Meet the 2018 Executive Board Candidates: Sara Schumacher, Vice President for Conference Program

The VRA annual election of officers will take place November 1-30, 2018.  Members will receive an email on November 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot.  Please vote and show your support to the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.About the CandidateSara Schumacher is the Architecture Image Librarian at Texas Tech University, a position she has held since January 2018. Prior to this, Schumacher was the Technical Services Librarian and Art History Instructor at the University of the Cumberlands (2011-2017). She received her BA in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin (2005), MA in Art History from the University of Oregon (2007) and her MS in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (2011).She is currently pursuing opportunities to become more involved in the VRA, and to that end is a member of the VRA Development Committee (2018-). Schumacher is also a member of the Visual Literary Task Force to update the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. She has previously worked with other professional associations including the Kentucky Library Association (KLA), serving as the Chair of the Academic Libraries Association and 2-time Academic Library representative to ALA’s National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) for Kentucky (2015-2016). She was also the 2017 Chair of the KLA Library Awareness Committee, designated as the point person for the Kentucky delegation to 2017’s NLLD.Her research interests include ethics and visual media and applying visual literacy ideas to discipline specific conventions and professional applications. Her publications include the forthcoming “Placing Research on their Map: Curriculum Mapping as a Collaboration Tool for an Architecture Branch Library” co-authored with Bonnie Reed, Hillary B. Veeder and Brian C.R. Zugay for Art Documentation. Some of her recent conference presentations include “Media Literacy: Making an ImPACT” at the 2017 Kentucky Library Association Fall Conference, “Be ‘More Library’ with State and Federal Advocacy” at the 2017 Kentucky Library Association Spring Conference (Academic and Special Sections), “Beyond the Basic (Google) Image Search” at the 2017 Appalachian College Association Professional Development Day, and “Visual Literacy: Out in Front” at the 2015 Kentucky Library Association Fall Conference.GoalsMy goals as the Vice President for Conference Program would be to facilitate the aims of the VRA Strategic Plan, 2018-2022 through collaboration, creativity, and a careful balance of new ideas and traditions. I would like to address each tenant of the Strategic Priority 4.3 that mandates “conferences meet the professional development needs of current and potential members as defined by the mission statement,” and how I see myself undertaking each mission.4.2.1. Develop broader areas of professional practice in conference programming in order to reach a wider audience.VRA’s leadership is integral to maintaining high standards and professionalism in visual media research, education, and management. As disciplines intersect, new practitioners and entrepreneurs come into the field without necessary core knowledge and values. As an organization, we can reach out through branding initiatives and conference marketing that will connect us to different audiences. I firmly believe our members are our best advocates, so I would work on communications that would highlight the impact and reach of the work being done by VRA professionals.4.2.2. Engage diverse member perspectives to consider new ideas for conference models, programming, and scheduling in order to meet the professional development needs of members.I believe that diversity reflects the vibrancy, quality, and long-term success of any organization and our conferences should be a way of celebrating the “professional, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic, gender, age, sexual orientation, and geographic diversity” of our members and prospective members. I would start by seeking out perspectives from across our membership and work at supporting them to share their voice in the conference, through formal and informal programming. Sometimes “unconference” type events can empower people to get more involved and set up more diverse “conference” type events in future years.4.2.3. Coordinate with chapters or groups of chapters to build a regional conference program that complements the Association’s annual conferences.Professional funding and issues due to your career stage can often impede full participation in annual conferences, but regional conferences and chapter programming at annual conferences can provide ways of keeping engaged and facilitate collaborations. I would work with chapter leadership to identify goals and seek ways we can share resources (people, money, time, assessment data) that would enhance the quality of all conference programming.4.2.4. Publicize conference proceedings in order to promulgate the expertise of the Association to external audiences. In addition to communicating our identity to a wider audience, conference proceedings can be one way of celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of conference presenters. I would seek out the opinions and advice of other professional organizations that publish conference proceedings and with the help of the Executive Board and VRA Bulletin editors present our membership with publication options.VRA is a dynamic organization with a prominent history, and I am excited to tackle leadership roles where I can stimulate future successes for the VRA, its’ members, and myself.

