VRA Quarterly Newsletter | Fall 2023
Fall 2023 Association News
VRA 2023 Conference
This fall the VRA's Annual Conference took place September 26-28 in San Antonio. Slide decks shared by presenters are now available on the VRA's SlideShare account, and the keynote speech can be viewed on the VRA's Vimeo channel. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the conference, whether by sharing knowledge through a presentation or by helping out behind the scenes!
Travel Awards Endowment
Nine conference-goers received Travel Awards to support their attendance in San Antonio. During the conference, President John Trendler was pleased to announce the establishment of the Travel Awards Endowment. Founded through the generosity of a fellow VRA member, the fund provides long-term support for the Travel Awards program. Thanks to the enthusiastic response of our community, the Association has met the first milestone fundraising goal of $15,000 by the end of 2023.
Distinguished Service Award and Honorary Lifetime Membership Award
The Association's two highest honors were presented at the conference. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Greg Reser, University of California, San Diego’s Art Library Image Cataloger/Metadata Specialist (retired). Reser richly deserves the DSA for his metadata expertise, technical vision, advanced research, innovative developments, generous collaboration, and dedication to the field of Visual Resources.
The Honorary Life Membership Award was presented to Jenni Rodda in recognition of her diligent leadership, generous mentorship, and outstanding, career-long dedication to the field of visual resources. Rodda was the Manager of Digital Media and Computer Services at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University for 36 years, only having recently retired.
vrcHost Membership Awards
This year saw the creation of a new award, the vrcHost Membership Awards. Generously sponsored by vrcHost, these awards are intended to provide VRA memberships to engage new members in the organization and to help existing members who might need financial assistance to retain their VRA membership. Twelve information professionals were selected as recipients of this inaugural round of awards.
Regional Workshops
The Regional Workshop Implementation Team coordinated two online workshops this fall, "A Hands-On Introduction to IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework)" with Glen Robson and "Can We Do That?: Intellectual Property Rights and Visual Media" with Anne Young.
VRA Statement of Solidarity Against Book Bans
In response to conference programing discussing censorship's effects on librarians in Texas and beyond, the Equitable Action Committee (EAC) led the effort to create the VRA Statement of Solidarity Against Book Bans, a declaration of the Association's solidarity with information professionals facing aggressive challenges to their mission and collections. The VRA Executive Board encourages you to read the statement and get involved by sending letters of encouragement and support using the included template.
2023-2024 VRA Internship Award Recipient
The Association was pleased to present the 11th VRA Internship Award in visual resources and image management, generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, to Marco Lanier, a graduate student at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. He will receive $3,000 to work a minimum of 200 hours at The History Project, which is a volunteer-driven organization that maintains one of the largest independent LGBTQ+ archives in the nation.
2023-2024 VRA Project Grant
The Association was pleased to present the 2023-2024 VRA Project Grant to Virginia Seymour, Head Librarian of Research and Instruction, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). In an effort to preserve and make accessible an invaluable piece of animation history for a broader audience, SCAD Libraries will launch a pilot processing and digitization project for the Don Bluth Collection of Animation.
VRA Bulletin Fall/Winter 2023 Issue Published
The Fall/Winter 2023 issue of the VRA Bulletin (VRAB) is now available! Explore the new issue of the VRA's fully open access journal.
Leadership Updates
President-Elect
Xiaoli Ma was appointed President-Elect. She will serve as President-Elect until March 2024, at which time she will become President and serve in that role until March 2026. Xiaoli is the Metadata Librarian and Head of the Metadata Unit at the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.
Junior Director for Events and Initiatives
Maria Nuccilli was appointed Junior Director for Events and Initiatives. She will serve as Junior Director until March 2024, at which time she will become Senior Director for Events and Initiatives and serve in that role until March 2025. Maria is Interim Assistant Dean for Discovery and Innovation in the Wayne State University Library System
Communications Technology Advisor
Meghan Rubenstein has been appointed as the Association's Communications Technology Advisor. Meghan is the Curator of Visual Resources at Colorado College and served on the Executive Board from 2020 to 2022 as Public Relations and Communications Officer. The Executive Board would like to thank outgoing Tech Advisor Allison Cywin for her years of service to the organization.
Current Opportunities
Executive Board Openings
The VRA is currently seeking volunteers for three Board positions, Treasurer, Public Relations and Communications Officer, and Junior Director for Events and Initiatives. Terms of office will begin in Spring 2024. If you are interested, please contact board@vraweb.org for more information.
Junior Workshop Liaison
The VRA Regional Workshop Implementation Team is seeking a new Junior Workshop Liaison (2024-2026). The person in this position progresses from Junior to Senior Workshop Liaison and then finishes their three-year term as the Workshop Coordinator. Please send a letter of interest and resume to workshops@vraweb.org by December 29, 2023.
Social Media Manager
The Social Media Manager engages in outreach for the VRA through the creation and management of content published to VRA social media accounts, increasing the visibility of the Association’s online presence. Please contact Public Relations and Communications Officer Margaret McKee at info@vraweb.org for more information.
Upcoming Events
EAC Community Hour: January Check-in
Wednesday, January 10, 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST
Join the EAC for their annual start-of-the-semester/start-of-the-year informal discussion and brainstorming session. How are we all doing? Although resolutions are not required, everyone is invited to share their thoughts on upcoming challenges and opportunities in their workplaces, particularly those related to diversity, equity, accessibility, and/or inclusion as we head into 2024.
Summer Educational Institute (SEI)
June 24-July 2
The Summer Educational Institute (SEI) for Digital Stewardship of Visual Information, a joint program of the Art Libraries Society of North America and the VRA, will be held online June 24-July 2, 2024. Registration rates will be $225 for members of ARLIS/NA and VRA and $300 for non-members. SEI 2024 will be capped at 50 attendees. Registration will open on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.