Bulletin Bulletin

VRA Bulletin Special Issue on Scope Drift

Volume 44 Issue 2 of the Visual Resources Association Bulletin is now available to members upon log in. This is a special issue on the topic of Scope Drift. In project management, "scope drift" describes the continuous expansion of the requirements, mission, and objectives of a project. In the field of visual resources, the drifting of professional scope can be both a force driving innovation and an indicator of change.The goal of organizing this special issue was to gather examples of scope drift as a constructive force that allows individuals and teams to leverage the breadth of their skills, cultivate opportunities, and effectively fulfill their professional and organizational mission in unexpected ways.In this issue:

If you are interested in publishing in the VRA Bulletin, please don't hesitate to review our submission guidelines or to reach out to the Content Editor, Maureen Burns. The next issue will be turned around quickly--deadline July 10th--and will include any Philadelphia conference content or other offerings with a plan to be published later in the Summer. We accept a wide variety of article types and now offer peer review. If you have any interest in being a reviewer, please contact us directly.Thank you to everyone who responded so enthusiastically to the Scope Drift themed issue.With best regards,Hannah MarshallVRA Bulletin Guest Content & Production EditorVisit the VRA Bulletin Dashboard:   

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Executive Board Executive Board

Nominations Sought for 2018 VRA Executive Board Elections

Three key positions on the VRA Executive Board will be on the ballot for the Association’s election this coming November:

  • President-Elect
  • Vice President for Conference Program
  • Secretary

The Nominating Committee is actively seeking nominations for these positions. Running for office is an excellent way to serve the Visual Resources Association, get to know more of your colleagues in the field, and give yourself an opportunity to grow professionally.  If you are interested in serving on the VRA Executive Board please feel free to contact any previous or current officer; they would be happy to share their experiences and reflections of their time in office.

The Nominating Committee encourages members to place themselves, or other qualified individuals, in consideration for nomination by contacting the Chair or any member of the Committee.  Also, please feel free to contact any Committee member with any questions you may have regarding the nomination process.

VRA is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Applicants from underrepresented communities and with diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The VRA Bylaws provide additional information about the terms and duties of each officer position.

Thank you,

VRA 2018 Nominating Committee

Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design (Chair)Krystal Boehlert, University of California, RiversideElaine Paul, University of Colorado, BoulderChris Strasbaugh, Ohio State University

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Conferences Conferences

VRA Los Angeles 2019: Call for Proposals

The Visual Resources Association’s 2019 Annual Conference will be held in Los Angeles, California, from Tuesday, March 26th, through Friday, March 29th, 2019, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles Downtown. Please mark your calendar.Proposals for papers, sessions, special interest/user groups, and workshops are now being solicited for the 2019 program. All proposals are welcome.Click here to access the conference proposal form.

  • A paper is an individual idea submission, which will be reviewed for possible grouping into a session. Your ideas, whether they come to us alone or in a group, are equally valued in the Board's proposal and selection process.
  • A session is a maximum 60-minute moderated panel, usually consisting of no more than 3 presenters each, speaking for 15 to 18 minutes, followed by a brief facilitated question and answer period. If you feel your session topic requires more time, consider dividing it into two sessions, consisting of a Part I and a Part II.
  • A special interest/user group is a 60-minute informal, community -driven, facilitated group discussion on topics related to a specific segment of the VRA membership.
  • A workshop is a 2, 4, or 8-hour workshop to develop skills and experience in the field of visual resources, preferably with hands-on activities.

The proposal deadline is Friday, August 3rd, 2018. Program submissions received after this date will not be considered for the 2019 conference.The quality of conference content depends upon YOUR ideas and contributions, so let those creative juices flow. Perusing some of the past conference schedules will show you the range of topics presented in previous years and may inspire your proposal. Use suggested topics compiled from post-conference survey responses (see below) or your imagination to propose ideas which expand our outlook. If there is an area of concern or interest that you feel has not been adequately addressed, participate in this process by submitting a proposal. Moderators may put out calls for presenters within a proposed topic before or after the submission of a proposal. The VRA Executive Board will be looking for articulate and concise submissions with lists of presenters, but submissions without presenter lists are encouraged as well.Suggested topics:

  • Active Learning
  • Archives
  • Cataloging Cultural Objects
  • Coding - PHP, Python, SQL, etc.
  • Commercial partners
  • Copyright/Intellectual Property
  • Corporate Visual Resources careers
  • Data Visualization
  • Digital Asset Management
  • Digital Humanities
  • Digital publishing
  • Diversity/Inclusion
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  • International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)
  • Imaging - Workflow and organization
  • Maps - GIS, Omeka and Neatline, Storymaps
  • Metadata - Assessment, standards, structures, and tools
  • Moving images and sound
  • Non-Academic careers
  • Pedagogy/Teaching
  • Photogrammetry
  • Photoshop
  • Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)

Questions regarding the proposal process and the various presentation formats included in the VRA Conference program can be directed to Jacob Esselstrom, the VRA Vice President for Conference Program.Again, the proposal deadline is Friday, August 3rd, 2018. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Social Networking Social Networking

VRA is now on Instagram

The official Instagram of VRA is up and running!  You can help increase visibility of the Visual Resources Association by following, liking, and sharing content from our Facebook, Twitter (@VisResAssn) and now Instagram (@VisResAssn).  If you’d like to submit content to the VRA Instagram page, please contact Kendra Werst, VRA Social Networking Coordinator, at socialcontrib@vraweb.org.  For quick reference, see our updated social media icons at the bottom of this page.

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Conferences Conferences

VRA Philadelphia 2018: Presentations now available on SlideShare

Still thinking about those outstanding sessions you saw in Philadelphia or wishing you could have been able to attend?  Over 25 presentations from the VRA 2018 annual conference are now available on SlideShare:https://www.slideshare.net/VisResAssoc/presentations.  With many thanks to Jacob Esselstrom, Vice President for Conference Program, for coordinating the collection of presentation files.

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VRA Awards VRA Awards

Betha Whitlow: Recipient of the 2018 VRA Distinguished Service Award

The Awards Committee of the Visual Resources Association is delighted to announce that Betha Whitlow, visual resources curator at Washington University in St. Louis, is the 2018 recipient of the Association’s Distinguished Service Award. She was nominated for this award by Maureen Burns, Meghan Musolff, and Marlene Gordon. Betha has just stepped down as a member of the Board of Directors of the Visual Resources Association Foundation after serving two terms from 2014-2018. As a director, Betha developed and implemented the VRA Foundation’s highly successful Regional Workshop program. From 2010 to 2013 she served as a co-chair of the ARLIS/NA-VRA Summer Educational Institute (SEI). Betha is a committed advocate for educational initiatives that support visual resources professionals.The remarks of her nominators, Meghan Musolff and Maureen Burns, as well as Betha’s acceptance comments are now online at: httpS://vraweb.org/about/committees/awards-committee/vra-awards-recipients/

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VRAF VRAF

VRAF Regional Workshop: IIIF in Austin, Texas, May 11, 2018

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce its fourth workshop, the last in the series being offered during the 2017-2018 VRAF Regional Workshop Program.  Registration is now live for The International Image Interoperability Framework: What Is it and How Can I Use It? workshop, to be hosted by the University of Texas at Austin and held on May 11, 2018. This day-long workshop is open to cultural heritage professionals, the information, museum, and educational communities, and anyone interested in visual culture. The VRAF is grateful to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation for its continued support of this exciting opportunity to partner with cultural heritage and educational institutions.

Access to image-based resources is fundamental to research, scholarship and the transmission of cultural knowledge. Digital images are a container for much of the information content in the web-based delivery of images, books, newspapers, manuscripts, maps, scrolls, single sheet collections and archival materials. Yet much of the Internet’s image-based resources are locked up in silos, with access restricted to bespoke, locally built applications. The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) is a set of shared application programming interface (API) specifications for interoperable functionality in digital image repositories. The IIIF is comprised of and driven by a community of libraries, museums, archives, software companies and other organizations working together to create, test, refine, implement and promote the IIIF specifications. This workshop will provide a clear and thorough understanding of what IIIF is, how it works and how it can be applied to enhance image access and resource sharing.

