VRA Conference Travel Awards--Applications Now Open!

We are delighted to announce that VRA Travel Awards are available for attendance at the 2015 VRA conference in Denver, Colorado March 11-14.  The deadline for receipt of applications will be Monday, November 17, 12pm EST.  The list of recipients will be announced on the VRA listserv the week commencing December 15.A preliminary conference schedule with a listing of workshops and sessions has already been posted at: http://vra33.sched.org/ and information about costs is posted here: http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/registration/ and here: http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/accommodations/Before you apply, PLEASE READ "Travel Award Rules, Guidelines and Tips” for VRA Travel Awards Applicants, and "Types of Travel Awards", both linked here as PDFs.HERE'S THE LINK TO THE APPLICATION (also accessible from the VRA Travel Awards Committee webpage)You do not need to be a member of the VRA to apply for a travel award, but please note that upon winning an award an applicant who is not a member of VRA must purchase a membership.Please also note that award checks are distributed at the conference and as such, recipients will not have access to those funds ahead of the conference to set against travel expenses.In order to allow funding to go further, Tansey awards will be distributed according to financial need i.e. full awards (up to $850) may be given to some, whilst lower amounts may be awarded to others with partial institutional/ other support.For 2015, we are fortunate to have generous financial support from sponsors and funds provided by the membership including:

• Two New Horizons awards of $850 each.  These awards are aimed at members in the following categories: solo VR professionals, part-time VR  professionals, geographically isolated VR professionals, VR professionals in smaller institutions, and/or first-time attendees
• A New Horizons student award of $300, for a full-time student enrolled in an accredited degree program and considering a career in visual resources
• Tansey fund awards ranging from $250 to $850 each

More awards may become available and will be announced on this listserv. Also, stay tuned and watch VRA-L and the VRA website for further details about the conference.  Please email if you have any questions not answered by the documents noted above.So don't delay - apply today!We look forward to receiving your applications,Vicky Brown & Jeannine KeeferCo-Chairs, VRA Travel Awards Committee

VRA Elections and Vote: November 1-30, 2014

Dear VRA colleagues,

The VRA annual election of officers will take place online, November 1-30, 2014. Members will receive an e-mail from ElectionsOnline on Nov. 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot. Instructions will also be posted on VRA-L.

You can find the announcement of the candidates for the three offices at httpS://vraweb.org/election2014/, along with their bios and statements of goals. Please join us in thanking these colleagues for volunteering to be candidates for the positions.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the Nominating Committee: Jolene de Verges (Co-Chair), Robb Detlefs, Marcia Focht, Jeannine Keefer (Co-Chair), and Heidi Raatz.

In accordance with the Bylaws, the Nominating Committee has the discretion to put forward either two opposing candidates for a given office, or to put forward a single candidate for a given office. In either case, a vote by the membership is required. Please vote to show your support for the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.

Also on the ballot will be a vote to affiliate with the Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) and three votes to amend the Constitution and Bylaws. Article IX of the Bylaws states that formal affiliation with another organization and amendment to the Constitution and Bylaws must be approved by a 2/3 majority of the ballots cast by those VRA members eligible to vote. The text of the proposed affiliation, proposed amendment, or proposed revision with a brief summation of the issues involved shall be provided to all members of the Association through an official publication or venue of the Association no less than 15 days prior to the start of the period of time designated for voting. This message serves as the official notification.

The SECAC Board has already voted to affiliate with VRA, and affiliation with SECAC would formalize the organizational relationship that has been active for many years. As many of you know, VRA has appointed a representative to SECAC for some time. This appointee represents the interests of VRA to the SECAC Board as an ex-officio, non-voting delegate during its annual meeting at the SECAC conference, and on the SECAC electronic list and in other SECAC publications. The SECAC Representative also informs the VRA membership of SECAC conference information, and as an approved SECAC affiliate VRA is entitled to plan and organize one session or panel at each SECAC conference. See the SECAC Affiliated Societies page for more information: http://www.secollegeart.org/affiliates. In recent years the SECAC Visual Resources Curators Group in association with VRA has sponsored a number of sessions at SECAC conferences, thus advancing the research and interests of the visual resources profession to an important audience of educators. Closer ties to a variety of organizations provide reciprocal benefits to members, and increased exposure through SECAC conference and website presence to diverse external communities helps illustrate and promote the expertise we offer in our field. Please see the attached document for the ballot text that will be provided on November 1 (VRA_SECAC_Affiliation_Vote_2014).

Regarding the proposal to amend the Constitution and Bylaws, there will be three votes placed on the ballot. Please see the attached document for the proposed amendments in their entirety (VRAConstBylaws2014changes).

1. Amendment to VRA Constitution, Article VII (New): RELATIONS WITH THE VISUAL RESOURCES ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION

Although the Visual Resources Association Foundation has been in existence since 2007, it has not hitherto been mentioned in the VRA’s founding documents.  This new section clarifies the relationship between the VRA and the VRAF.

2. Amendment to VRA Bylaws, Article III (added Section 4): NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS

In recent elections, the Nominating Committee has only put forward a single candidate for some elected offices.  This new section gives the Committee the authority to replace a candidate who withdraws his or her candidacy after the Executive Board’s mid-year meeting (usually late July or early August), but before the mandatory announcement of the election to the voting membership (which must be on or before October 15 prior to the election), if the withdrawing candidate is the only person on the ballot for a given office.

3. Amendment to VRA Bylaws, Article V (Proposed replacement Section 6): DUTIES OF OFFICERS

The current language regarding regular audits remains in place from a time when the Treasurer worked with a paper ledger and checkbook.  The requirement that an audit be performed every two years was related to each Treasurer’s term of office, to ensure that proper procedures had been followed.  Now that our financial transactions are handled through online banking and bookkeeping tools, our accounts are reconciled monthly by a professional bookkeeper (employed by the Association as an independent contractor), and oversight performed by a certified public accountant (also an independent contractor), there is less need for frequent audits, which are increasingly time-consuming and expensive to perform.  The proposed language change still gives the Executive Board authority to order a full or partial audit, and requires the Treasurer’s cooperation on this, but gives the Board flexibility to order an audit when it deems that this is in the best interests of the Association.

Thank you in advance for your participation in the very important election and voting process.

