#VRA33 Storify

VRA33 Conference program (PDF) available

Dear colleagues,

I’m pleased to announce the conference program PDF is now available from the conference website’s Program page.

This year it’s more interactive than previous years, clicking on a sponsor's logo should take you to their website, clicking on a table of contents item takes you to that page, and some URLs in the program are live hyperlinks. Of course these won’t work if you print it out, but if you keep a copy on your computer, tablet or smartphone they should work just fine (depending on which pdf viewing application you use). The PDF is approximately 13MB, small enough to be portable but large enough to print nicely and look good on just about any screen.

You can find the download link on this page: http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/program/

See you in Denver!

John

John M. Trendler

VRA PR&C

info@vraweb.org

Scripps College Curator of Visual Resources

john.trendler@scrippscollege.edu

VRA33 Early Bird rates end tomorrow, Friday, Feb 6

Dear VRA colleagues,In a few weeks’ time VRA 33 attendees will be arriving in the exciting city of Denver for a diverse program complete with interesting sessions, tours and workshops, informative presentations, engaging social events and networking opportunities, etc.   Don’t miss out.  Here’s a timely reminder that reduced Early Bird registration rates end tomorrow, Friday, Feb 6.  Take advantage of the savings now.For complete VRA 33 information, go to:  http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/To register, go to:  http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/registrationOn behalf of the VRA Executive Board, we look forward to seeing you in Denver. A big THANKS to everyone who has already registered for VRA 33!All the best,Steven______________________________________________________Steven Kowalik, MSLSVice President for Conference Program, Visual Resources Association

Get ready to Elevate Your Image in Denver this March!

The Colorado members of the VRA are excited to welcome our colleagues to Denver for the 2015 VRA Conference, Elevate Your Image!

Denver City was incorporated in 1861 and became the territorial capital of Colorado six years later, when the city’s name was shortened to Denver. Mining and cattle brought prosperity to the city and both endeavors remain strong components of Denver’s and Colorado’s economies (you’ll see cattle frequently in public art around Downtown). You’ll delight at the cultural offerings brought by Denver’s twenty-first century innovation economy, most of which are within easy access of our conference hotel.

The conference hotel, the Westin Downtown, is well situated for access to museums, innovative restaurants of all price ranges and types, a variety of entertainment options, and public transportation. The Westin sits adjacent to the 16^th Street Mall, an outdoor pedestrian shopping mall with free bus transportation (the Mall Ride) running along its mile length. The Mall Ride runs from the recently remodeled Union Station to the conveniently located Civic Center Bus Station near the “Golden Triangle Museum District.” A great map of Downtown is available as a pdf on the website for visitors to Denver:

http://www.denver.org/includes/content/docs/media/Downtown.pdf

You can see the Westin is almost dead center (a little up from center) on Lawrence, between 16^th and 17^thStreets.

Denver’s excellent bus and lightrail service make getting around town a breeze:

http://www.rtd-denver.com/

Take advantage of public transit to visit Denver’s diverse cultural institutions! A brief list of museums you might want to visit can be found here:

http://dusaahvmc.blogspot.com/p/vra-conference-2015.html

Denver’s nickname is the Mile High City because we are 5280 feet above sea level (a number you may see frequently during your visit!). If you find yourself a bit “breathy” using the stairs or walking around town, remember you’re a mile up! Drink lots of water and, if you feel a headache coming on, drink more water. For tips about dealing with the altitude, check out the official site for Denver visitors (which is chock full of information in general about Denver):

http://www.denver.org/about-denver/high-altitude-tips/

Colorado is also one of the few states to legalize recreational marijuana. Visitors to Colorado who are curious about this subject should check out the official Colorado website on the topic:

https://www.colorado.gov/marijuanainfodenver/

Denver is situated on the “Front Range”--the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide (the western side of the Divide is known as the Western Slope). The weather in Denver can be quite changeable (one day in early January this year the temperature rose 50 degrees from sunrise to afternoon!). Keep your eye on the weather forecast before the conference and bring layers. And bring your sunglasses—Denver gets over 300 days of sunshine a year!

The local VRA members look forward to helping the 2015 Conference attendees have a great experience in the Mile High City! If you have any concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to contact one of the local VRA members!