“The International Image Interoperability Framework: What Is It and How Can I Use It?” workshop will be taught by Ben Brumfield and Sara Carlstead Brumfield of Brumfield Labs.  Ben and Sara have been working with IIIF for years, participating and presenting in IIIF groups on discovery and manuscripts, and leading workshops for museums and libraries. Their technical projects include building IIIF support into FromThePage, a manuscript transcription software and developing Pontiiif, an IIIF manifest search engine.

To learn more and register for the workshop visit https://vrafoundation.com/iiif_utaustin/.

The fee for this day-long workshop is $125.

For questions about The University of Texas at Austin venue, contact Sydney Kilgore (skilgore@austin.utexas.edu) or Elizabeth Schaub (eschaub@austin.utexas.edu).

For questions about registration or the workshop, contact Beth Haas, VRAF Director, bwodnick@princeton.edu.

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Conferences Conferences

VRA Philadelphia 2018: Event Photos

Conference attendees are invited to upload their photographs from Philadelphia to the Visual Resources Association Events group in Flickr.  Visit https://www.flickr.com/groups/vra_events/ to join the group, upload your photos, and browse some amazing photos that just might include you!  When you request to join the group, please indicate your affiliation with the VRA (current member, former member, member of an affiliated organization, etc.).Please assist the VRA in documenting our past, current, and future conferences, meetings, and other events.  Add your favorite photos and let them go down in history!

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Cataloging and Metadata Survey Report Released

The Cataloging and Metadata Survey (fielded between February 22 and April 7, 2017), developed by the survey working group of the Visual Resources Association (VRA) Data Standards and VRA Core Oversight Committees, has been completed. The working group prepared this report summarizing the findings, conclusions, and next steps. The survey's main objectives were to:

  1. understand the scope of cataloging and metadata practice of visual resources professionals,
  2. evaluate the use and satisfaction with the VRA Core data standard, and
  3. determine how the VRA can best support the needs of cataloging and metadata professionals in the future.

We believe the findings will be of interest to the members of the VRA and to the profession in general as both continue to evolve. We thank all 157 respondents who participated in the survey. If you have any comments or questions about the report, please contact Zoe Waldron We will be publishing the report in the VRA Bulletin and any added feedback will be welcome to help develop further analysis for that article.

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Boon or Bane? The Four Fair Use Factors vs. The 10% Rule

Although most of us who work in libraries and museums would like to have an exact rule to follow regarding Fair Use, nowhere in the U.S. Code is an actual, quantitative number given for determining if a use is fair. The four factors of Fair Use, as defined in the Code, Section 17, § 107 (LINK) are as follows:(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.Although some cite the 10% rule as a factor, this number in fact comes from the “Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals (Classroom Guidelines)” (LINK) which are simply that - guidelines written by individuals, some representing education, and some industry. Indeed, the understandings reached in the “Guidelines” were not adopted by Congress. Furthermore, the “...not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less” commonly cited is intended to serve as a “safe harbor” for educators who are hesitant to make their own assessments of fair use. The courts have stated that “...the purpose of the Guidelines was to state the minimum and not the maximum standards of educational fair use” (emphasis added) (LINK). The 10% rule, therefore, was designed to serve as a guide or suggestion for educators but is not a definitive statement and, according to the District Court of Georgia, Atlanta Division, the “absolute cap” of the “Guidelines” is “not compatible with the language and intent of § 107” (LINK).Fair use, on the other hand (as defined in § 107), is far from formulaic - in fact, the decision in the case of Cambridge University Press et al v. Carl V. Patton, et al (LINK) (the case over the Georgia State University e-reserves) was overturned by the Court of Appeals because the lower court was found to have applied the four fair use factors in a mathematical way, i.e. by applying equal weight to each factor. Instead, fair use must be determined on a case-by-case basis, rather than acting as a formula which can be applied without discrimination to all instances of reuse of copyrighted material that lay claim to being fair use.Fair use allows us to make judgements about what is an appropriate use of copyrighted material, potentially providing more freedom than the directives of the “Guidelines.” By utilizing fair use, copyrighted material can be used in teaching, parodies, criticism, and more, in potentially broader and more appropriate ways. While case law on fair use is more abundant for textual sources than images, the VRA’s own “Statement on the Fair Use of Images in Teaching, Research and Study” states that the use of images in these contexts “should be consistent with fair use” (LINK, p 8).Although there is a certain security in having a precise percentage which can be established through numerical means, it is also constraining to not have any flexibility - for example, if a book has 100 pictures and a teacher wants to use eleven images in a classroom, being able to weigh if the use is fair against the four factors is a more reasonable response than to flatly state that the rule is ten images, no more. Again, the “Statement on the Fair Use of Images” says that, "Although one factor cited in the fair use statute is the amount of a copyrighted work being used in relation to the work as a whole, use of substantial portions of a copyrighted work – or an entire work – should not preclude a finding of fair use in a classroom or research context...the educational context matters, and even if the entire work is used, and even if the underlying work is not transformed through the addition of substantial new content, these uses, within the academic context, should be fair ones” (p 10). Maybe that eleventh image contains the heart of the argument the teacher is making, perhaps showing an overall view, of which the previous pictures were simply details; with the 10% rule, we would never know and would be lost amongst the trees, unable to see the forest clearly.Amy LazetVisual Resources Specialist, College for Creative Studies, DetroitLinks (in order of appearance):17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use“Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals”Cambridge University Press v. Becker et al (2012)Court of Appeals: Cambridge University Press et al v. Carl V. Patton, et al (2014)“Visual Resources Association: Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research and Study”