Best regards,

Elaine

VRA33 Conference Website Launch

Dear VRA colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the launch of the Visual Resources Association’s 33 Annual Conference website.  Thanks go to my fellow board members for their input and special appreciation goes to John Trendler, Public Relations and Communications Officer, for his creativity and hard work in making the site a reality.

VRA 33 takes place in beautiful Denver, Colorado, from March 11 to 14, 2015, at the Westin Denver Downtown hotel.  Early Bird conference registration begins December 5 so mark your calendars.  Access the site via Upcoming Conferences or directly here http://www.vraweb.org/conferences/vra33/.  Check back often for news and updates.

I would like to convey my sincere thanks to the record number of individuals who submitted conference proposals.  Program topics represent a broad range of interests:  transitional media, usability testing, digital humanities, image rights and reproductions, copyright, mapping and geospatial projects, new technologies, digital asset management, crowdsourcing, cataloging, embedded metadata, sharing collections, professional advancement, archives, research data management, visual literacy and visualization, etc.  (n.b., Submitters of accepted proposals can expect to hear from me soon so as to confirm your event’s details.)

Don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any concerns/questions regarding VRA 33.

Happy weekend,

Steven

2014-2015 VRA Foundation Project Grant Program

Deadline:  November 5, 2014The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) announces that the application period for its next round of Project Grants is open. This program provides support for projects that reflect the VRA Foundation mission to advance education, research, and outreach in the field of visual resources and image management.Two grants are available in the fall 2014 cycle with up to $1,500 to be awarded per grant. The funds may be used for stand-alone projects, pilots or start-up financing for larger projects, or for a significant component of a larger project. Collaborative projects and those proposed by groups, whether or not affiliated with an organization or institution, are encouraged. Of particular interest are innovative projects with results that can have broad impact and be shared with the global community. Categories to be considered for funding include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:Image Cataloging and MetadataData StandardsDigital ArchivesDigitization Projects of Special and/or Unique Collections (Educational Institutions, Libraries, Museums)Visual LiteracyPedagogy and TechnologyIntellectual Property RightsThe deadline for the fall 2014 review is November 5, 2014.  Awards will be announced by December 17, 2014. More information, including the application form, can be found on the Visual Resources Association Foundation website at:http://vrafoundation.org.s119319.gridserver.com/index.php/grants/project_grants/For consideration, please submit your application to Betha Whitlow, bwhitlow@artsci.wustl.edu, by Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 11:59 Pacific Time. The recipients of the VRAF Project Grants will be announced by Wednesday, December 17, 2014.The VRA Foundation has United States Internal Revenue Service status as a 501c3 non-profit entity. All elements of a proposed project must be performed within the legal parameters of United States local, regional, and federal government requirements. International applications are welcome from institutions or individuals provided applicant institutions have the equivalent of US non-profit status, and applicant individuals have a similar non-profit, educational purpose.If you have further questions about the Project Grant Program or the application process, please contact: Betha Whitlow, VRA Foundation Board of Directors, bwhitlow@artsci.wustl.edu, phone: 314-935-5256.

Call for applicants (CTA, SNC, WCM & WTC)

Dear colleagues, the VRA Executive Board is accepting applications for the following positions:•           Communications Technology Advisor (CTA),•           Social Networking Contributor (SNC),•           Website Content Manager (WCM) and•           Website Technology Coordinator (WTC).Each is a two-year appointment with the possibility for renewal.These are great opportunities to serve the Visual Resources Association in the marketing, communications and public relations realm, as well as gain valuable and marketable experience to include on your resume or CV.Please see charges for the positions below. Attendance at VRA annual conferences is preferred. Send any queries or expressions of interest directly to John Trendler, Public Relations and Communications Officer, at info@vraweb.org. To apply, send an e-mail with a summary statement of your interest and suitability for the position, along with a short resume/curriculum vitae.                                    The application deadline is October 1st, 2014Communications Technology Advisor charge:The Communications Technology Advisor is responsible for assisting the VRA Board, Advisory Groups, Committees, Task Forces and Chapters in promoting and implementing remote communications technologies (e.g., teleconferencing, videoconferencing) to facilitate meetings and other events. In order to facilitate the use of communication technologies, the Communications Technology Advisor will also develop instructional materials (guides, videos, etc.) available to members of the VRA; and update and/or create additional instructional material when appropriate. The Communications Technology Advisor works with and reports to the Public Relations and Communications Officer.Social Networking Contributor charge:Engage in outreach for the VRA by regularly posting relevant, informative, or eye-catching content to the various social and professional networking sites in which the VRA participates. Encourage and respond to posts from VRA members and others interested in the Association. Collaborate with the VRA Web Technology Coordinator and Public Relations and Communications Officer as potential new social networking trends and technologies of interest emerge. Work with the Membership Committee on outreach and new member recruitment. The Social Networking Contributor reports to the Public Relations and Communications Officer.Website Content Manager charge:The Website Content Manager is responsible for managing authorized website users, editors and contributors, posting and editing content for publication on the website, and handling general website maintenance. The Website Content Manager works with and reports to the Public Relations and Communications Officer.Website Technology Coordinator charge:The Website Technology Coordinator is charged to work with the Website Content Manager, the Communications Technology Advisor, the Social Networking Contributor and the Public Relations and Communications Officer to investigate, implement, and integrate new technologies with the VRA website. The Website Technology Coordinator reports to the Public Relations and Communications Officer.John M. TrendlerVRA Public Relations & Communications Officerinfo@vraweb.org

Visual Resources Association Foundation Announces 2014 Professional Development Grant Winners

