August 1, 2005, vol. 2, no. 4
Image Stuff Home

Editors: Marlene Gordon (University of Michigan-Dearborn) & Corey Schultz (Stanford University)

Table of Contents
Changes to Image Stuff
Just in on the Professional Development Front - SEI Update
Orphan Works Roundables Held
2005-2006 Membership Services Coordination
Upcoming Conferences

Positions Filled
Chapter News



Changes to Image Stuff
Corey Schultz has retired as Image Stuff Co-editor. Corey, VR Manager at Stanford University, co-founded Image Stuff with Kristin Solias at UMASS Boston. He will be moving back to Canada to take care of his father and settle his estate, but will hopefully be back in the VR-world in the future!

Just in on the Professional Development Front - SEI Update
By Maureen Burns (UC Irvine) and Trudy Jacoby (Princeton University), SEI Co-Chairs

SEI Attendees, 2005
SEI Attendees, 2005

The second annual Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management (SEI), co-sponsored by ARLIS/NA and VRA, took place at Duke University from July 5th to 9th. The goals of SEI were to provide information professionals with a substantive educational and professional development opportunity focused on digital images, the information and experience needed to stay current in a rapidly changing field, and the opportunity to create a network of supportive colleagues.

Participants came from the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands. The majority of attendees were from library and visual resources organizations, while archives and museums from the non-academic world were also represented. Students received written supplementary material, which included: a notebook with extensive information on each module, flyers from a number of vendors and professional organizations, the ARLIS/NA-VRA Guidelines to the Visual Resources Profession, and publications generously donated by the Getty Research Institute.

A number of skilled, experienced, and enthusiastic instructors developed and presented the curriculum modules, demonstrated software, and participated in spirited discussions. The instructors included: Howard Brainen, Maureen Burns, Sarah Cheverton, Sherman Clarke, Trudy Jacoby, Trudy Levy, Lee Sorensen, Tina Updike, Mary Wasserman, Margaret Webster, Madelyn Wessel, Karin Whalen, and Ann Whiteside. There was also an energetic Implementation Team that worked all year long to bring the SEI to fruition. Members included (with primary roles): Maureen Burns and Trudy Jacoby (Co-Chairs), Eileen Fry (Development), Mark Pompelia (Web Page), Corey Schultz (Curriculum), John Taormina (Local Planning), Karin Whalen (Future Planning), and Ann Whiteside (Instructor Liaison).

A number of sponsors provided valuable support for SEI 2005. Donors included: Duke University, the Art Institute of Chicago, Two Cat Digital, the Getty Foundation (CCO curriculum and training), the Getty Research Institute, Eileen Fry and B.J. Irvine, Cathie Lemon, Maureen Burns and Trudy Jacoby and, of course, the two sponsoring organizations, ARLIS/NA and VRA. The funds supported facilities, equipment, instructional materials, training, and refreshments. We are most appreciative of such support - thank you for your generosity.

SEI was not all work and no play. John Taormina served as the local arrangements planner and all of the Duke staff provided a warm welcome and terrific support throughout the week. The first evening's reception was held in the "Pink Room," an elegant Rococo facility on Duke's East campus. Attendees organized, carpooled, and all went out on their own for Carolina BBQ.

The following comments were received:

  • "A wonderful experience! The camaraderie and generosity of all involved was energizing and very encouraging to both the beginning VR professional and to those of us who have been in the business for a long time."
  • "Thank you all for your commitment to providing this much-needed program. It's great learning from those in the thick of things and on the cutting edge."
  • "The SEI planners and presenters did a great job in anticipating and preparing the most timely topics of interest (not an easy job in a fast changing profession!)."

For more information on the 2005 SEI, see http://www.vraweb.org/2005sei/index.html

SEI 2006 will take place at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, hosted by Karin Whalen. More information will be posted on the SEI website as it becomes available.


SEI Faculty, 2005

SEI Faculty, 2005.
From left to right: Mary Wasserman (Philadelphia Museum of Art), Maureen Burns (UC Irvine), Trudy Jacoby (Princeton University), John Taormina (Duke University), Margaret N. Webster (Cornell University), Howard Brainen (Two Cat Digital) & Lee Sorensen (Duke University). Not pictured: Sarah Cheverton (James Madison University), Sherman Clarke (New York University), Trudy Levy (Image Integration), Christina B. Updike (James Madison University), Madelyn Wessel (University of Virginia), Karin Whalen (Reed College), & Ann Baird Whiteside (University of Virginia).

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Orphan Works Roundtables Held
By Jane Darcovich (University of Illinois at Chicago) - VRA Intellectual Property Rights Committee

Continuing its study launched in January of this year into the issues and concerns raised by orphan works, the U.S. Copyright Office recently held public roundtable discussions to gather further information on several issues raised, and to address "whether there are compelling concerns that merit a legislative, regulatory or other solution, and what type of solution could effectively address these concerns without conflicting with the legitimate interests of authors and right holders." [1]

Initial comments on the orphan works issue (that is, copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to identify or locate) were due in late March, followed by a call for reply comments, due May 9th. The Copyright Office received approximately 850 unique comments during these periods, all of which have been posted on their website (http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/).

The first two roundtable sessions were held in Washington D.C. on July 26th and 27th. A third session was held August 2nd at the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. Four key topics were identified for discussion at both the Washington D. C. and Berkeley roundtables:

Topic 1: Identification of Orphan Works
Within this specific area of concern, the Copyright Office sought further discussion about the "due diligence/reasonable efforts" search approach and standard, as well as the role of registries of copyright ownership information.