Heather Seneff, Co-Chair, Local Arrangements Committee

hseneff@du.edu

Hannah Unsderfer, Co-Chair, Local Arrangements Committee

hunsderfer@regis.edu

Elaine Paul

Elaine.Paul@Colorado.edu

Lynn Lickteig

lynn.lickteig@colorado.edu

Memo from the President

Dear VRA colleagues,

With the winter holiday season underway and the new year just around the corner, I'd like to update you on Visual Resources Association news and the recent work of the VRA Executive Board.

First a reminder: If you have not yet renewed your VRA membership, why not take a moment to do so now (httpS://vraweb.org/membership/join/). We value each of you as a member of our professional community and a vital supporter of the Association's activities in the development of standards, advocacy for the profession, and offering educational tools and opportunities for the benefit of the community at large.

Please also invite colleagues at your institution who may be interested in VRA's mission and work to join us. Our international, multi-disciplinary organization is relevant to a broad range of information specialists, including archivists; art, architecture, film, video, metadata, and digital librarians; digital image specialists; museum professionals; architectural firms; galleries; publishers; vendors; rights and reproductions officials; photographers; art historians; artists; scientists; and academic technologists. The more diverse our membership is, the richer our organizational perspective becomes.

33RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN DENVER, COLORADO

Your VRA membership provides you with a significantly reduced registration rate for our annual conference. The Executive Board and the Local Arrangements, Education, Development, and Travel Awards Committees have been working diligently for many months to bring you a fantastic annual conference in Denver, March 11-14, 2015. Be sure to register by February 6 to receive the substantial Early Bird discount. Have a look at the excellent preliminary program if you haven't yet had the chance to do so (http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/). Between the conference and the many cultural attractions found in the Mile High City, you'll want to consider staying an extra day or two to take it all in.

NEW CHAPTER

With all eyes turning toward the Rocky Mountains, the timing could not be better for the following announcement. I am delighted to share the news that the Executive Board has approved the charter and Bylaws of the new VRA Wild West Chapter, comprising the Mountain West and Plains states of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The Wild West name connotes innovation, unconventionality, and new frontiers within the profession. The chapter represents a large geographic area, and members held their first meeting in October by combining in-person and remote attendance with web conferencing software. They voted on bylaws, selected officers, and offered programming to attendees, demonstrating that while in-person interactions undoubtedly have their advantages, it is indeed possible to build meaningful regional community virtually when travel is not feasible. Join me in welcoming Anna Bernhard as Chair and Heather Seneff as Secretary/Treasurer of the Wild West Chapter.

JOINT CONFERENCE PLANNING

As many of you already know, Seattle has been selected as the site of the 2016 joint conference with ARLIS/NA. I am happy to report that after working together for several months the ARLIS/NA and VRA Boards have finalized the Joint Conference Implementation Plan. This document will serve as a roadmap for joint conference planning. It proceeds from the recommendations of the ARLIS/NA-VRA Joint Conference Task Force, which has been discharged with gratitude by both organizations' Boards. Expertly chaired by Ann Whiteside, its members included Greta Bahnemann, Mark Pompelia, Elizabeth Schaub, and myself. As a participant, I witnessed firsthand the impressively dedicated and thoughtful work of my colleagues in this group and the great care with which every element of conference planning was considered. I am confident that these efforts will be reflected in a smooth planning process and an outstanding program in 2016. Seattle locals Josh Polansky and Alan Michelson are serving as our Joint Conference Co-Chairs. Specific dates will be announced as soon as we have a contract signed with the conference hotel. Please stay tuned!

A teaser for you: The VRA Board has also been looking ahead to the 2017 conference. Our two Vice Presidents have recently conducted site visits in a candidate city new to VRA conferences. Following negotiations and the signing of a hotel contract, we should be able to announce the location of the 2017 conference within the next few months.

OTHER BUSINESS IN 2015

In 2015 the Professional Status Task Force, co-chaired by Jen Green and Macie Hall, will gather and analyze information that will assist VRA in understanding recent shifts in the profession, improving membership benefits to serve current members and attract new ones, and advocating for the profession. Their report, due at the end of the year, will provide critical information to which the Association can respond in its next strategic plan (with a task force being charged at the beginning of 2016). A large part of their efforts will be surveying our membership to better understand employment factors and job duties, the nature of the digital and analog collections our members oversee, and membership demographics. When the task force launches the survey portion of its activities, I urge every member to participate. This is an extremely important project that will inform the Association about how to best serve our members' needs. Your input in the process will be vital.