The Board of Directors of the Visual Resources Association Foundation is pleased to announce the presentation of its 2014 VRAF Professional Development Grants to Mark Pompelia, Rhode Island School of Design, and Courtney Baron, University of Georgia. The amount of each award is $850.00.Mark Pompelia, recipient of the grant for Established Career Professional, is Visual + Material Resource Librarian at the Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, RI.  He will use the award to support his participation at the October 2014 conference of the Art Libraries Society of Australia and New Zealand in Auckland, NZ.  He will speak in the session titled, Steady as She Goes: Images and the Visual Resources Association: Preserving the Past while Embracing the Future, organized by VRA colleagues Victoria Brown of Oxford University, UK, and Jennifer Brasher of Griffith University Queensland College of Art Library, Queensland, Australia.  Mark’s talk will focus on the “expanded definition of visual resources at the Rhode Island School of Design,” which “has come to include all non-text-based collections and services for RISD’s twenty-two departments and administrative offices of the President, Alumni Affairs, Graduate Studies, and Global Partners and Programs.”  Proposed by the new VRA International Chapter, this session was inspired by enthusiasm for the opening session at the 2014 VRA conference in Milwaukee, moderated by Mark, which had a similar theme.  This is the first time a VRAF Grant has been awarded to an American attending an international conference, exemplifying the Foundation’s commitment to reaching a diverse and global audience with educational offerings in the field of visual resources and image management.Courtney Baron, recipient of the grant in the Emerging Professional category, serves as the new Visual Resources Curator in the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA.  She is also working toward her MLIS degree at Valdosta State University, focusing on art and academic librarianship, with the anticipation of finishing in the spring of 2015.  Courtney will use the grant to support her participation at the 2015 Visual Resources Association Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado.  As a first-time VRA conference attendee, Courtney expects to bring back “much needed connections, tools, and ideas” to her home institution.  Among the topics she is eager to learn more about are “the changing and growing responsibilities of the visual resources professional, re-envisioning the physical space of visual resources libraries, and supporting the digital humanities.”  She would also like to see what collection management systems other professionals are using, since her goals at the University of Georgia include selecting and implementing a new database for their image collection, as well as an institutional archive for their School of Art.  Courtney states that although the VRA listserv “has been an invaluable resource” in her pursuit of information about these and other topics, she knows that she “could learn and absorb much more at the annual VRA conference.  I know I will put the experience of attending VRA to good use.”The purpose of the VRAF Professional Development Grant is to support professional development in the field of visual resources and image management.  In recognition of the differing professional development needs for an emerging professional and an established career professional, two awards are funded annually.  Please visit vrafoundation.org for more information.The mission of the VRA Foundation is to advance knowledge in the field of visual resources and image management and to provide educational and training opportunities in support of broad access to cultural information in the digital age. The Foundation advances awareness of important issues for digital information management; encourages the application of professional standards, innovative technology, and metadata cataloging protocols; facilitates workplace training; and promotes awareness of intellectual property rights and copyright issues. The VRA Foundation supports a range of educational offerings to help ensure that such information reaches a diverse and global audience.

Call for 2015 Nominations: the Visual Resources Association Distinguished Service Award and the Nancy DeLaurier Award

Dear Colleagues, Yes, this is a busy time of year, but the Awards Committee hopes that you will consider developing a nomination packet for a very worthy colleague. We are prepared to help you accomplish this task. A heartfelt thanks to those of you who completed our Mini-survey in June. The information you provided is valuable, indeed. Thank you. Call for 2015 Nominations:  the Visual Resources Association Distinguished Service Award and the Nancy DeLaurier Award Each year the Visual Resources Association’s Awards Committee encourages worthy nominations from the membership for the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) and the Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL). The DSA honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. The NDL, named for one of the pioneers of the visual resources profession, honors either a single individual or a group of visual resources professionals 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, web site creation, or other outstanding effort or project. Although nominations for the DSA and the NDL are initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees need not be members of the organization. A nomination dossier should consist of a cover letter from the nominator(s) describing the nature of the achievement, the candidates’ curriculum vitae, and supporting letters and documentation. Electronic nominations via e-mail or a file hosting service such as Dropbox™ are preferred; nomination dossiers are due November 3, 2015. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend one recipient for the Distinguished Service Award and up to two individual recipients or a single group recipient of the Nancy DeLaurier Award in any given cycle. Recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board. All nomination dossiers will be retained in the Association Archives. We strongly encourage co-nominators, and the members of the Awards Committee are prepared to offer help and advice. For more information including a list of previous award recipients, please visit the Awards page on the VRA website. We invite you to nominate a worthy colleague for one of these prestigious VRA awards. If you plan to prepare a nomination dossier, please let me know so that I can coordinate the process. With best regards,Margaret N. WebsterChair, VRA Awards Committee 

Several new positions posted on Employment page

New positions announced on employment page, as of August 6, 2014.

• 8/6/2014 Head of Collection Information & Digital Assets, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA
• 8/5/2014 Associate Application Developer, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
• 8/5/2014 four open positions for five year period–Digital Collections Content Coordinators, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas
• 8/4/2014 Account Manager, ARTstor, New York, NY
• 7/23/2014 Visual Resources Specialist, University of Utah, Salt lake City, Utah
• 6/12/2014 Visual Resources Coordinator, Loyola University, Baltimore, Maryland

Call for 2015 Nominations: the Visual Resources Association Distinguished Service Award and the Nancy DeLaurier Award

Each year the Visual Resources Association’s Awards Committee encourages worthy nominations from the membership for the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) and the Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL). The DSA honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. The NDL, named for one of the pioneers of the visual resources profession, honors either a single individual or a group of visual resources professionals 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, web site creation, or other outstanding effort or project.

Although nominations for the DSA and the NDL are initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees need not be members of the organization.

A nomination dossier should consist of a cover letter from the nominator(s) describing the nature of the achievement, the candidates’ curriculum vitae, and supporting letters and documentation. Electronic nominations via e-mail or a file hosting service such as Dropbox™ are preferred; nomination dossiers are due November 3, 2015. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend one recipient for the Distinguished Service Award and up to two individual recipients or a single group recipient of the Nancy DeLaurier Award in any given cycle.

Recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board. All nomination dossiers will be retained in the Association Archives.

We strongly encourage co-nominators, and the members of the Awards Committee are prepared to offer help and advice. For more information including a list of previous award recipients, please visit the Awards page on the VRA website.

We invite you to nominate a worthy colleague for one of these prestigious VRA awards. If you plan to prepare a nomination dossier, please let me know so that I can coordinate the process.

With best regards,

Margaret N. WebsterChair, VRA Awards Committee

Margaret N. WebsterVisual Resources ConsultantDirector Emerita, Knight Visual Resources FacilityCornell University109 Iroquois RoadIthaca, NY 14850website:  ICCoop; http://sites.google.com/site/iminteg/phone: 607-257-3365email:  mnw3@Cornell.edu

Nominations sought for Secretary of the Executive Board

Good afternoon membership!

