updike, James Madison University
Heather Seneff, University of Washington, Seattle
This luncheon is for experienced MDID2 users, new adopters, and those simply interested in learning more about the system. It will give you the opportunity to discuss MDID2 with one of its creators, Christina Updike, and a veteran user and MDID2 expert, Heather Seneff. From faculty training to workflows, from early challenges to successes, this will be a great time to chat informally about this widely-used system.
Job and Career Issues
Betha Whitlow, Washington University in St. Louis (outgoing VP for Conference Program)
Macie Hall, Johns Hopkins University (VRA President)
Are you in the middle of a job reclassification, considering a move within the VR community, looking at further training, or simply interested in hearing about colleagues experiences in the field? Current VRA President Macie Hall and VRA VP for Conference Program Betha Whitlow will lead discussion on Job and Career issues of interest to participants.
2-5 pm
Workshop 2: XML, the VRA Core, and the Image Collection
Salon lll
This workshop will offer participants the opportunity to learn about XML, how it works, and how to write it themselves. In the workshop, participants will see first hand how the VRA Core schema transfers image collection data. The workshop will be led by Patrick Yott, who is the Head of the Digital Scholarship Service at Brown University. He had extensive experience teaching XML through NELINET and ARL.
| Organizer: | Elizabeth Gushee, University of Virginia |
| Instructor: | Patrick Yott, Brown University |
2-3:30 pm
Mini-Workshop: CCO and VRA Core 4.0
Salon ll
This free mini-workshop workshop is targeted at conference attendees who are already attempting to implement CCO at their institution and desire to discuss implementation issues. The workshop will provide guided self-help to assist the participants in moving forward with the implementation of standards in the context of their specific local situations. Those who need comprehensive instruction about CCO should attend Saturday's day-long CCO and VRA Core 4.0 workshop, “Image Metadata Crash Course.”
The format of the workshop will be “seminar” style and example driven with the topics for discussion solicited from the participants.The content will be built around these issues. The experts will speak briefly about selected issues and propose appropriate solutions; the participants will then be asked to brainstorm and ask further questions.
This workshop will not present or focus on the CCO Guidelines or the VRA Core although the participants should be well acquainted with this material as the discussions will be informed by these documents.This will not be a cataloging workshop.It will be a new forum which fosters dialog between the participants on the one hand and the leaders and experts on the other about specific issues that we all encounter in the field.We hope that it will bridge a gap between and complement the full day workshop, “Image Metadata Crash Course” and the one-on-one “Ask the Experts” opportunities.
We anticipate fruitful, grassroots generated discussions on issues that arise when implementations occur are constrained by limited or restricted resourcessuch as when a collection lacks a cataloger or when it does not have a VRA Core compliant relational database.What does one do when one is working with flat data?How does one work with an end user front end that is flat even when the back end database is relational?How does one deal with personal collections?How might one incorporate folksonomys and social tagging in our systems?How does one develop workflows that gets the work done while incorporating as much as possible from VRA Core, the CCO, and other appropriate authorities?
Sign-up for this workshop is first-come, first served, and limited at 20 participants.
| Moderators: | Marcia Focht, Binghamton University Margaret Webster, Cornell University |
4 -5:30 pm
Special User’s Group 3: ARTstor Special User’s Group Meeting
Salon ll
ARTstor is a digital library of images, associated information, and software tools designed to enhance teaching, learning, and scholarship. ARTstor contains over 400,000 images of art, architecture, and archaeology from a wide range of cultures and time periods. ARTstor representatives will give short presentations on several topics, including: forthcoming collections, technology enhancements, international outreach, ongoing initiatives, etc. A Q & A session will follow conference participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance to the moderator.
| Speakers: | Max Marmor, ARTstor Barbara Rockenbach, ARTstor Carole Ann Fabian, ARTstor |
6:30-9:30 p.m.
The VRA Member’s Reception
Salon 1A and 1B and Ballroom Prefunction
VRA Member’s reception and Keynote Address is always the highlight event of our annual conference. Please join fellow conference attendees to mingle, and enjoy a cash bar, dinner, the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award, and what promises to be an illuminating talk by our keynote speaker, keynote speaker Eleanor Fink, the second president of VRA, now the Senior Cultural Heritage Specialist at the World Bank. *Registration for this event is required, as tickets will be issued.