Meet the 2018 Executive Board Candidates: Jeannine Keefer, President-Elect

The VRA annual election of officers will take place November 1-30, 2018.  Members will receive an email on November 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot.  Please vote and show your support to the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.About the CandidateJeannine Keefer is the Visual Resources Librarian and Art and Art History Liaison in Boatwright Memorial Library at the University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia. She held similar positions at the University of Mississippi, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and Cornell University. She received a BA in Art with a concentration in Art History from Saint Mary’s College in 1995. In 1998 she obtained an MA in Architectural History and a certificate in Historic Preservation from the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. Jeannine received her PhD in Art History from Binghamton University in 2013.Dr. Keefer has been an active member of the Visual Resources Association (VRA) since 1998. She has served as chair of the Upstate New York Chapter and co-chair of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter. She is a past member of the Nominating Committee, served as co-chair of the Travel Awards Committee, and most recently held the position of Treasurer of VRA. She has presented and chaired sessions at VRA, SECAC, and the Keystone Digital Humanities conference as well as at numerous local meetings and conferences.GoalsI had the privilege to serve on the Board as VRA Treasurer from 2016-2018. In this position I became aware of the challenges and opportunities facing the organization. Today VRA has the potential to reach working professionals in so many aspects of librarianship, including in research, scholarship, and instruction. It is worth noting that just when VRA is needed most by the professional community, that many individuals see the organization as antiquated and irrelevant. One of my goals as President will be to change that perception and grow our membership. Another goal is to more fully engage our younger members.Our membership is more varied and younger than it has been in some time and this affords the organization the opportunity to capitalize on new ideas and harness the new energy in the organization. The organization is only as strong as its participating members and I would like for every member, whether new members or seasoned professionals, to feel as if their voice and their contributions are appreciated and valued.Having served as a Board member recently, I appreciate the commitment it takes to steer the organization into the future. I am aware of the financial, membership, and visibility challenges we face and the role the VRA President plays in navigating the organization. If elected, I will carry on the work of past presidents and lay the groundwork for future presidents.

VRA Identity Task Force Assembled

From VRA President Stephen Patton:

In June of this year I informed the membership that the VRA Executive Board had developed a charge for the VRA Identity Task Force. The charge is outlined below this correspondence. This effort is in response to VRA Strategic Plan Goal 1.1. To guide the direction of the VRA Strategic Plan, it is necessary for the Association to review the organization’s identity, vision, mission, and values.

Two examples of goals that are dependent on the work of the VRA Identity Task Force are: Strategic Direction 3: Membership; and 5: Communications and Marketing. Strategic Priorities like the creation of an integrated marketing plan to increase membership need the focus of a vision in order to be successful.

VRA Strategic Plan (summary), 2018

Betha Whitlow and Carolyn Lucarelli have agreed to co-chair the VRA Identity Task Force. The VRA Executive Committee provided guidance through the VRA Identity Task Force charge, but the Board has granted the Task Force independence in their work and membership selection. Betha and Carolyn have assembled a great team representing the diverse nature of the organization and the work of our members. Please support the Task Force in their efforts.

VRA Identity Task Force

Co-ChairsCarolyn Lucarelli, The Pennsylvania State UniversityBetha Whitlow, Washington University in St. LouisMembersMarcia Focht, Binghamton UniversityPatricia Guardiola, University of PennsylvaniaMargaret McKee, The Menil CollectionJeff Mixter, OCLC ResearchBrian Shelburne, University of Massachusetts, AmherstSue Tyson, California State ArchivesKendra Werst, Williams CollegeCharge:  Develop vision, mission, and core values statements that align with the Visual Resources Association (VRA) Strategic Plan Goal 1.1. Define the term “visual resources” and consider its relevance as a discipline and/or a field of practice to current and potential members (See Strategic Priorities 1.1.4). This may include a review of the name of the organization going forward. Evaluate the VRA’s current affiliate organizations and make recommendations for new affiliations that complement and strengthen VRA’s identity and membership. Identify peer organizations with similar membership numbers and functions as the VRA to provide a baseline for performance assessment and comparison. This entire process should be informed by membership feedback which could take the form of surveys, focus groups, web conferencing and any additional methods the task force deems effective. Review the VRA​ ​Strategic​ ​Plan​ ​2018-2022, the VRA Professional Status Task Force Report, and any other research the Task Force finds informative. The approach should be transparent, inclusive, just, and incorporate diverse representation when possible. The task force’s recommendations will likely result in a vote by the membership. 