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Announcements, Intellectual Property ... Announcements, Intellectual Property ...

Fair Use Week is Coming!

It's that time of year again - Fair Use Week! This February 26 - March 2, the IPR committee will once again be "taking over" the VRA's social media to promote Fair Use Week and provide additional resources for those interested in learning more. You can help increase visibility of this important concept by following, liking, and sharing content from Twitter (@VisResAssn) and Facebook.If you have thoughts or know of resources related to Fair Use that you would be willing to share, let Lael Ensor-Bennett (lensor@jhu.edu) or Margaret McKee (mmckee@menil.org) know - we welcome your involvement.

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VRA Election Results

I am pleased to report the outcomes of the recent VRA election, held November 1-30, 2017.Please join me in congratulating and welcoming our incoming Executive Board members, who will take office at the Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 in Philadelphia.

  • Vice President for Conference Arrangements: Lael Ensor-Bennett, Johns Hopkins University
  • Public Relations and Communications Officer: Amy McKenna, Williams College
  • Treasurer: Andreas Knab, vrcHost, LLC

On behalf of the Executive Board, I would like to warmly thank Jen Kniesch, along with all of our candidates, for being willing to serve the Association in leadership roles. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Nominating Committee: Steven Kowalik (Chair), Allan Kohl, Cindy Abel Morris, and Elaine Paul, with special thanks to Allan Kohl and Cindy Abel Morris for serving as election tellers.Many thanks to the membership for voting on these important Association matters.Best wishes,Jen Green

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Travel Awards Travel Awards

Travel Awards 2018

Dear Colleagues,We are delighted to announce that VRA Travel Awards are available for attendance at the 2018 VRA conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 27-March 30th, 2018.  The deadline for receipt of applications will be Monday, November 13, 12pm EST.  The list of recipients will be announced on the VRA listserv the week commencing December 18, 2018.Before you apply, PLEASE READ “Travel Award Rules, Guidelines and Tips” for VRA Travel Awards Applicants, and “Types of Travel Awards.”HERE’S THE LINK TO THE APPLICATIONYou 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. Travel Awards are intended to provide partial support for an individual’s conference attendance, and typically supplement support from one’s employer and/or personal resources.For 2018, 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
  • Kathe Hicks Albrecht award of $850
  • Tansey fund awards ranging from $250 to $850 each

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,Marcia Focht & Allan KohlCo-Chairs, VRA Travel Awards Committee

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Intellectual Property ... Intellectual Property ...