The nominating committee continues to seek nominations of the post of Secretary to the Executive Board.  This seat will come vacant at the 2015 annual meeting.  If you are interested in getting involved with the leadership of the VRA, or know someone who is, please consider a nomination to the post.  The Secretary is in charge of conference pre-registration, keeps minutes of all VRA meetings and handles other official paperwork for the organization.  If you are interested in serving on the Executive Board, please feel free to contact previous Board Officers; they would be happy to share their experiences and reflections of their time in office.  The Committee encourages members to place qualified individuals or themselves in consideration for nomination by contacting one of the Co-Chairs.

Also, attached is the Board compensation policy.

For more information please consult Articles III, IV, and V of the VRA Bylaws.  The VRA Organizational Policies and Procedures manual provides detailed descriptions of each office and may be found in the My VRA section (you must login to Memberclicks) of the VRA website under Community —> Info: (https://vra.memberclicks.net/assets/documents/vra_policies_procedures2011.pdf).

If you have further questions please feel free to contact:

Jeannine Keefer, Nominating Committee Co-ChairBoatwright Memorial LibraryUniversity of Richmond, VA 23172804.289.8275Jkeefer@richmond.edu

Or

Jolene M. de Verges, Nominating Committee Co-ChairDirector, Hamon Arts LibrarySouthern Methodist UniversityPO Box 750356Dallas, TX  75275-0356214-768-1855  Fax 214-768-1800jdeverges@smu.edu

Call for Applications: 2014-2015 Visual Resources Association Foundation Internship Award

Award Description:The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Internship Award provides financial support for graduate students preparing for a career in visual resources and image management. The award grants $4,000 to support a period of internship in archives, libraries, museums, visual resources collections in academic institutions, or other appropriate contexts. The recipient will receive a stipend of $3,000 for 200 hours completed at host site. A professional development component of $1,000 supports conference attendance or attendance at the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management. The recipient will receive a one year complimentary student membership in the Visual Resources Association.For consideration, please submit your application by Wednesday, July 31, 2014, 11:59 Pacific Time. If you have any questions about the VRAF Professional Development Grant or the application process, please contact Margaret N. Webster, mnw3@cornell.edu. The recipient of the VRAF Internship Award will be announced by Wednesday, September 12, 2014.Award Amount: The VRAF Internship Award will provide a stipend of $3,000.00 to the intern. Half of the award will be granted prior to the internship, with the remainder granted upon completion of the internship and receipt of a letter to the Chair of the VRAF Internship Committee signed by the internship supervisor and the intern stating that the 200 hours have been completed. If the recipient is not a US citizen, the VRAF is required by the IRS to withhold a percentage of this award.A professional development component of $1,000 is available to support attendance at the national VRA conference, other appropriate conferences, or the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management. The recipient will be reimbursed upon submission of receipts and documentation. The recipient will receive a one year complimentary student membership in the VRA. The award recipient will be formally recognized during the Awards ceremony at the VRA conference). The grant is for use between September 12, 2014 and September 11, 2015.Eligibility: Applicants should be students currently enrolled in, or having completed within the last 12 months, a graduate program in library or information science, art history, architectural history, architecture, visual or studio art, museum studies, or other applicable field of study may apply for this award. Applicants must have completed at least 10 credits of their graduate coursework before the application deadline, or demonstrate an equivalent combination of coursework and relevant experience.Acceptable Uses of Professional Development Money:A professional development component of $1,000 is available to support attendance at the national VRA conference, other appropriate conferences, or the Summer Educational Institute for Image Management. The recipient will be reimbursed upon submission of receipts and documentation. The award recipient will be formally recognized during the Awards ceremony at the VRA conference.Application Deadline and Decision Announcement:Applications for the 2014-2015 are due Wednesday, July 31, 2014.The award decisions will be publicly announced on Wednesday, September 12, 2014.Guidelines and Application Procedures:http://vrafoundation.org.s119319.gridserver.com/index.php/grants/internship_award/How to Apply:To apply for the award, please submit the following:1. A current resume.2. A current transcript [this does not need to be issued directly from the institution].3. An essay of up to 300 words addressing the applicant’s professional goals, expectations of the internship experience, and any skills or background that might benefit visual resources. A brief description of the proposed project is desirable.4. The names of two professional or scholastic references with address, telephone numbers, and email addresses.5. Recommended, but not required: Host institution and contact information of internship supervisor.Application materials in electronic form are preferred and should be submitted as a single PDF file to:Margaret N. WebsterVisual Resources ConsultantPhone: 607-257-3365Email: mnw3@cornell.edu

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR 2014 EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTIONS

Good afternoon membership!  

Three positions on the Executive Board – President Elect, Vice-President for Conference Programs, and Secretary – come vacant at the 2015 annual meeting.  The Nominating Committee, co-chaired by Jeannine Keefer, University of Richmond and Jolene de Verges, Southern Methodist University, 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 the opportunity to grow professionally.  If you are interested in serving on the Executive Board, please feel free to contact previous Board Officers; they would be happy to share their experiences and reflections of their time in office.  The Committee encourages members to place qualified individuals or themselves in consideration for nomination by contacting one of the Co-Chairs.

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 Programs 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 information please consult Articles III, IV, and V of the VRA Bylaws, which can be found on the VRA website. The VRA Organizational Policies and Procedures manual provides detailed descriptions of each office and may be found in the My VRA section (you must login to Memberclicks) of the VRA website under Community —> Info.

If you have further questions please feel free to contact:

Jeannine Keefer, Nominating Committee Co-ChairBoatwright Memorial LibraryUniversity of Richmond, VA 23172804.289.8275Jkeefer@richmond.edu

Or

Jolene M. de Verges, Nominating Committee Co-ChairDirector, Hamon Arts LibrarySouthern Methodist UniversityPO Box 750356Dallas, TX  75275-0356214-768-1855  Fax 214-768-1800jdeverges@smu.edu

VREPS Member Profile: Anna Bernhard (VREPS Co-Chair)

Anna Bernhard is the Director of the Stanley G. Wold Visual Resource Center and Library at Colorado State University, a position she began two years ago, and she is the continuing her role as co-chair of VREPS.