Reminder: VRA Bulletin CFP: Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere

Call for Papers: “Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere”Special Themed Issue of the Visual Resources Association BulletinGuest Editor: Susan Jane Williams, Independent Cataloging and Consulting Co.Expected Date of Publication: December 2018 or January 2019 (Vol. 45, issue 2)This special themed issue of the VRA Bulletin on the state of cataloging today seeks to explore our cataloging practices in light of the global semantic web. (Using "cataloging" as a verb, the act of attaching textual values to an object or digital asset, whether that involves encoding or not.) There is a body of literature outlining automations in creating (i.e. extracting) catalog records in text-based collections to the point that human-created records are referred to as "manual." Should we assume that cataloging images and cultural heritage objects will remain a "manual" (or "supplemented manual") pursuit? What inroads have been made to match and extract information from images?Further, cataloging has frequently had a tie with larger economic pressures and been subject to periodic cost-cutting measures. How do administrators actually assess cataloging for value and for efficacy? Have digital humanities projects and "big data" changed that value (and for whom)? Has crowd sourcing and tagging by the public been effective in adding value? Has linked open data changed the assessment of professional cataloging value (and for whom)? Will linked open data and the global semantic web finally conquer the silo, and what are the implications for our profession? Will the utility of linked "big data" on the web supersede the more traditional concept of shared data? This issue is meant to explore the creation of catalog records, but articles about data analysis and data migration are also welcome.For the first round of article submissions, please send a one-page abstract to Susan Jane Williams at williams.susanjane@gmail.com by October 15, 2018.Thank You!

Registration Open for VRAF Regional Workshop: Documenting Cultural Heritage at The George Eastman Museum

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce that registration is open for Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture, to be held on November 30, 2018. This workshop will be hosted by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY, and is open to cultural heritage professionals, the information, museum, and educational communities, and anyone interested in visual culture. Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture is the first of four workshops being offered in the 2018-2019 VRAF Regional Workshop Program. The VRAF is grateful to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation for their continued support of this exciting opportunity to partner with cultural heritage and educational institutions.

Workshop Description: “Digital capture” encompasses a broad range of technologies and processes. While the role of a digitization space has historically revolved around slide and flatbed scanners, these represent just two of many possible approaches to digital imaging. The first part of this workshop will explore traditional methods for digital capture, including scanners, DSLR cameras, copystands, lighting, and specialized imaging devices for specific uses. Part two of the day will take participants beyond the basics by focusing on emerging technologies and their impact on the capture, dissemination, and storage of cultural materials.  All workshop content will be framed within the important questions you should be asking when planning the present and future directions of your digital capture project or facilities. Participants will also receive significant supplemental material, including recommended equipment, buying guides, and a variety of workflow documents from several institutions. When combined with the presented information, participants will have the tools in place to build an efficient digitization space that is as unique as their specific resources and project needs.

Documenting Cultural Heritage will be taught by Chris Strasbaugh, Digital Library Archivist and Curator at the Knowlton School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City and Regional Planning at The Ohio State University.  As photographer, art historian, and now digital curator, Chris has always been driven to document and preserve cultural heritage. His work as a Digital Library Archivist and Curator is a perfect mix of his passions in preservation, photography, emerging technology, open access, and metadata management. He works with an archive of unique work, documenting the history of the various programs in the Knowlton School as well as highlighting new work that showcases the students in the programs.

Chris has recently presented on the topic of digitization at the 2+3D Photography – Practice and Prophecies – 2017 conference at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, HASTAC 2017 in Orlando, and the June 2017 Images: Digitization and Preservation of Special Collections in Libraries, Museums, and Archives, NISO Virtual Conference. In addition to conference presentations, he has also produced online learning trainings, taught local workshops, and has actively assisted special collections in designing and streamlining their digitization process.