IPR Committee Brief: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act

Welcome to IPR Briefs, an occasional series in which members of the VRA’s Intellectual Property Rights Committee cover rights issues of interest to the visual resources community. In today’s Brief, Amy Lazet gives an overview of H.R. 1695, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017. Amy is Visual Resources Specialist at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Her article “The Unexplored Ethics of Copywork Image Manipulation” appeared in the October 2016 VRA Bulletin.In April 2017, bill H.R. 1695: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (LINK), which proposes moving the position of Register of Copyright to a presidential appointment followed by a Senate confirmation hearing, passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Reactions to the bill have been vehement; those supporting it say it will serve to modernize the Copyright Office (which should be distinct from the Library of Congress, given the Library’s mission to disseminate information freely) while those who oppose it argue that the bill is designed to serve the interests of those in the entertainment industry (namely Hollywood) and a presidential appointment will unnecessarily politicize the position.This bill is the culmination of a process that started as a “comprehensive review of U.S. copyright law” on April 24, 2013. (It is worth noting that H.R. 3261: Stop Online Piracy Act [SOPA] was introduced in 2011 and would have allowed for, among other things, companies behind websites hosting user content [think YouTube] to be held accountable for any copyright infringement by users on their sites; the bill died that same year LINK). Twenty hearings with testimony from 100 witnesses were held and a tour of Nashville, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles allowed “creators, innovators, technology professionals, and users of copyrighted works” to give input over the next several years. Finally, comments were accepted online through January 31, 2017 (1).This information was taken into consideration by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, chaired by Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) (list of Committee members LINK), which released a statement in December 2016 urging reform of the Copyright Office in order to “update the Office for the future.” According to the statement, “The 20th Century statutory framework for the U.S. Copyright Office is not sufficient to meet the needs of a modern 21st Century copyright system. To update the Office for the future, a significant investment of funds and changes to how the Office operates are required...Currently, the Register is not subject to the same nomination and consent process as other senior government officials. To ensure that the American people have an opportunity to provide input into the selection of future Registers of Copyright through their elected officials, the next Register and all that follow should be subject to a nomination and consent process with a 10-year term limit, subject to potential re-nomination” (2).In keeping with this statement, the bipartisan bill H.R. 1695 (LINK) was proposed by Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich) on March 23, 2017 and passed the House on April 26, 2017 by a measure of 378 to 48, with four people not voting (both Goodlatte and Conyers were co-sponsors of SOPA) (3). Of the 378 votes for the bill, 233 were Republican and 145 were Democrat. Only two Republicans voted no, while 46 Democrats did likewise; two Republicans and two Democrats abstained from voting (4).Prior to its passage, an amendment (H.Amdt. 109) was introduced by Theodore Deutch (D-Fl) that allows the Register to identify and supervise a Chief Information Officer responsible for managing information technology systems; the amendment passed by 410 to 14, with six abstaining (5). Should this bill pass the Senate and be approved by the President of the United States, it will modify Section 701 of Title 17 of the U.S. Code (text of Section 701 LINK).Currently, the Register of Copyrights is appointed by the Librarian of Congress. H.R. 1695 would change this to a presidentially-appointed position, with confirmation by the senate (a process the Librarian of Congress currently undergoes). The bill proposes the formation of a selection panel, comprising Members of Congress and the Librarian of Congress, who would submit a list of recommended individuals to the President. The President would then select a person from the list who would undergo a confirmation hearing in the Senate. The appointment would last 10 years and could be renewed by another confirmation hearing; the Register would only be able to be removed for cause (6).According to GovTrack.us, one reason for the bill is due to “court challenges to the Copyright Office's authority to issue regulations because the Copyright Office is within the Library of Congress which is a legislative branch agency and not an executive branch agency.” H.R. 1695 would resolve this issue by making the Office into an executive branch agency (7). This bill, then, “identifies important reforms to help ensure the Copyright Office keeps pace in the digital age,” according to the Judiciary Committee website (8).Many institutions have expressed their approval of the bill; support is particularly strong within the entertainment industry but proponents also include the Artist Rights Society and the Copyright Clearance Center, among many others (list of supporters of the bill LINK). The Copyright Alliance states that, “...the Register of Copyrights position is essential to the U.S. economy, creativity and culture, a status that should be acknowledged by making the role a presidential appointee subject to Senate confirmation. Making the Register a presidential appointee as provided in H.R. 1695 will not only ensure that the selection process is more neutral, balanced, and transparent but it’s also critical to the continued modernization of the U.S. Copyright Office” (9).However, many associations of libraries/librarians and academic institutions have voiced their opposition to the bill, including the American Library Association (ALA), the Consortium of College and University Media Centers, and the Library Copyright Alliance which consists of the ALA, the ALA’s Association of Research Libraries, and the ALA’s Association of College and Research Libraries. The ALA states, “As this bill moves to the Senate, ALA urges all senators to take special note of what the bill isn’t. Despite the arguments of its proponents, it isn’t related to modernization of the Copyright Office, which it will impede. It isn’t about protecting or advancing the long-term interests of all Copyright Office stakeholders, just its most powerful ones” (10). The statement released by the Library Copyright Alliance suggests that, “It's also difficult to understand how the public or Congress itself would benefit