Like many in the library sciences field, she studied history, and, like many in visual resources, her path was fairly roundabout. “I ended up in VR more by chance than by determination,” she says. “I had been working as an Archives Assistant in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and as a Graduate Assistant in reference at the Pratt Institute Library while I finished my MLIS and began that painful process of sending out scores of applications.” She had applied for the job at CSU early on but says she had almost forgotten about it when they called. “I came out here and had a traditional academic day-long interview and just had a great visceral connection with the faculty and staff,” she says. “Although I always assumed myself to be more of an archives and special collections person, this work has been great—very versatile and involving a lot of research and interaction with students.”

Anna originally considered enrolling in a PhD program in medieval history. She completed a Master of Philosophy (MPhil), a one-year masters program, at Trinity College in Dublin right after her undergraduate studies at Bates College. “I’ve always been extremely passionate about history,” she says. “I love art, obviously, but a lot of people would assume I have more of an academic training in art than I do. In fact, my MPhil was my opportunity to delve into medieval history and see if I ought to do a PhD. I remember someone saying to me that, at [the PhD] level, you tend to learn almost everything about almost nothing, and I realized I loved learning a little about everything—which is probably why I was drawn to the library world.”

Anna moved to New York and enrolled in the MLIS program at the Pratt Institute, and her first archives position was as a digital archivist/editorial assistant at a Buddhist magazine. She notes, “I know nothing of Buddhism but will now always assert that they are great folks to be employed by — very generously spirited.” They gave her release time to intern with the MET, where she started at the Cloisters (the Medieval branch of the MET, in Fort Tyron Park) and was then transferred down to the main branch, working almost exclusively on the architectural records of the museum buildings.

At the museum, Anna says she learned concrete skills like cataloging and database management, but some of the most valuable experiences were abstract concepts, like working confidently and productively with little supervision. “When you work on a collection you become the expert on that subject,” she says. “You learn to honor a collection while understanding the role and the autonomy of the final research experience. In other words, you do what you can to organize and enable access but understand that you still need to be moving through at a quick pace.” She continues, “The temptation to get obsessed with individual pieces is huge in the beginning. If I were there now I could move through a little faster!”

In her current position at the VRC, Anna says that there really is no typical day. There are the daily tasks like responding to questions and checking out materials (resources and tech tools), but each day is different. “Most days I’ll expect to meet with a student or two about a research paper or their artist statement and work with my interns/students who are working in another room digitizing and cataloging our slide collection.” She continues, “Occasionally, I’ll go into a classroom to talk about research and visual literacy. I see myself as an embedded art librarian more than anything honestly. I love working on research with faculty and students.”

Most of the student and faculty users are generally from the art department, which is the biggest department in the college of liberal arts. Like Maggie at Queens College (CUNY), Anna often advises students about transformative use of resources, especially for students in CSU’s new electronic arts program. “One thing that I do see is that students are very nervous about is copyright law,” she says. “In fact, today I’ve got a lawyer from CSU’s general counsel coming in to give an information session about that very issue for students. I see students feeling very fearful about copyright.” It’s a challenge to make sure the students are aware of copyright issues without feeling afraid that they’ll be hit with a lawsuit if they make a mistake. “Hopefully, this session will encourage them to be a little more aggressive, actually. I do think students are scared, although they can also be a little complacent, and there are a lot of Public Domain resources out there.”

“I see VR management changing a lot,” she says. “I think we’re a little bit in a Wild West moment. Yet I think these changes are dependent on the culture of particular institutions and also their needs. I also think it is shifting in response to the interests and passions of the emerging professionals. One of the great joys and challenges of VRA is how diverse its members are, particularly new members.” An important role for VRA is promoting the work that VR curators and managers do, especially as they are often the lone VR professionals at their institutions. Anna hopes VREPS can help by recruiting more students and new professionals: “We have something in the works to encourage internships with VRA members, which I think will help. I also think that it is important for VRA members to continue to be active in other related associations and be visible.”

She continues, “I think the value in being a member of a professional organization like VRA is in learning to advocate for yourself in a professional capacity. Many, if not most, of us are operating our own little ‘shops’ so to speak, which is great, but it is important to remember you are part of a profession.” Anna makes an effort to define herself as a professional distinct from counterpart faculty or staff members, which she believes creates a natural role for herself as a liaison with those communities and also between them and students. “Being part of a professional network reminds you that you have your own community, even if you don’t see it right in front of you every day.”

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Marie Elia is the Processing Archivist in the Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo Libraries. If you would like to participate in the profile series, please get in touch at eliam@buffalo.edu.

2014-2015 VRA Foundation Professional Development Grant: Call for Applications

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for two VRAF Professional Development Grants, one to support the advancement of an emerging professional and the other to support the work of an established career professional.  These grants can be used to support conference attendance, enrollment in a workshop, or participation in research activities.  More information, including the application form, is included below. For consideration, submit your application to Linda Callahan, lcallaha@mtholyoke.edu, by Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 11:59 Pacific Time. If you have any questions about the VRAF Professional Development Grant or the application process, you may also contact Linda Callahan, lcallaha@mtholyoke.edu. The recipients of the VRAF Professional Development grants will be announced by Wednesday, September 10, 2014.Award Amount: Each of the two 2014-2015 awards will provide a grant of $850. The grant is for use between September 10, 2014 and September 9, 2015.Eligibility:  Applicants should be in the field of visual resources and image management, and may include retirees, the currently unemployed, or students seeking educational and training opportunities in support of broad access to cultural information.  Membership in the Visual Resources Association is not required.  Statements of financial need will be strongly considered.Acceptable Uses of Award Money:·         Transportation costs to and from the event venueRegistration fees or tuitionRequired course materials (e.g., work books, DVDs)LodgingMeals - including meals in transit to and from the educational eventResearch expenses(Grant monies may not be used to cover indirect costs at institutions.)Application Deadline and Decision Announcement:Applications for the 2014-2015 are due Wednesday, July 23, 2014.The award decisions will be publically announced on Wednesday, September 10, 2014.Guidelines and Application Form: http://vrafoundation.org.s119319.gridserver.com/index.php/grants/professional_development_grant/Application Form:http://vrafoundation.org/downloads/VRAF_PDGrantCall_for_Applic2014.docxhttp://vrafoundation.org/downloads/VRAF_PDGrantCall_for_Applic2014.pdf

Seeking VRA Bulletin Content

Summer has arrived and perhaps you have a little more time to consider publishing in your journal of professional practice, the VRA Bulletin? This is YOUR journal, without YOUR participation, we can't publish. Catching up on your fun and professional reading at the lake, beach, mountains, desert, or wherever you like to relax, could perhaps inspire you to share your ideas on the burning issues that are currently engaging image professionals? As your new VRA Bulletin content editor, I welcome your articles, opinion pieces, experiences, and reviews or any suggestions about the kind of content that you would like to find in VRA's electronic journal. Take a look at the terrific articles in past issues, if you need inspiration, athttp://online.vraweb.org/vrab/ and think about how great it would be to see your name in print and your ideas reach a global audience.