To register for Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture and to learn more about the workshop, visit https://vrafoundation.com/current-regional-workshops/documenting-cultural-heritage-eastman-2/.  The fee for this day-long workshop is $125. If you have questions about registration, feel free to contact Beth Haas, VRAF Director, bwodnick@princeton.edu or for questions about the program or venue, please contact Elizabeth Chiang, echiang@eastman.org.

Save these Dates: 2018-2019 VRAF Regional Workshops Schedule

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce the host sites for the 2018-2019 VRAF Regional Workshop Program. Now in its fourth year, and thanks to the continued and generous support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, this program is allowing the VRAF to realize its mission to promote scholarship, research, education, and outreach in the fields of visual resources and image management.The 2018-2019 workshops are:Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture at the George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY, to be held on November 30, 2018Something Mappy This Way Comes: An Introduction to Digital Mapping Technologies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, to be held on January 25, 2019.Exhibit, Instruct, Promote, Collaborate: An Introduction to Omeka for Digital Scholarship at The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, to be held on March 1, 2019.Metadata and Management of Cultural Heritage Digital Media: From Fundamentals to Future Trends at The Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler, Washington, D.C., to be held on April 26, 2019.With the VRAF Regional Workshop Program’s funding, host institutions will be able to offer a workshop without the burden of developing it from within, and provide valuable programming not only to their local constituents, but to their broader region. For a reasonable registration fee, the workshops provide an immersive experience on a single topic, framed in a manner that is relevant to image management professionals, users of cultural heritage information, and the larger information community. The call for host sites for the 2019-2020 VRAF Regional Workshop Program will be announced in summer 2019.For more information about the VRAF Regional Workshop Program, including this year’s offerings, please visit: https://vrafoundation.com/regional-workshops/ For questions about the VRAF Regional Workshop Program please contact Beth Haas, VRAF Director, bwodnick@princeton.edu.For more information about the Visual Resources Association Foundation, and its mission, projects, and giving opportunities, please visit us at https://vrafoundation.com

SEI 2019: Implementation Team Announcement

VRAF and ARLIS/NA are pleased to announce the implementation team for the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management (SEI) 2019, to be held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, June 4-7, 2019.Senior Co-Chair: Lesley Chapman, Colgate UniversityJunior Co-Chair: Courtney Baron, Emory UniversityIncoming Co-Chair: Bridget Madden, University of ChicagoLocal Co-Chair and Treasurer: Cindy Abel-Morris, University of New MexicoCurriculum Specialist (VRA): Carolyn Lucarelli, Penn State UniversityCurriculum Specialist (ARLIS): Annie Sollinger, University of Massachusetts, AmherstDevelopment Specialist: Tina Budzise-Weaver, Texas A&M UniversityWebmaster/Publicity Specialist: Otto Luna, University of New HampshireVRAF Liaison: Jeannine Keefer, University of RichmondARLIS/NA Liaison: Lauren MacDonald, Saint Mary's CollegeSEI is a joint project of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF). SEI seeks to provide information professionals with a substantive educational and professional development opportunity focused on digital imaging, the information and experience needed to stay current in a rapidly changing field, and the opportunity to create and be part of a network of supportive colleagues.

VRA LA 2019: Conference Site Live

Visual Resources Association 2019 Annual ConferenceLos Angeles, CaliforniaMarch 26-29, 2019DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles DowntownNestled between Little Tokyo and the Arts DistrictProgram to be announced September 2018.Early bird registration begins December 2018.Engage and collaborate with colleagues from diverse workplaces, including higher education, the corporate sector, and museums, at an ideally-sized conference of about 200 attendees.Enjoy the long-standing conference culture of generous knowledge sharing while exploring digital asset management, intellectual property rights, digital humanities, metadata standards, coding, imaging best practices and so much more.New this year programming is limited to two sessions at one time with an extended schedule, so you will be able to benefit from more content and have fewer difficult decisions about which sessions to attend.And don’t forget the special registration rates for student, retired, and unemployed attendees.  Everyone is welcome regardless of their career stage or employment status. 

Call for 2019 Nominations: Distinguished Service Award & Nancy DeLaurier Award

The call for nominations for the Visual Resources Association's highest honors--the Distinguished Service Award and the Nancy DeLaurier Award--is now open. The awards will be presented during the 2019 VRA conference in Los Angeles.