from politicization of the Register of Copyrights' position by making it subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, as this legislation proposes. Such politicization of the position necessarily would result in a Register more actively engaged in policy development than in competent management and modernization” (11).One of the main concerns driving the creation and passage of this bill is that, currently, the Register is appointed by and serves under the Librarian of Congress, which is seen by some of the bill’s supporters as a negative due to libraries’ mandate to make information readily accessible. Proponents point out that the ALA is in opposition to the bill and the current Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, is a past president of the ALA and therefore (presumably) likely to concur with at least some of the sentiments expressed by the ALA in their statement on the topic (12).Christopher Chambers, professor of media studies at Georgetown University told NBC BLK, “Big money is at stake and the [entertainment] industry wants someone who will see its side rather than the public interest in what the Constitution says is the ‘promotion of useful Arts.’ It is no secret that the industry lobbies and donates hard, regarding Democrats and Republicans alike...This [bill] basically surrenders congressional power over intellectual property right there in the Constitution, to the Executive Branch, hence President Trump” (13).Finally, Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt.com, points out that copyright is a moving target; historically, each time the copyright terms change within the U.S., protection is expanded. In 1976, the Copyright Act served to make copyright registration automatic (upon ideas being fixed in a medium) and extended the copyright to life plus 50 years. Prior to 1976, copyright protection only existed for 28 years after registration, with the option of a 28 year renewal. As Masnick states, “And when that term of copyright [established in 1976: life plus 50 years, for a maximum of 75 years] threatened to expire and move Mickey Mouse into the public domain, Congress rushed to Disney’s rescue and added another 20 years to make the term life plus 70 years. And it may do so again soon” (14). (No published, copyrighted works entered the public domain in the U.S. in 2017, nor will any become public domain in 2018; it is not until 2019 that the public domain in the U.S. will see new works) (15).Masnick continues, “...the Copyright Office, historically, has not welcomed of the rise of the internet. Much of the leadership of the Copyright Office over the past few decades has come out of legacy industries — publishing, recorded music, movies — that had viewed copyright as a tool to serve a few big industries. The office has been accused of systemic bias from the revolving door of industry executives and lawyers going into the office, or leaving the office to go back to those same industries. Over the past few decades, the Copyright Office has continued to expand its own role, beyond just registering and managing copyrights, to getting deeply involved in various policy debates around copyright. For example, the last register, Maria Pallante, testified to Congress in support of SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act] while another, previous register, Ralph Oman, literally argued to an appeals court that no new content delivery technologies should be allowed without first being approved by Congress if they might, in any way, upset the copyright industries” (16).H.R. 1695 “...would effectively remove the Copyright Office from the library and remove the public interest mission of the library as a counterbalancing force on the Copyright Office and its recent one-sided focus on the law,” says Masnick. “The copyright-centric industries — who have always had an uneasy relationship with the internet — recognize one of the best ways to protect their interests is to have much more control over who will be in charge of the Copyright Office. The new bill gives the copyright industry the means to do that...The [entertainment industry] ha[s] tried to argue that by making the new Register of Copyright an office approved by the Senate, that will make it more democratic, where anyone can weigh in on the appointment and influence the Senate’s confirmation process. That would be great for the [industry] and their historic lobbying power over Congress, which is massive” (17).Because H.R. 1695 has not passed the Senate, it is not yet known how this bill will affect industries dealing with copyrighted materials, including libraries, nor how it would advance the proposed modernization of the Copyright Office. At this time, the Office is no longer accepting comments, and the passage of the bill is now in the hands of the Senators and their (potentially vocal) constituents. Even if the bill passes the Senate, the wait to ascertain how U.S. copyright would be affected by it could be long, given the process for committee nomination, appointment, and confirmation.Sources:“LINK:”Text of H.R. 1695: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1695/textText of H.R. 3261: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/3261Judiciary Committee Members: https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/115th-House-Judiciary-Committee-Updated-21517.pdfCitations:1, 9. Judiciary Committee “Copyright Review” website:https://judiciary.house.gov/issue/us-copyright-law-review/2. Judiciary Committee statement on “Reform of Copyright Office:”https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Copyright-Reform.pdf3. H.R. 3261 (SOPA): https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/32614-7. H.R. 1695 (Register of Copyrights): https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1695/text8. Copyright Alliance statement: http://copyrightalliance.org/news-events/copyright-news-newsletters/compilation-register-copyrights-accountability/10. American Library Association statement:http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/04/ala-urges-senate-reject-bill-make-register-copyrights-presidential-appointee11. Library Copyright Alliance statement: http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/FINAL-DRAFT-LCA-Statement-re-Register-Appointment-Bill-032317PM.pdf12. Blog on “The Hill” in support of H.R. 1695: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/328189-enough-with-the-back-and-forth-hr-1695-is-a-no-brainer-get-it13. Christopher Chambers statement: http://www.lawattstimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4244:house-votes-to-limit-powers-of-first-black-librarian-of-congress&catid=11&Itemid=12614, 16-17. Mike Masnick statement: https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/3/15161522/mpaa-riaa-copyright-office-library-of-congress-dmca-infringement15. Resources entering the public domain in 2017:https://law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2017/pre-1976/

