Just back from the mid-year Executive Board meeting and it was a resounding success. In addition to the traditional two full days going through the organization’s reports and planning for the future, we met two full days with the ARLIS Conference Planning Advisory Group and the Twin Cities Conference Planning Group. Clearly the two organizations’ combined conference is going to be greater than the sum of the separate parts thanks to the positive spirit of collaboration evident throughout our gatherings. The downtown Minneapolis Hilton is a centrally located, elegant venue and the hotel contract has been successfully renegotiated to lower the room block obligation and room rate to reflect the flat economy. An equitable overarching joint conference agreement was signed, which allows VRA, as the smaller organization, a fair share of the costs and the revenues. The conference work has been split between members of the two organizations with the VRA Board and local members playing important roles. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rebecca Moss for her inspiring leadership as Local Arrangements Co-Chair and all of the Twin Cities planners who are doing such a phenomenal job. I’m excited to report that the contract for the Welcome Reception or “Icebreaker” (as the locals have cleverly chosen to call it) has also been signed and it will take place at the Walker Art Center http://www.walkerart.org/ one of the most exciting contemporary art venues focusing on the visual, performing, and media arts. 

Many of the Board members had never been to Minneapolis and were pleasantly surprised to find a cosmopolitan city with fascinating architecture and a rich arts community. As our own Vice President for Conference Program, Heidi Raatz said, “Why do you think we live here?”  Past President Allan Kohl provided the Board with a fabulous introduction to the city with a guided van tour and taking us on a dry run of another tour he is planning called “Up Close and Hands On—Minneapolis Artists’ Collaboratives.” There will be a much wider selection of tours to choose from and Allan is insuring that they will be reasonably priced and smaller groups to make them more enjoyable and meaningful experiences. We even went on a short walking tour during one of the lunch breaks and experienced the city’s skyway system. No worry about staying warm in March, you can get to many things downtown using this enclosed network including easy java spots and food facilities. Of course the core of the conference is the programming and with over 80 conference proposals to choose from, the Program Co-Chairs, Jessica McIntyre and Heidi have their work cut out for them. They provided us with an overview and there are many exciting proposals. Thank you to everyone who sent proposals--the Program Co-Chairs are going pack as much content into the conference as possible. So start planning now to spend some quality time with an expanded network of like-minded colleagues in this fantastic town.

Finally, there’s one major piece of business I’d like to share information about. A Publishing Advisory Group has been formed to assess the Visual Resources Association’s (VRA) current publications, advise on potential new publication formats, and consider how they will operate within an overall communications program. With an eye to ongoing developments, the Publications Advisory Group (PAG) will provide counsel and oversight to guide the future course of the VRA publications program. Responsibilities include: using recommendations in current VRA Strategic Plans to create and sustain a comprehensive, flexible, and forward-thinking VRA publications program; recommending changes in existing publications; and pursuing new modes of communication in light of technological advances and the efficient use of organization resources. The PAG will work with the VRA’s Public Relations and Communications Officer as well as collaborate with individuals and committees involved in Association publication activities. The following VRA members have volunteered to take on this important work (starting next week) under the enthusiastic leadership of Betha Whitlow (Chair), Washington University in Saint Louis: Jane Darcovich, University of Illinois-Chicago , Leigh Gates, Harrington College of Design, Marlene Gordon, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Jennifer Green, Plymouth State University, Mark Pompelia, Rhode Island School of Design, Elizabeth Schaub, University of Texas-Austin with VRA Board Advisors: Robb Detlefs, Public Relations and Communication Officer, and Maureen Burns, President. So, stay tuned for more news about VRA publications.

On that note, I’m going on vacation for two weeks to obtain a restorative dose of Mother Nature from California’s Sierra Nevada mountains and beautiful Lake Tahoe. I will be sending Board response letters to mid-year reports and sharing more exciting news about the fine work of this organization upon return. Hope all of you are thoroughly enjoying the summer and recharging for the rest of the year.

YouTube is big.  This fact hasn’t escaped us in the visual resources but the power of YouTube has slowly been creeping into the classroom and replacing those antiquated VHS tapes with multiple viewpoints on every subject via short little snippets.   While working with digital images has reached a point where many professors feel that they can conquer those powerful tools of Powerpoint, MDID, Luna, ContentDM, or other such systems they are just now scratching their heads on how to bring that wonderful YouTube interview of a certain artist or architect into their lecture.  But YouTube doesn’t stop there.  While we know its potential for entertainment or making an impact in the classroom it can be very helpful to push the mission of any VRC into the hands of those who need it the most.  In the following sections I will delve into not just the potential areas that video can be helpful but specific tools that can be useful.

Video Snippets for the Classroom

While slide projectors have given way to digital projection in the classroom, digital images are quickly finding a new companion in lectures.  Yep, video snippets make great friends to those images and faculty love them because they can provide great tidbits of information in a short clip. In fact, more of the questions that have been asked recently are not about the number of pixels on the long side of an image but about how to integrate videos found online and put them into the lecture.  This is how I came across a wonderful tool called Tooble.

Tooble is like a DVR for YouTube allowing you to download YouTube videos to watch later or when you do not have access to the internet.  This simple act eliminates many of the problems with internet speeds, browser crashes, or problems finding that one video, and replaces them with options to click the video to run locally or have it embedded into your presenter. 

Tooble Standard is freeware and can be found at http://tooble.tv.  Once downloaded and installed to the computer, bringing YouTube videos to your local drive is as easy as pasting the video’s URL into Tooble and clicking ok.  When the video is local it can then be inserted into both Powerpoint and Keynote through the insert media function (depending on the version) or it can be played independently with the computer’s default media viewer.  While playing these local copies of YouTube videos inside the realm of academia is acceptable use at my institution, you may want to check and see if it fits appropriately inside yours. 