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 Distinguished Service Award honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. The Nancy DeLaurier Award, 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 Association.

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™ or Google Docs are preferred; nomination dossiers are due November 2, 2018. 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 contact Steven Kowalik, Chair of the Awards Committee, so he can coordinate the process.

VRA Bulletin CFP: Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere

Call for Papers: “Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere”Special Themed Issue of the Visual Resources Association BulletinGuest Editor: Susan Jane Williams, Independent Cataloging and Consulting Co.Expected Date of Publication: December 2018 or January 2019 (Vol. 45, issue 2)This special themed issue of the VRA Bulletin on the state of cataloging today seeks to explore our cataloging practices in light of the global semantic web. (Using "cataloging" as a verb, the act of attaching textual values to an object or digital asset, whether that involves encoding or not.) There is a body of literature outlining automations in creating (i.e. extracting) catalog records in text-based collections to the point that human-created records are referred to as "manual." Should we assume that cataloging images and cultural heritage objects will remain a "manual" (or "supplemented manual") pursuit? What inroads have been made to match and extract information from images?Further, cataloging has frequently had a tie with larger economic pressures and been subject to periodic cost-cutting measures. How do administrators actually assess cataloging for value and for efficacy? Have digital humanities projects and "big data" changed that value (and for whom)? Has crowd sourcing and tagging by the public been effective in adding value? Has linked open data changed the assessment of professional cataloging value (and for whom)? Will linked open data and the global semantic web finally conquer the silo, and what are the implications for our profession? Will the utility of linked "big data" on the web supersede the more traditional concept of shared data? This issue is meant to explore the creation of catalog records, but articles about data analysis and data migration are also welcome.For the first round of article submissions, please send a one-page abstract to Susan Jane Williams at williams.susanjane@gmail.com by October 15, 2018.Thank You!

VRAF Announces 2018-2019 Internship Award Recipient

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Board of Directors announces the 2018-2019 VRAF Internship Award in visual resources and image management. This award was generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.Adelaide McComb, of Louisville, Kentucky, is the winner of the VRA Foundation’s sixth Internship Award. She will receive $3,000 to work a minimum of 200 hours with the Lakota Dream Museum & Monument (https://www.lakotadream.org/). This is a new cultural center in Rapid City, South Dakota, and the first Indigenous-owned museum in the historic Black Hills. Its mission is to provide an accurate interpretation of The Great Plains tribes through documented resources, artifacts, and local historians with the intention to instill knowledge, a strong sense of identity, and hope into the Lakota and all Native people. In addition to a growing collection of religious and sacred objects, its programs include Lakota language revitalization, internships, workforce development, educational scholarships, small business loans, and more.Adelaide is pursuing curatorial studies and non-profit management graduate degrees at the University of Louisville. The objective of this internship is to create a database that captures the historical, visual, and culturally significant aspects of the museum’s artifacts. She will work with archeologists, anthropologists, and historians at the Lakota Dream Museum, and with semantic database experts at Semantic Arts on the software platform and ontology design. Her past experience as a software consultant has given Adelaide a comprehensive understanding of database management. This opportunity will allow her to learn the significance of cultural preservation, heritage, revitalization, and how data affect the way this information is shared. Her academic instruction in curatorial studies will provide guidance in collection exhibitions and visual resource management. Adelaide’s proposal includes a plan for Native youth to eventually receive training in visual resources and image management under the guidance of curatorial and anthropological staff, thus ensuring best practices while enabling community members to gain valuable skills and participate directly in this revitalization of their culture.Adonis Saltes, Chief Executive Officer of the Lakota Dream Museum & Monument, states “under direction from Spiritual Leaders, we elected to not hide our culture. We choose to allow visitors to view personal items which well-known leaders relied upon for strength and direction. They serve to remind us of Lakota who sought protection and direction during the challenging years of their lives…With many experts putting their minds together to help these items continue for generations to come, the historical, curatorial, and cultural context for these objects will help us preserve the culture of the Great Plains. This will be a great opportunity for Lakota Dream to move forward and prosper.”The Foundation is pleased to support the education and practical training of emerging professionals through this internship award. The VRAF Internship Award Committee received excellent applications for many fascinating and important projects this year, which made the selection process difficult. The Internship Award Committee (Linda Callahan, Beth Haas, Carolyn Lucarelli, Maria Nuccilli, and Elaine Paul, Chair) appreciates the careful thought that went into every proposal. We are grateful to the Kress Foundation for its assistance and for recognizing the potential of this award to foster the next generation of visual resource professionals.The VRAF Internship Award is part of the Foundation's mission to advance awareness of important issues for effective digital information management (including intellectual property and copyright); encourage the application of professional standards, innovative technology, and metadata cataloging protocols; and to facilitate workplace training. VRAF supports a range of educational offerings to help ensure that such information reaches a diverse, global audience. For more information about the Visual Resources Association Foundation, its mission and projects, as well as giving opportunities, please visit www.vrafoundation.com, or read the latest issue of our annual report at https://vrafoundation.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/vraf20162017ar.pdf.