On the topic of member feedback, a Board priority in 2015 will be collecting your opinions about the issues and opportunities that are important to you as members. The Board has been considering various ways to accomplish this. One method we will pursue is holding online meetings with any members interested in participating. Mark your calendars: the first is scheduled February 12 at 12:00pm PST/3:00pm EST. More details to come.

As recently announced, at the Annual Business Meeting in Denver we will welcome three new Executive Board members (Jen Green as President-Elect, Chris Strasbaugh as Vice President for Conference Program, and Jasmine Burns as Secretary). The Board has begun working with them to ease them into their new roles. We also welcome Stephen Patton as the Association's new Communications Technology Advisor. We look forward to working with each of them in the coming year.

As our journal of professional practice, the VRA Bulletin (http://online.vraweb.org/) remains a priority for the Association. With our team of editors wrapping up work on Volume 41 Issue 1, I encourage you to contribute to future issues. This is your publication, and it's a wonderful way to share the innovative work you are doing with both colleagues in VRA and the larger world of information professionals. In addition to feature articles, consider writing opinion pieces, reviews, facility or project profiles, commercial partner updates, affiliate news, reports on VRA business. Please contact Content Editor Maureen Burns with questions or ideas (moaburns@gmail.com). Maureen is highly approachable and very happy to help you develop your ideas. For information about the aims and scope of the VRAB, see http://online.vraweb.org/vrab/aimsandscope.html.

Of course, the Board will be attending to many other pieces of Association business in 2015. I will keep you updated as the year unfolds, and as always, please don't hesitate to contact me or other Board members with questions or concerns.

Happy holidays to you and yours. I wish each of you the very best in the coming new year, and on behalf of the Executive Board, I thank you sincerely for your membership and participation in the Visual Resources Association.

Warm regards,

Elaine

32nd Annual Conference: Milwaukee

We are pleased to announce:The Visual Resources Association 32nd Annual ConferenceMilwaukee, WIMarch 12-15th, 2014Pfister HotelThe Executive Board recently went on a site visit and boy do they make Milwaukee look like fun! They visited the Harley Davidson Museum, The Milwaukee Art Museum and of course the Pfister Hotel where we hope to see you in March!View photos from the Executive Board's recent site visit.Please check back later in the year for more information: http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra32/

Call for VREPS Participants, VRA Milwaukee 2014

Do you have an idea to present at a VREPS session during VRA 2014 Conference  in Milwaukee?We’re looking for participants in two separate sessions, one about new directions for visual resource professionals and the other about transforming VRC into teaching and learning centers. Each of the sessions will have 3-4 speakers who will be expected to speak for about 15-20 minutes with time for questions and answers.After we hear from you we’ll propose the sessions for Milwaukee 2014. The deadline is July 15th!! We want to hear from interested participants by the 12th so we can put it all together!!What we need from you: Simply your name and the title/subject of your presentation                    Below are the descriptions of the two sessions:–Working Title: New Frontiers in Visual Resources ManagementAbstract:As the use of images to document and share becomes an increasingly vital component of many academic fields and professional arenas, new opportunities for professionals with visual resources skills are emerging in non-traditional environments. This session will explore the challenges, successes, and pitfalls of curating and managing images outside the traditional art history context. Case studies will discuss various image environments including commercial, academic, and non-profit environments.–Working Title: The Teaching Turn: From Static Collections to Dynamic Learning CentersAbstract:Much of the business of creating and disseminating images has moved away from individual academic departments and isolated image collections toward centralized cross-discipline departments. This has left many visual resource centers looking for new ways to engage users and support the educational goals of their institutions. One way centers are meeting these new challenges is by transforming from being a storage silo for physical slide collections to being a collaborative learning space where students and faculty alike can come to work on projects and refine imaging and videography skills. As many resource centers make this move toward more teaching and learning, the physical spaces and skill sets of employees have also shifted. This session will examine case studies of visual resource centers programming that is directed to teaching imaging skills and how this new role is shifting their profile within their institutions. If you have questions or a proposal idea contact Anna Bernhard at anna.bernhard@colostate.edu or Heather Lowe at HLowe@csusb.edu