For those of you who have organized sessions or presented at VRA conferences. You are great about sharing your Powerpoint slides on Slideshare, which is so valuable, but for those who cannot attend, it is always appreciated if you can fill that information out more in a narrative. Those who attend the conferences appreciate it too, since it is hard to get to everything. It is not very much work to formalize a conference presentation and add some visuals (of course), hyperlinks, footnotes, or other references to turn it into an article of interest. Please contact me if you have questions or if I can be of any assistance at moaburns@gmail.com and expect to hear more from me too. There is a great deal of information about how to submit at http://online.vraweb.org/vrab/submguide.html and Jason Miller, production editor at jnmiller@berkeley.edu, can help with any online system wrangling, if need be.

Don't be intimidated by length, as the electronic format provides lots of flexibility. To guide authors, we suggest, feature articles run about 2,000-5,000 words in length. This is the most formal format in which to share your research and experiences. But, a “perspectives” section provides the opportunity to write thoughtful and measured professional opinion pieces (about 1,000 to 3,000 words) on a particular subject or issue of interest. Members may also provide reviews of print publications, lectures, presentations, databases, online collections, software, standards, imaging equipment, etc. (250 to 1,000 words recommended). VRA's commercial partners are welcome to provide information about what is new with their products and businesses. Association news that should be a part of our permanent record will also be published in the VRA Bulletin.

So, jump in, the water is warm!

Happy summer,

Maureen Burns, Content Editor

Jason Miller, Production Editor

VRA 33 Conference Proposal Deadline is July 3rd, 2014!

The July 3^rd deadline for the submission of conference proposals is rapidly approaching.  Please consider participating in the VRA 33^rd Annual Conference; see below for details.  A big thank you to everyone who has already submitted proposals.

--Steven Kowalik, VRA Vice President for Conference Program

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The Visual Resources Association’s 33rd Annual Conference (VRA33)will be held in Denver, Colorado, from Wednesday, March 11^th, through Saturday, March 14^th, 2015, in the Westin Denver Downtown hotel.  Please mark your calendars.

Proposals are now being solicited for the 2015 program case studies, papers, posters, sessions, special interest/user groups, and workshops.  All proposals are welcome.

As of July 3, 2014, proposal submissions for VRA 33 are no longer being accepted.  Thank you to everyone who has submitted proposals.  Submitters can expect to receive final notification no later than September 20th. 

• A session is a maximum 90 minute moderated session with 3 to 4 speakers at 15 to 20 minutes each followed by a facilitated brief question and answer period.

• A workshop is a 2, 3 or 4 hour workshop to develop skills and experience in the field of visual resources, preferably with hands-on activities.

• A paper is an individual idea submission, which will be reviewed for possible grouping into a session.

• A special interest/user group is a 60 to 90-minute informal facilitated group discussion on topics related to a specific community within VRA.

• A case study is detailed information about an individual, small group, or project, generally including the accounts of subjects themselves.  Moderators are encouraged to submit proposals.  Individual case study proposals will be reviewed for possible groupings similar to the session format.

• A poster advertises your research, and combines text and graphics to make a visually pleasing presentation. (http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=78)

The quality of conference content depends upon YOUR ideas and contributions, so let those creative juices flow.   Use suggested topics compiled from post-conference survey responses (see below) or your imagination to propose ideas which expand our outlooks beyond that which is familiar.  If there is an area of concern or interest that you feel has not been adequately addressed in previous programs, do consider participating in this process by submitting a proposal.  Moderators may put out calls for presenters within a proposed topic before or after submission of proposal.  The VRA Executive Board will be looking for articulate and concise submissions with lists of presenters, when applicable.  Specificity regarding audio-visual needs including live internet connectivity is recommended.

Some suggested topics:

• Digital preservation
• Digital stewardship
• Digital curation / data curation
• Workflow management and documentation
• Visualization
• Visual Literacy
• Digital Humanities
• VR professionals as bridges for digital humanities research
• Digital mapping
• Image use across disciplines and the curriculum
• Analog media
• Legacy slide collections
• New technology
• Copyright
• Linked Open Data
• Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)
• Museums and Libraries: similarities and differences
• New spaces, repurposing as collaborative learning environments
• Expanding professional roles
• Alternative careers
• Institution-wide involvement
• International issues
• Museum imaging workflow
• Marketing, outreach
• Social media
• Crosswalking & interoperability between metadata standards
• Uses of embedded metadata

Workshop ideas:

• Project management
• WordPress blogging
• Leadership
• Staff development, general management skills
• Copyright permissions for publishing
• Shared Shelf drop-in clinic

Questions about the proposal process and the various presentation formats included in the VRA Conference program can be directed to me at <stevenk.vra@gmail.com>.

The proposal deadline is July 3, 2014.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Steven Kowalik

Mini Survey for 2015 Distinguished Service and Nancy DeLaurer Awards

The VRA Awards Committee seeks your help in identifying this year's nominees and their nominators. We invite you to submit a very brief mini-survey to help us identify potential nominees and nominators: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/awards_comm. Please complete and submit your survey by July 7, 2014.Each year the Visual Resources Association's Awards Committee encourages worthy nominations from the membership for the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) and the Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL). The DSA honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. The NDL, named for one of the pioneers of the visual resources profession, honors either a single individual or a group of visual resources professionals 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, web site creation, or other outstanding effort or project.Although nominations for the DSA and the NDL are initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees need not be members of the organization.A nomination dossier should consist of a cover letter from the nominator(s) describing the nature of the achievement, the candidates’ curriculum vitae, and supporting letters and documentation. Electronic nominations via e-mail or a file hosting service such as Dropbox™ are preferred; nomination dossiers are due November 3, 2015. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend one recipient for the Distinguished Service Award and up to two individual recipients or a single group recipient of the Nancy DeLaurier Award in any given cycle.Recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board. All nomination dossiers will be retained in the Association Archives.We strongly encourage co-nominators, and the members of the Awards Committee are prepared to offer help and advice. For more information including a list of previous award recipients, please visit the Awards page on the VRA website.