Volunteer Opportunity: Call for SEI Development Specialist

Would you like the opportunity to gain some valuable, transferable skills, give back to the VRA and VRAF as a volunteer, and work with a great group of people? Then join the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources & Image Management (SEI) 2019 Implementation Team as our new Development Specialist!Although the thought of asking strangers for money may seem daunting, never fear! You will be working with an energetic and personable team who will help you every step of the way, and you won't be starting from scratch. The SEI team has worked hard for the past few years to create procedural documents, contact lists, and templates to help make your job easier.This is a year-long commitment that involves biweekly online meetings from October through April or May. Here is the complete description:SEI Development Specialist (One-year position, renewable for up to three one-year terms)The Development Specialist to the Summer Educational Institute Implementation Team (SEI-IT) serves as the general fund-raiser for the Institute. This includes finding sources for both financial and in-kind support for the SEI. The SEI Development Specialist communicates with ARLIS/NA Development Committee and the VRAF to make certain SEI development goals are clear and understood. Responsibilities include seeking prospects for SEI support from commercial vendors, organizations, and individuals; developing a ARLIS/NA and VRA Chapter travel award program for attendance at SEI; maintaining a donor history; working with the VRAF treasurer to track and receive contributions; keeping track of the SEI sponsors page; and participating in SEI Implementation Team meetings.If you are interested please send a brief letter (email is fine) explaining your interest by August 31 to Lesley Chapman, Senior Co-Chair SEI 2019.  Please don't hesitate to contact Lesley if you have further questions.

Announcing Our New VRA Bulletin Editors

It is the great pleasure of the VRA Executive Board to announce the appointment of not just one editor, but two editors to the VRA Bulletin team. First, we welcome a familiar face to a new role. After three years serving the VRA Bulletin as Production Editor, Hannah Marshall will be stepping into the role of Content Editor. Second, we are most pleased to welcome Amy Lazet to the Bulletin as Production Editor. Both terms will officially begin January 2019 with a period of shadowing and training this fall. We wish to thank all members who considered joining the Bulletin team.The Bulletin is experiencing an exciting time of growth with recent peer-review options and an upcoming transition to open access. The Board is most grateful to current Content Editor Maureen Burns for over four years of service and leadership with a vision to the future, including an attention to detail that will ensure a smooth transition this fall.Congratulations to Hannah and Amy and the journal itself whose future is in very good hands!

ArLiSNAP/VREPS 2018 Virtual Conference: Call for Proposals

VREPS (Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students group) and ArLiSNAP welcome proposals from students and new professionals with an interest in art librarianship or visual resources management to present their work at our 2018 Virtual Conference:

New Media Challenges and Solutions for Art Information Professionals

New media art, objects, and scholarly projects in the digital realm are challenging our traditional definitions and methodologies for collection, preservation, and research as information professionals. As the scope for new media continues to expand, how are we defining, describing, and cataloging new media objects? How are we preparing for and anticipating storage and conservation needs? How do we respect artist intent and support scholarly research around these born-digital objects?

We invite proposals that share research and projects featuring new media in art librarianship and visual resources management for our annual virtual conference, an opportunity for emerging professionals to present in a supportive and engaging space while connecting with other students and early career librarians across North America.

