June 2006 vol. 3, no. 3
Image Stuff Home
Editorial and Technical Staff
Editor:
Marlene Gordon (University of Michigan-Dearborn)
Associate Editors:
Dana Felder (Cooper Union)
Steve Kowalik (Hunter College)
Technical Advisor:
Trudy Levy (Image Integration)
Contributing Editors:
Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights
Jane Darcovich (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Digital Scene and Heard
Jacquelyn Erdman (Florida Atlantic University)
Contributions to Image Stuff are due the 15th of the month before the issue. Please send your copy in ".doc" format
VRA 2007 Call For Proposals
Nominations Sought for 2006 VRA Executive Board
2007 VRA Nancy Delaurier Award Call For Nominations
2007 VRA Distinguished Service Award Call For Nominations
Fair Use Issues Take Center Stage
Digital Scene and Heard
Chapter News
VRA 2007 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
By Betha Whitlow (Washington University in St. Louis)
The Visual Resources Association’s 25th Annual Conference will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, March 26th-April 1st, 2007, at the centrally located Hotel Intercontinental Plaza.
We are now soliciting proposals for the 2007 program—sessions, seminars, workshops, papers, and special interest groups. Areas of interest include, but are certainly not limited to: digital photography; digital imaging and presentation technologies; strategic planning; the electronic classroom; cataloguing and metadata (including non-western and special topics cataloguing; trend forecasting for the visual resources profession and the expanding role of visual resources curatorship; navigating the workplace and professional status; utilizing technology in pedagogy; working with faculty and students in the digital age; copyright and fair use, including international and museum-related copyright issues; visual resources in museums and in specialized art and design institutions; and introductory and mid-career topics to benefit the range of our professionals. We are always looking for ways to round out our programming and make it fresh and unique for our attendees, so we also encourage submissions in VR-related areas not listed above.
The online proposal form can be found at: http://www.vraweb.org/2007OnlineProposalForm.htm or from the link at www.vraweb.org The proposal deadline is June 23, 2006.
Please note that the quality of our conferences depends upon your ideas and contributions. If there is an area of concern or interest that you feel has not been addressed in previous programs, please consider submitting a proposal. If you have questions about the process, I hope that you will feel comfortable contacting me so that I can give you more information or direction to complete your proposal, or provide clarification regarding the various presentation formats included within our program.
NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR 2006 VRA EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTIONS
By Ann Burns (University of Virginia)
Three key positions on the Executive Board - President Elect, Vice-President for Conference Program, and Secretary - come vacant at the 2007 annual conference. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Ann Burns, University of Virginia, is actively seeking nominations for these positions. Running for office is an excellent way to serve the Visual Resources Association, get to know more of your colleagues in the field, and give yourself an opportunity to grow professionally. If you are interested in serving on the Executive Board please feel free to contact any previous officers; they would be happy to share their experiences and reflections of their time in office. The Committee encourages members to place themselves, or other qualified individuals, in consideration for nomination by contacting the Chair.
For the first year the President Elect performs such duties as the President may assign until taking over the office as President. The President serves as the executive officer of the organization, oversees and coordinates the activities of the other officers and the committees, convenes the Executive Board meetings, and represents the organization. The Vice President for Conference Program serves as program coordinator for the annual conference, working with the Vice President for Conference Arrangements, the Secretary and the Public Relations and Communications Officer. The Secretary is in charge of conference pre-registration, keeps minutes of all VRA meetings and handles other official paperwork for the organization.
For more detailed information please consult Articles III, IV, and V of the VRA Bylaws, which can be found on the VRA website, http://vraweb.org/bylaws.html. If you have further questions please feel free to contact: Ann Burns, Chair, VRA 2006 Nominating Committee, Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library, University of Virginia, P. O. Box 400131, Charlottesville, VA 22904, phone: 434-924-6606, e-mail: arb5w@virginia.edu.
AWARDS
By John Taormina (Duke University)
2007 VRA NANCY DELAURIER AWARD, CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Nancy DeLaurier Award, named for one of the pioneers of the visual resources profession, annually honors a visual resources professional for distinguished achievement in the field. "Achievement" is measured by immediate impact, and may take the form of published work, oral presentation, project management, software development, technology application, website creation, or other outstanding effort.
Nominations are now being solicited for the 2007 VRA Nancy DeLaurier Award. A dossier, consisting of a cover letter from the nominator(s) describing the nature of the achievement, the candidate's curriculum vitae, and supporting letters and documentation, will constitute an appropriate nomination. Electronic nominations via e-mail or fax will be accepted only if all supporting documentation may be submitted in that format. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend up to two recipients of the Award in any given cycle; recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board.