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Call for Proposals: Visual Resources Association 2018 in Philadelphia

Dear colleagues,The Visual Resources Association’s 36th Annual Conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Tuesday, March 27th, through Friday, March 30, 2018, in the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The theme for the Philadelphia conference is VRA 2018: Workshop of the World. Please mark your calendars.Proposals for case studies, papers, sessions, special interest/user groups, and workshops are now being solicited for the 2018 program. All proposals are welcome.Click here to access the conference proposal form. It is available in PDF form if you would like the view the entire form before submitting.

  • 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. Your ideas, whether they come to us alone or in a group, are equally valued in the Board's proposal and selection process.
  • A special interest/user group is a 60-minute 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.

The quality of conference content depends upon YOUR ideas and contributions, so let those creative juices flow. Perusing some of the past conference schedules will show you the range of topics presented in previous years and may inspire your proposal. Use suggested topics compiled from post-conference survey responses (see below) or your imagination to propose ideas which expand our outlook. If there is an area of concern or interest that you feel has not been adequately addressed, participate in this process by submitting a proposal. Moderators may put out calls for presenters within a proposed topic before or after the submission of a proposal. The VRA Executive Board will be looking for articulate and concise submissions with lists of presenters, but single submissions without presenter lists are encouraged as well.Suggested topics:AccessibilityChanging roles and functions of Visual Resource CollectionsCoding (PHP, SQL, HTML5, etc.)Corporate Visual Resources careersDAM basicsData migrationDigital collections platformsDigital Humanities theoryDigital preservationDigital tools in the classroomsEngaging K-12Ethics in Visual ResourcesExcel tips and tricksImplementation case studies (Omeka, Shared Shelf, Luna)Information architectureInstitutional repository managementLibrary instructionMarketingMetadata and standardsNew technologyNon-art related topics (archives and libraries)Non-Western artPublishing and scholarly communicationSupervisory rolesTHATcamp/unConferenceQuestions about the proposal process and the various presentation formats included in the VRA Conference program can be directed to me at jeesselstrom@wisc.edu.The proposal deadline is Friday, July 28th, 2017. I look forward to hearing from you!Jacob EsselstromVice President for Conference ProgramVisual Resources Association