 Thank you for your help in identifying worthy recipients of VRA's distinguished awards. Please consider nominating a worthy colleague for one of these prestigious VRA awards.

All the best,

Margaret WebsterChair, VRA Awards Committee

VREPS Member Profile: Molly Schoen (VREPS Co-Chair)

Molly Schoen is an Information Resources Specialist in the Visual Resources Collections at University of Michigan—Ann Arbor’s Department of the History of Art. She studied English and Creative Writing at Michigan State University and went on to earn her MLIS from Wayne State University.

While at MSU, she worked in the Government Documents Library, which led her to pursue library school. She did not start out with the intent to become a Visual Resources Librarian, but Wayne State was offering a pilot specialty program, focusing in Fine & Performing Arts libraries. “The great thing with this program was that there were internships built into the curriculum,” she said, including partnerships with the Wayne State Library, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and, her favorite, the Motown Museum. “I would intern at one place for 1-2 semesters, then switch.”

Although the Wayne State pilot program targeted work in Fine Arts, most of Molly’s professors never talked about visual resources management. She worked at the Wayne State VRC for a few weeks but said she was not fully aware of VR as a separate profession. Then, her first position out of school was as a Registrar / Librarian at the Mott-Warsh Collection, a private art collection in Flint, MI. “It was a fantastic organization,” she said, “A collection of modern and contemporary art by African Americans, based in Flint, and we’d install exhibitions at different sites around Flint—for example, churches and libraries—and also loan works out to national exhibitions.”

The position was only part-time, so she began volunteering at University of Michigan’s VRC, working under one of her former Wayne State professors, Kim Schroeder. As with all of the other VREPS interviewees, Molly emphasized the importance of mentorship in furthering her career. Kim, then-director of the VRC, and Marlene Gordon, VR Curator at UM-Dearborn and the Chapter Chair of VRA-Great Lakes, introduced Molly to VRA and encouraged her to attend the conference in Providence last year.

Attending her first VRA conference helped Molly feel a connection to her peers in visual resources. “I always felt my job at UM was so niche, and it always took me a few minutes to explain to my friends what exactly my work entailed,” she said. “So when I got to VRA, and there was a joke made about 2×2 cards, I thought, ‘Wow! These are my people!’” Like most of us new to the organization, Molly was also impressed with how friendly and accessible VRA members are. “What I like about VRA is that, since it’s not a huge organization, it’s easy to get involved and share ideas.”

Molly has stepped up this year to become the new VREPS co-chair as Heather Lowe steps down. As a fairly recent graduate, Molly hopes to help new and emerging professionals the way so many people helped her along the way. When I asked her how she thinks VREPS can do that, she said, “I think a lot of it is just getting the word out. When I worked at Wayne State’s VRC, I wasn’t really aware that it was a separate department. I didn’t know about the VRA.” And while many students want to go into art librarianship, not many know how to translate their MLIS degree to work in a broader art and visual resource field. “I was trying to use my MLIS to apply for museum jobs,” she said, “But even though I had museum experience, I didn’t get many interviews because I didn’t have the Museums Studies degree.”

She continued, “The great thing about VRA is that there are no set requirements: The position is a little different for anyone, so a profession in VR can be an option for anyone with a library, archives, or museum background, and it’s very closely related to the art library track, too. So I think if more students are made aware of it, they’ll be glad to know of other options available to them.” The more that students know about the kinds of work VR professionals do, the better they can prepare by finding appropriate internships and courses.

Speaking of internships, I asked Molly for her advice to current students: Predictably, she recommends interning and volunteering, and building a relationship with a mentor. “Also, even if you’re a new student,” she said, “Start looking at job postings. Save the ones you like, so you can see what experiences and skills you should have by graduation.” She added, “One thing I wish I would have done differently is to be more vocal at my internships. I wanted to get more involved but felt too intimidated to ask. Looking back, I should have asked. If you do it in a polite way, show genuine interest, and can bring your own ideas into the internship, most supervisors are pretty receptive.” Her final tip for students and recent graduates? “Apply, apply, apply. Once you’ve written a few cover letters, they become easier. Even if you don’t think you’ll get the job, there’s always that chance.”

Molly presented at VRA 32 in Milwaukee as part of the panel “The Teaching Turn: From Static Collections to Dynamic Learning Centers.” Her talk, “Promoting Visual Literacy Across Campus: a Case Study,” focused on revamping the VRC to better meet contemporary VR needs. To extend the collections’ reach, the VRC moved away from cataloging individual images at item level in favor of creating encoded finding aids as well as converting old finding aids to EAD, for which MLIS students from Wayne State were recruited. The VRC staff visits classrooms to promote visual literacy, collaborates with UM library staff, and works the Department of the History of Art (HART) marketing specialist to incorporate VRC information and announcements into the HART page. Her presentation slides will be uploaded to the VRA SlideShare site.

Molly is excited to get started in her new position as co-chair of VREPS, so be sure to get in touch with her with ideas and questions: schoenm@umich.edu.

______________________________________________________________

Marie Elia is the Processing Archivist in the Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo Libraries. If you would like to participate in the profile series, please get in touch at eliam@buffalo.edu.