Although nominations are initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees need not be members of the organization. Nominations should not include current members of the VRA Awards Committee.
Nominations are due to the VRA Awards Committee Chair at the address below no later than October 15, 2006:
John J. Taormina
Dept. of Art and Art History
Duke University
Box 90764
112 East Duke Building
Durham NC 27708
ph: 919-684-2501
fax: 919-684-4398
2007 VRA DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD, CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Each year the Visual Resources Association honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. Nominees must have achieved a level of distinction in the field either through leadership, research, or service to the profession. Someone could also be considered who has shown outstanding innovation, participation, or project management.
Nominations are now being solicited for the 2007 VRA Distinguished Service Award. A dossier, consisting of a cover letter from the nominator(s) describing how the nominee meets the criteria, the candidate's curriculum vitae, and supporting letters and documentation, will constitute an appropriate nomination. Electronic nominations via e-mail or fax will be accepted only if all supporting documentation may be submitted in that format. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend one recipient of the Award in any given cycle; recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board.
Although nominations are initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees need not be members of the organization. Nominations should not include current members of the VRA Awards Committee.
Nominations are due to the VRA Awards Committee Chair at the address below no later than October 15, 2006:
John J. Taormina
Dept. of Art and Art History
Duke University
Box 90764
112 East Duke Building
Durham NC 27708
ph: 919-684-2501
fax: 919-684-4398
FAIR USE ISSUES TAKE CENTER STAGE
By Jane Darcovich (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Intellectual Property Rights Committee
The topic of fair use is one that is frequently in the news in recent months, as it is discussed by legislators, the courts and in the academy. In answer to the question “What is currently happening in support of fair use?” here are some answers.
First, in the legislative arena: on May 22, House IP subcommittee Chair Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced H. R. 5439, the “Orphan Works Act of 2006”, which in general adopts the recommendations proposed in the U. S. Copyright Office Report on the issue. The newly introduced bill passed very quickly through the Subcommittee, and was forwarded to the full committee (House Judiciary Committee) on May 24th with no amendments.
The introduction of the bill follows the March 8th presentation of the U. S. Copyright Office’s Report on Orphan Works http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat030806.html to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary. The presentation of this report marked the culmination of the work accomplished since January 2005 in studying this issue, reflecting the input and formal statements of a large number of museum, library, cultural and educational institutions, including the Visual Resources Association.
The Visual Resources Association was also one of a group of thirty-three respondents to a call for written comments on the issues raised by the Section 108 Study Group regarding the exceptions and limitations provided by Section 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law for the purposes of archiving and preservation. In April 2006, members of VRA’s Intellectual Property Rights Committee developed a statement http://www.loc.gov/section108/docs/Hall_VRA.pdf outlining the position of the VRA. Approved by our executive board and signed by President Macie Hall, the comments were forwarded to the Section 108 Study Group Committee, and have become part of the public record.
Fair use issues are also being widely discussed in conferences and symposia. At the recent annual meeting (May 11- 13) of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) http://www.acls.org/mor-am.htm, Dr. Paul Courant (University of Michigan) drew attention to the current situation where scholarly information is increasingly becoming privatized as it is made available through licensed databases. Dr. Courant decried this situation as one leading to “a pervasive inaccessibility of cultural materials.”1 In response to this trend, he called for universities to take an active stand in favor of extending the fair use provisions of copyright law for scholarly publications.
As attending symposia and conferences is not always an option, online journals and blogs are important forum for keeping current on fair use issues. One online publication “Cites & Insights: Crawford at Large” described as a journal of libraries, policy, technology, and media, is written and produced by Walt Crawford, an author and senior analyst at RLG. The just released June issue http://cites.boisestate.edu/civ6i8.pdf features a lengthy article titled “Copyright: Finding a Balance”, which includes a discussion of the orphan works issues.
The January 2006 issue of “Cites & Insights” contains an insightful review of a report by Marjorie Heins and Tricia Beckles of the Free Expression Policy Project (a project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law) titled “Will Fair Use Survive?” http://cites.boisestate.edu/v6i1e.htm. In March 2006, FEPP (Free Expression Policy Project) launched the Fair Use Empowerment Initiative http://www.fepproject.org/fepp/FUEI.html, in order to implement some of the recommendations contained in the 2005 report. Plans include developing new resources to help artists, scholars, and others understand and defend their rights to fair use and free expression. This includes developing informational material, and expanding existing pro bono legal resources.