Sell Your Resources

One thing that I truly believe is that it doesn’t matter how great your resources are unless people know about them.  While this idea is pretty simple the actions of deliberately marketing your resources in a place that will reach your desired audience can be intimidating. However, YouTube is a perfect place to put out those shameless plugs for your “products”.  I recently read an article mentioning that the embattled automaker Toyota was the first company to find a way to go viral with a marketing campaign utilizing YouTube. They weren’t saying that people were getting ill from seeing these videos but that it was so catchy that millions of people were watching it and spreading it to their friends.  Last time I checked their video for the Swagger Wagon, (which is actually just a Sienna minivan) it had over 4.5 million views.  That is a lot of people who were interested enough that they clicked the link and weren’t just forced to watch like a commercial. While Toyota has millions of dollars to spend on marketing, a VRC or library can certainly make something on the cheap that can draw a crowd and highlight their mission.

By now I hope all of you have taken a look at the clever spin DePauw University’s VRC put on the recent “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” marketing campaign.  “I’m the VRC, I’m Google Images” is entertaining enough to reach out to many but clever enough to show why you should use their resources. So what does it take to develop a great YouTube marketing scheme?  Know your resources and know your audience.  Once you know that, you can develop ideas and grab the camcorder.  Sure there is a lot more that goes into it but knowing the who, what, and how are the major steps towards a good start. However, once they have been posted to YouTube you still need to use any and all means at showing people that they exist.  Tell them on your blog, website, in meetings, wear a sandwich board, or tell them in the classroom.  Just be creative and have fun. 

“But how do you use it?”

You know how I said in the last section that what really matters is that people know about your resources? Actually, I always add an “and" to that statement.  It doesn’t matter how great your resources are unless people know about them and know how to use them.  Knowledge may be power but knowing what to do with it is empowering.  Once again, YouTube has come to my rescue in providing a platform for posting short clips that resolve many of the questions that I had heard every day.  Basic questions like What is MDID? Why would I want to use the VRC’s resources? How do I access my professors’s lecture in MDID?  They are simple videos that answer simple questions but for a student trying to write a paper at 2 AM they can be a lifesaver. 

What does it take to make helpful, screen capture videos?  First you need a screen capture software.  The best one on the market is Camtasia Studio, which can be a little pricey. However, many times you can go to your library or instructional design departments and use their systems and knowledge to be on your way.  Also, I have used CamStudio which is an open source version of Camtasia Studio which still does a great job.  Once you have the software, make a script, plug in the microphone, and start making movies.

Make it easy and Work for You

While you can see that YouTube can be a great resources in the classroom, in marketing your resources, and in teaching people how to use those resources, your movie-making project should be as focused to your institution as possible.  Know your specific resources, goals, dreams, and audience and proceed with the specific tool or program that would fulfill your unique situation.  YouTube might not be for everyone but it is powerful enough to make a difference for many.

VRA-TX Chapter
submitted byKatherine Moloney (Amon Carter Museum)

VRA-TX made chapter history with their first virtual meeting in May.  Attendees enjoyed an interesting and informative presentation entitled “Digital Projects Unit: Behind Closed Doors” by Tara Carlisle.  Tara is project development librarian in the Digital Projects Unit and is responsible for coordinating digitization projects for the Portal to Texas History.

The meeting was such a success that VRA-TX is planning on making this a yearly event. 

Katherine Moloney, chapter chair, would like to thank the VRA Board for bundling chapter membership registration with national registration.  Membership in the chapter now stands at 27, a chapter record!

Pacific Rim Chapter
Submitted by Jeanette Mills (University of Washington)

The Pacific Rim Chapter is happy to announce that we now have a membership of twenty- four people, which is the highest number we have had in some time. This spring/summer we tried something new, with members in Seattle and Portland each having informal gatherings to connect with colleagues. The Seattle gathering in late May took advantage of the happy hour offerings of a restaurant, while the Portland folks had lunch together in July at the café of the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Also in late May, Karin Whalen organized and hosted at Reed College a workshop taught by Murtha Baca titled "Descriptive Metadata for VR & Museum Collections". Eighteen people attended. Our formal annual chapter meeting will be held in downtown Portland, OR, on Saturday, October 2nd. Details will be announced later this summer. We hope to spend at least part of the day participating in the Oregon Archives Crawl.

The Greater New York Chapter.
Contributed by Jenni Rodda, (Institute of Fine Arts/NYU)

The Greater New York Chapter held its spring meeting in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, hosted by Andrew Gessner and the staff of the Image Library.  In addition to the usual business meeting, Greater New York Chapter members were treated to a tour of the Museum's Photographic Studios, provided by Barbara Bridger and her staff.  The Studios are located up around the domes of the main part of the Museum's building, and not accessible to regular visitors--GNY members were truly privileged to have seen up close how the Museum makes images of its objects. A reception in the Image Library followed the tour.

During the spring business meeting, Vice Chair Jenni Rodda stepped up as Chair, and Ching-Jung Chen (City College of New York/CUNY) took over as Vice Chair.  Barbara Treitel (The Jewish Museum, retired) continues her service to the Chapter as Secretary/Treasurer. The success of the panel "After the Transition: Planning for Collections Storage & Workspace Changes in the Digital Environment" (an event sponsored by the Chapter and held during VRA's Atlanta conference in March) was discussed, and plans for a possible VRA/CAA affiliated society session (New York, 2011) were made. Johanna Bauman (ARTstor) is coordinating the Chapter's efforts for this joint session.

Plans for the fall 2010 meeting are also underway. Our featured speaker will be Natalie Milbrodt, the first recipient of the VRA Foundation's Professional Development grant. Elections for a new Vice Chair will be discussed in the fall.