VREPS Member Profile: Kate Thornhill

Kate Thornhill is the Visual Resource Curator at Lesley University College of Art and Design Library in Boston, a position she calls ideal, a mix of her library and art interests. She earned a BFA and a BA in photography and Art History from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before attending Simmons for her MLIS. She spent two years as the Senior Digital Assistant at the VRC at UMass Dartmouth, which helped her crystallize her path to a VR career.“My junior year I was playing around with the idea of getting a masters in visual culture studies,” she says. “I saw myself gravitating more towards research instead of focusing on becoming a professional photographer. I am interested in everything, so focusing on one career was really hard for me.” Like many VR professionals, Kate was guided by a mentor, Allison Cywin, Director of the UMass Dartmouth Visual Resource Center. “I met her through the art history program, and when I started asking her what the VRC does, I thought, this is so awesome: It’s art history, photography, and research all in one thing. At the time I had no clue it related to library science and information management.”At the VRC, Kate quickly realized she liked building digital collections and helping people find images. “I thought, how do I turn this into a job? That’s when Allison said I should really look into an MLIS.” Kate completed a rigorous program at Simmons, including coursework in Digital Libraries, Web Development, Digital Stewardship, and Scientific Research Data Management. “Since completing grad school, all my professional interests have dovetailed,” Kate says, though VR management was not covered in her MLIS program, as is often the case. “I think VR gets lumped into digital humanities, digital initiatives, and digital curation studies.” Even though MLIS programs focus on metadata and digital collections creation and management, few programs specifically address how these disciplines are applicable to VR management.We revisited a topic that Jasmine and I had discussed, the MLIS as a companion degree: Deciding on a subject specialty and tailoring MLIS curriculum to that field. Kate hopes to take her targeted education further, with plans to earn a graduate computer science degree. “It would make digital assets management more streamlined and flexible, and help digital preservation practices. It would also open a lot of doors for working with open source programs and developing tools for VR,” because using open source software is often impractical without in-house IT staff to manage it.On a related note, we discussed how tech-savvy VRA members are, and how capable they are with respect to managing digital collections. Kate says, “It makes me wonder how much VR collaborates with ASIS&T and SAA because they do a lot so much with managing/preserving digital collections. I think there should be more collaboration between professional organizations because there are so many special interest groups focusing on DAM,” but many people are intimidated by working with their digital assets. “That’s where professional development should come in,” Kate says. “I’m a strong advocate for continuing professional development and doing research in the library, but it’s hard with limited budgets and finding a balance between work and life,” which is why she thinks professional organization membership is valuable. “I think it’s really important to be actively participating, maybe not necessarily serving on committees, but showing what you are doing and how you are solving problems because there are others trying to figure out the samethings.” Kate described how the VRA listserv helped her recently while working with IRIS. Through the listserv, Kate was able to connect with a Visual Resources Librarian at MIT. “She took time out of her day to sit with me for an hour just to learn some basics about IRIS. It was tremendously helpful!”Kate and the LUCAD library are currently making plans for a big move, relocating across the river to Cambridge. “The new library is going to be transformational for us,” Kate says, but it requires a massive overhaul of the collection, including a weeding project scheduled for summer 2014, and a deaccession project for the slide collection among other projects to be executed this summer. The slide collection currently consists of 50,000-60,000 slides, though 80% of the slide collection is in ARTstor. “Right now my team (2 student workers) and I are focusing on new media, graphic design, and illustration. We’re finding a lot of slides that aren’t in ARTstor but I have to be mindful of how much of the slide collection is kept because of limited space (for slides) in the new library. But, like many VR Curators, my goal for the future isn’t so much to focus on slides.”Kate has the opportunity and challenge to build the program from scratch. “I have a number of projects going on: research and instruction-based, DAM-based, and overall VRC vision- and mission-based.” But, as a relatively new curator, her main goal in her first year is to get to know her community. “I started by revamping the VRC’s digital image research LibGuide: http://research.lesley.edu/artimages. It’s going to be a continuous project (forever evolving) but some areas I’ve focused on building include digital image course specific guides and building a “special topics” in image research page. This is for non-art images because a lot of the questions I get from art students about images are not art based. I’ve also built an ARTstor help guide with some homegrown video tutorials along with a page dedicated to copyright and fair use.” This led us to a discussion about who uses the VRC, and Kate’s answer is that “Faculty, students, and staff do. It’s really great. This semester I have been working one-on-one with an instructor and students for a Fashion and Body Adornment class specifically focused on integrating visual and information literacy into studio art practice. Also, I’ve been addressing the elephants in the room: Google Images and Tumblr.Another project Kate is working on involves the Fenway Libraries Online consortium (a group of small/medium sized academic libraries) and DAM systems. “We are currently working on a Digital Repository Review, not just for VR but for all library and archive digital collections. This is one area I am very excited about because I have a strong interest and developing experience with managing research data and working with institutional repositories. I have a long term goal to start collecting student at LUCAD to deposit into our future IR. It’s going to take a lot of work since ultimately it’s an institutional effort, but I would love to develop arts research data management services for Lesley.”Kate believes that VR managers can be leaders in data management across disciplines. “We create and manage materials for digitization and similar concepts cross over for born-digital content. We understand the workflows for proper digital curation. For my final internship at Simmons, I ran a study at UMass Medical School with their Repository Librarian to assess biomedical PhD student research data needs. Along with this experience, library school, working in a VRC, and getting a degree in photography bells were ringing that research data management doesn’t only have a place in eScience. I see VR experts in tune with the repository management side and teaching data literacy skills. We are the ones who should support the visual arts community and developing their data management needs.”This flexibility and interdisciplinary knowledge base comes from the broad skill set that is required of VR managers. With this in mind, I asked Kate for her advice for students who want to get into VR. “Focusing on digital curation is going to be important, and thinking about how to help faculty and students manage their research or non-research digital collections. And look at the job ads! A lot of the classes I took were based on what jobs wanted, for example, hard skills like XML and XSLT.”And of course there are the internships: “My work experience at UMD, Tufts, Simmons, and UMass Medical School positioned me to have a lot of experience and projects under my belt to start at a job like the one I have now. I pretty much had no life for 2-3 years, haha.” But knowing where she wanted to be, looking at what current VR curators do as well as reading postings for new VR and digital initiatives positions helped her plan a curriculum. “I knew I wanted a job that would be in a field that’s only going to develop more. I think [MLIS education] is what you make of it. That’s the challenge: Knowing where you want to be.”Kate will be attending SEI this summer, so be sure to say hello!

VRA 2014 Conference presentations available

I'm please to announce more VRA32 conference presentations are now available on SlideShare.Session #6: Back to Basics — Cataloging Workflows and Solutionshttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-backtobasicssmithhttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-backtobasicselia-33044489http://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-back-to-basics-fojas-whitehttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-backtobasicssipeSession #11: Brave New World Cataloging: Using RDF and Linked Open Data for the Semantic Webhttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-brave-new-world-cataloging-rosesandlerhttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-brave-new-world-catalogingmixterhttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-brave-new-world-cataloging-goodlanderhttp://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-2014-brave-new-world-cataloging-harpringThe Awards Presentation:http://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/vra-awards-2014More presentations will be made available soon!JohnJohn M. TrendlerVRA PR&Cinfo@vraweb.org