Copybites http://www.copybites.com/ is a useful blog that providesupdates on copyright news and court case summaries. As of this writing, the blog features a posting about glass artist Dale Chihuly’s attempt to sue two other glassblowers for creating what he termed “knockoffs” of his work. There are many cases of a similar nature happening among artists, and this blog provides a forum for their discussion. As well, the blog features postings about court cases involving copyright issues, and contains links to related material.
Keep an ear tuned for upcoming discussions on fair use. In mid-June, the 6th Annual Symposium on Intellectual Property, http://www.umuc.edu/cip/symposium/index.html, hosted by The Center for Intellectual Property at University of Maryland University College is being held. Titled “Copyright at a Crossroads: The Impact of Mass Digitization on Copyright and Higher Education”, the symposium features a keynote address by Siva Vaidhyanathan on “The Googlization of Culture.” As a response to the keynote address, a panel will discuss the impact of the Google Book Project, in an effort to assess the future of fair use in the digital environment. The symposium also has a session scheduled for discussion of recent legislative initiatives, specifically the Section 108 Study (Copyright Act amendments) and the Orphan Works bill.
1. Byrne, Richard. "Speakers at Convocation on Humanities Warn About Privatization of Materials". Chronicle of Higher Education, online edition, May 15, 2006. (Published in print edition, May 26, 2006: "Meeting Addresses Vigor of Humanities", p. A19.)
DIGITAL SCENE AND HEARD
By Jacquelyn Erdman (Florida Atlantic University)
Digital Initiatives Advisory Group
SPOTLIGHT ON DAI
By Reinhard Foertsch (University of Cologne)
Arachne is the central object-database of the German Archaeological Institute. In 2004, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Research Archive for Ancient Sculpture at the University of Cologne (FA) joined their efforts in providing and further developing Arachne as a tool for free internet-based research.
Arachne’s database design uses a world-model that tries to build on one of the most basic assumptions one can make about archaeology, classical archaeology or art history: all activities in these areas can generally be described as contextualizing objects. When researching project models, some had more complicated but less compatible world models. The model chosen by Arachne allows for a general information-retrieval of a powerful pool of material, whereas on the level of category-properties, very specific structures can be displayed.
Thanks to significant and ongoing support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Arachne started to integrate negative archives of ancient sculpture from large projects such as the German Archaeological Institute in Rome and the historic-glass-negative-collections German Archaeological Institutes in Athens, Cairo, and Istanbul.
As of March 2006, Arachne contains about 1146 registered users who can access 116,000 scans and 96,000 objects free of charge. Twenty to thirty years from now, about 700,000 images from the DAI could be expected in Arachne. With the addition of newly produced documentation, one could hope for 1 million objects.
Interoperability is key to how data is shared and connected, mainly between Arachne and several GIS-systems used on DAI-excavations and surveys. A given object will only reside once inside the overall dataspace of DAI. Uniform resource names will unmistakably identify objects residing in Arachne. DAI and FA plan to implement the CIDOC-Conceptual Reference Model, for which different project-applications are ongoing. Also in progress is support for the Open Archives Initiative. As a partner of CLAROSnet, Arachne is committed to build a multilingual interface in the future, in order to address issues in an international framework.
On the technical roadmap for the next years are: the integration of specific material categories, which entails the expansion of the Arachne-thesaurus; and improved treatment of search results and search history. Arachne is no exception to general problems of displaying huge search results, and will have to integrate its context-browsing feature with a topic-map design, allowing the user to switch between graphical and more textual displays of information.
If there are other organizations interested in collaborating with the DAI project, please contact: Prof. Dr. Reinhard Foertsch
RESOURCE SHARING AMONG FLORIDA UNIVERSITIES
By Priscilla Caplan (Florida Center for Library Automation)
The state of Florida has eleven publicly funded universities in its state university system. Since the late 1990s, the libraries of the system have been collaborating in a program called PALMM (Publication of Archival, Library and Museum Materials). PALMM tries to encourage the collaborative building of digital collections by providing incentives for participation. By agreeing to contribute to PALMM collections and follow PALMM guidelines for metadata, image quality and website design, the libraries can take advantage of centrally funded publicity and promotion, central storage and servers, and centrally provided infrastructure services. This database is freely accessible to anyone.