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VRAF Professional Development Grant Recipients

The Visual Resources Association Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the spring 2017 VRAF Professional Development Grants.  Due to the considerable number of commendable grant applications received, the VRAF Board of Directors decided to provide professional development funding to two qualified individuals this spring.  Congratulations go to Chris Strasbaugh and Sali Underwood, who will each receive an award of $850 to pursue the professional development goals described in their applications.  Both recipients demonstrate a strong commitment to the field of visual resources within cultural heritage and natural history information management respectively, while serving as adroit ambassadors for the visual resource community:

  • Chris Strasbaugh, Ohio State University, will use VRAF funding to attend the May 2017 "2 + 3D Photography -- Practice and Prophecies" conference to be held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where he has been invited to present his paper "Hacking Technology to Document Difficult Spaces" describing a creative use of technology in the digitization and preservation of student work.
  • Sali Underwood, Nevada State Museum, will use VRAF funding to attend the 32nd annual meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections this June in Denver, where she will present on her digitization project on "Nevada's Neglected Lepidoptera Herbarium" collection of over 2500 specimens and its importance to understanding the life cycle of Nevada’s butterflies.

Steven Kowalik,VRAF Board of Directors

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VRA Executive Board Statement on US President's FY2018 Budget Proposal

Dear VRA Community,The Visual Resources Association stands in solidarity with our colleagues across national cultural heritage organizations (CAA, DLF, ARLIS/NA, ALA and more) in opposition to the proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services from the federal budget.Our work as Visual Resources professionals within academic, museum, and cultural heritage institutions has been long intertwined with the work of our colleagues within CAA, DLF, and ARLIS/NA, and we have demonstrated the importance of our affiliated work through collaborative projects, open communication, and shared support of those that we serve across our cultural and scholarly communities.  Now, more so than in recent history, it is important for us to stand together, maintain strong relationships, and act as a unit. Like our affiliated Associations, the VRA Board is concerned about the debilitating impact that defunding culture and creativity will have on this country and the creative and scholarly endeavors that we support through our work. Art, culture, and creativity are critical ingredients in exploration, discovery,  and innovation, and they are essential components to a strong, vibrant, and informed nation. Now is a perfect example of how members of our affiliated associations can leverage the relationships and connections we’ve developed across our associations and act upon our concerns as a unit. Please refer to the Arts and Humanities Advocacy Toolkit , which CAA shared with us yesterday, and contact your representatives in Congress. We, as members of the VRA Board will do that, and we know that our collective voices can make a difference.VRA is committed to supporting the needs of our members as we anticipate the final outcomes of these proposed budget changes. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or one of the other Board members if you have thoughts or concerns about how we can do more to support you.Sincerely,The VRA Executive BoardRyan Brubacher, Vice President for Conference ArrangementsJasmine Burns, SecretaryMelanie Clark, Public Relations and Communications OfficerJen Green, PresidentJeannine Keefer, TreasurerChris Strasbaugh, Vice President for Conference Program

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Cross-Pollinator Fellowship to AIC: Deadline March 1

A quick reminder: Kress + DLF are offering members of the DLF community the chance to attend the American Institute for Conservation and Artistic Works (AIC) annual meeting. One GLAM Cross-Pollinator fellowship will be awarded, and will include conference registration as well as a $1000 travel stipend. AIC has some amazing sessions and fun tours lined up (check out the ‘Electronic Media’ track, for diglib-related sessions).Also, if you happen to be on a break from work, you should definitely read this session description, summarizing conservation completed on the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals. What a nail-biter, I mean. Poor Eeyore!!For information on how to apply to the fellowship, visit this page + be sure to submit by March 1.Becca QuonProgram Associate – The Digital Library Federation1707 L Street Ste 650, Washington, D.C. 20036diglib.org | clir.org

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