Topic 2: Consequences of an "Orphan Works" Designation
Further information was sought to illuminate the issue of the nature and degree of consequences, including the "limitations on remedies" approach, exemption and public domain approaches, and payment of fees by the user.

Topic 3: Reclaiming Orphan Works
Further exploration of the consequences of owner reappearance was sought, including the burden of proof in litigation, on issues such as the reasonableness of a user's search.

Topic 4: International Issues
Additional information about experiences in other countries with orphan works issues was sought. Again, though addressed in the original and reply comments, further information concerning compliance of the various proposed solutions with the Berne Convention prohibition against formalities, as well as compliance of these alternatives with the TRIPS/Berne "three-step" test for limitations or exceptions was sought.

The roundtable discussions will be transcribed, and made available on the
Copyright Office website.

1. Notice filed by Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights. Published in the Federal Register Notices, Vol. 70, No. 129, July 7, 2005. Available online at: http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2005/70fr39341.pdf

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2005-2006 Membership Services Coordination

The Executive Board would like to announce VRA's new Membership Services Coordinator (MSC) for 2005-2006, VRA member Liz Edgar Hernandez (The Teaching Company). Liz is an active member of the Association and has served as co-chair of the Development Committee for several years. Over the next several months, we will be introducing several exciting new online features for our membership and one of Liz's first tasks will be to set up the new online membership renewal process through MemberClicks. Once this renewal process is completed in the fall, the 2006 Sourcebook will be available to "members-only" online. The Sourcebook will be an up-to-the-minute directory of current members and their contact information. Other MemberClicks features will be explored during the next year in an effort to enhance VRA membership services. VRA membership contact email and address will remain the same, but the phone number will change to 202-422-4876 (for more information, check http://www.vraweb.org/membership.html).

Although we are sorry to see Jenni Rodda step down from the MSC position, she is passing the MSC baton to another very capable VRA member interested in assisting the Association in the area of membership services. The Executive Board would like to thank Jenni for serving for two years as VRA's first MSC. During that time, Jenni helped the Executive Board establish many of the protocols now in place for membership services. Jenni is currently involved in other important VRA projects such as the North American Lantern Slide Survey (NALSS), is serving as VRD moderator for ARLIS/NA this year and is currently building a 40,000-record image database at IFA between now and September 1st!

Join us in welcoming Liz Edgar Hernandez to the Membership Services Coordinator position. And many thanks to Jenni for her service as VRA's first MSC!

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Upcoming Conferences

MCN: Digits Fugit! Preserving Knowledge into the Future, 33rd Annual Conference, Boston, MA, November 2-5, 2005.
http://www.mcn.edu/Mcn2005/index.htm

CHArt: Theory and Practice, 21st Annual Conference, London, England, November 10-11, 2005.
http://www.chart.ac.uk/

CAA: Boston, MA, February 22-25, 2006.
http://www.collegeart.org/conference/

VRA: Image is Everything, 24th Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, March 6-11, 2006.
http://www.vraweb.org/2006VRAAnnualCall.html

ARLIS/NA: Transcontinental Perspectives: ARLIS/NA in the Canadian Rockies, 34th Annual Conference, Banff, Alberta, Canada, May 5-9, 2006.
http://www.arliscanada.ca/banff2006/

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Positions Filled

Image Stuff congratulates Gretchen Tuchel, new Director of Visual Resources at the University of Chicago. In 2001, Gretchen began her MLIS at Dominican University with the intention of becoming a corporate librarian. After managing two Mellon-funded projects at the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago, she became interested in the sustainable preservation of web-based political communications, metadata, XML schemes, and web crawling. In the fall of 2003, she made the jump into visual resources and worked as the curator at both the College of St. Catherine (CSC) and the University of St. Thomas (UST). She implemented Luna Insight at UST, and MDID at CSC. In her new position, she looks forward to developing a digital collection that will serve the academic community, and thanks her VRA connections for serving as her "lifeline for everything from database construction to solving a mystery slide" and providing "a priceless network of support".

If you have accepted a new position or know of someone who has, please contact Marlene (mgordon@umich.edu). Please include contact information and a brief biographic statement on the individual.

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Chapter News

The Pacific Rim Chapter's annual meeting will take place on Saturday, August 27th at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. Margo Ballantyne, VR curator at Lewis and Clark, and Karin Whalen, VR librarian at Reed College in Portland, will co-host the meeting. The meeting agenda includes presentations on CCO (Cataloging Cultural Objects) and Digital Asset Management systems, tours of Lewis and Clark's VR facility and new "green" building, Howard Hall, with its state-of-the-art classroom technology, and the Chapter's annual business meeting.

VRA members in the Pacific Rim area should have received an invitation and registration form in the mail (if you did not, please contact the Chapter Secretary, Jennifer Rowan, of the University of Oregon's Architecture and Allied Arts Library's Visual Resources Collection at jrowan@darkwing.uoregon.edu). The exciting program for the meeting will make it hard, we hope, for our local colleagues to resist this opportunity to get together and talk image stuff!

The Pacific Rim Chapter also congratulates Chapter members Karin Whalen, of Reed College in Portland, and Chris Sundt, of the University of Oregon in Eugene. Karin will host the 2006 SEI (Summer Education Institute), a joint program of VRA and ARLIS/NA, and Chris was recently elected to the Executive Committee of CAA (College Art Association)!

If you would like more information on any of the other regional chapters, please contact the appropriate chapter chairperson. A list of the chapters and contact information is posted on the VRA website (www.vraweb.org/organization/chapters.html.

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