PALMM collections carry the PALMM branding and share a common look-and-feel so that a user familiar with one collection can easily navigate the others. The collections include both textual and visual materials and will soon contain audio as well. Collaborations between university libraries and with outside institutions of all types are encouraged. Milemarkers, for example, contains nearly a thousand historical photographs of the Florida Keys, digitized through a cooperative project between Florida International University, the Monroe County Public Library, and the Historic Florida Keys Foundation. Content in the Florida Heritage Collection comes from ten of the eleven universities and totals thousands of books and images documenting Florida history and culture. A complete list of PALMM collections is at http://palmm.fcla.edu.
The Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA) works with a committee of representatives from the university libraries to coordinate the PALMM program. FCLA also runs a digital preservation repository for the use of the libraries and of any PALMM partner institution. Digital masters can be deposited into the FCLA Digital Archive (http://www.fcla.edu/digitalArchive/), which will safely preserve the originals and carry out format migrations if and when the source formats become obsolete.
PALMM also contributes to Florida on Florida, an OAI-harvested catalog of digital Floridiana supported through the State Library's Florida Electronic Library program (http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/floridaonflorida). In Florida on Florida, metadata records for PALMM materials are aggregated with metadata from other digital collections throughout the state, giving researchers a single point of access to non-commercial materials about Florida. A searcher looking for images of hurricane damage, for example, can find photographs from public libraries in three counties, several state university libraries, and the Florida State Library.
For more information please contact Priscilla Caplan
NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESOURCE SHARING IN ILLINOIS
By Virginia Kerr (Northwestern University)
This spring saw opportunities for shared image resources blooming in Illinois. CARLI (Consortium of Academic Research Libraries in Illinois), a recently restructured organization, took the first step in a plan to build a shared digital library by licensing all 30,000 images from the Saskia digital image archive from Scholars Resource. The images are available free of charge for viewing and downloading by patrons of the 180 CARLI member libraries.
While librarians and instructors adjust to this resource bonanza, a CARLI Digital Image Task Force is charged with developing a plan to support more shared collections, including some hosted centrally and others harvested or searched as distributed sets at member institutions. CARLI currently is using CONTENTdm to host its digital collections, and a negotiated discount is being offered for local institutions to license the software as well. The Digital Image Task Force will recommend a broad system architecture to accommodate a diverse server hosting environment.
At the same time, this year several institutions in the Chicago area have been meeting with the goal of establishing a Chicago Art History Consortium (CAHC). A planning grant will help explore the feasibility of collaboration to enhance the individual strengths of art history research and teaching among the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, The University of Chicago, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Newberry Library. As a first step, an inter-institutional graduate course on Chicago architecture will be offered, which will produce a website and ultimately a public resource database. Image collection curators have attended several CAHC planning meetings, with the opportunity to assess overlapping interests and possible collaborative roles. The advent of the the Illinois-wide CARLI plan for building digital collections raises interesting questions about the what shape the future landscape of collection sharing will take in Illinois – will the members of the Chicago Art History Consortium pursue collaborative resource-sharing projects specific to their own alliance? How will their scope be affected by CARLI commitments to developing content, platforms and standards to serve the needs of a much broader group?
COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT
By Jacquelyn Erdman (Florida Atlantic University)
The William Blake Archive <http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/> is “a hypermedia archive” with high resolution scans of Blake’s illuminated texts, illustrations, drawings and paintings.
Although many of the images and text are under copyright, there is no need to ask for permission to link to any of the individual items.
Please contact Jacquelyn Erdman with any questions or suggestions for future columns.
New England Chapter
By Megan Battey (Middlebury College)
The New England Chapter ushered in a new Chair, Megan Battey (Middlebury College) and a new Chapter Secretary, Marci Hahn (Wellesley College).
The chapter had a joint spring meeting with ARLIS/NE on Monday, May 22 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. About 50 people were in attendance. We gathered at the Phillips Library in the morning for a breakfast reception, chapter meetings, library tours and a lively informal discussion focusing on the overlapping roles of VR professionals and art librarians. After lunch we explored the wonders of the Peabody Essex Museum.
The chapter has a new website <http://cat.middlebury.edu/~slides/vrane/index.html>.
Thanks go to our webmaster, Dana Barrow, Assistant VR Curator at Middlebury College.
Upstate New York Chapter
By Jeannine Keefer (Cornell University)
The Spring meeting is scheduled for June 2nd and will be held at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
Our day will include our Business Meeting and an afternoon long CCO (Cataloging Cultural Objects) workshop.
Registration and lodging information will be mailed to members. For non members who wish to attend, there will be a small fee.
For information and a registration form, please contact : Jeannine Keefer, jnk25@cornell.edu.