The webinar will take place on Saturday, October 13th at 1PM CST. Submit your proposal via our Google Form to apply.

Proposals are due by Friday, August 31st. You must also be available to participate in a short practice session with the webinar software in the evening on Thursday, October 4. If you have any questions, please email the ArLiSNAP Conference Planning Liaison, Michelle Wilson.

VRAF Regional Workshops: Call for Host Site Applications

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce that it is accepting host applications for the VRAF Regional Workshop Program for 2018-2019. Thanks to the continued generous support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, this program will allow the VRAF to continue to realize its mission to promote scholarship, research, education, and outreach in the fields of visual resources and image management.For the 2018-2019 program, the VRAF will support four workshops for up to $3000 each, including an instructor stipend and travel expenses, a stipend for the local organizer, catering, and other minor expenses incurred by the host institution.  The VRAF will provide significant logistical support, including locating a qualified instructor and managing registration. With the VRAF Regional Workshop Grant, host institutions will be able to offer a workshop without the burden of developing it from within, and provide valuable programming not only to their local constituents, but also to their broader region. This opportunity is open to Visual Resources Association (VRA) Chapters, VRA affiliates, related information management organizations, museums, libraries, and academic institutions. For a reasonable registration fee, the workshops will provide an immersive experience on a single topic, framed in a manner that is relevant to digital asset management professionals, users of cultural heritage information, and the larger information community.Applications will be accepted to host one of the following workshops:

• Can We Do That?: Intellectual Property Rights and Visual Media
• Collaborating across the Institution: Creating Professional Partnerships to Support Cultural Heritage
• Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture
• Exhibit, Instruct, Promote: An Introduction to Omeka for Digital Scholarship
• Learning to Look and Looking to Learn: A Workshop on Visual Literacy
• Managing Digital Content
• Metadata and Management of Cultural Heritage Digital Media: From Fundamental to Future Trends
• Moving Images: The Basics and Beyond
• The International Image Interoperability Framework: What is it, and how can I use it?
• Something Mappy This Way Comes: An Introduction to Digital Mapping Technologies
• Python for Beginners

We will also consider applications in which the host site proposes its own workshop topic. Please review the description of the VRAF Regional Workshop Program as well as the VRAF Mission Statement prior to confirm that your proposed workshop fits within both the program’s parameters and the larger goals of the VRAF.To conform to the guidelines of our Samuel H. Kress grant, workshops must be held by June 2019.  For more information about the VRAF Regional Workshop Program, visit https://vrafoundation.com/regional-workshops/. To apply, visit https://vrafoundation.com/apply/. If you have additional questions about the program, please contact VRAF Director Beth Haas, bwodnick@princeton.edu. The deadline for application is Friday, August 24^th at 11:59 a.m. PDT.

Member Benefit: VRA Year Round Mentor Program

Did you know one of the benefits of VRA membership includes networking and professional guidance opportunities through the Year Round Mentor Program? Keep reading ...Year Round Mentor ProgramThis fun and collegial program matches mentors (VRA members for 3 years or more who are reasonably well acquainted with the Association) with mentees (any VRA member seeking new connections within the Association or professional guidance from peers), at any time during the year.How does it work?Mentees: Your mentor will contact you via phone or email. If living close by, your mentor may make arrangements to meet you in person, if that is possible. Your mentor will talk to you about the local VRA chapter (if there is one in the area), and invite you to the chapter meetings. Your mentor will make introductions, make you feel welcome to the Association, and answer questions or provide guidance on matters related to visual resources concerns that they feel qualified to counsel on.Mentors: Contact your mentee via phone or email. If living close by, make arrangements to meet them in person, if that is possible. Talk about the local VRA chapter (if there is one in the area), and invite your mentee to the chapter meetings. Make introductions, make them feel welcome to the Association, and answer questions or provide guidance on matters related to visual resources concerns that you feel qualified to counsel on.How long does it last?While we hope that many mentors will form lasting professional associations with their mentee, the mentoring commitment can be understood to consist of a few phone calls to field questions, a face to face meeting if that is possible, and invitations and introductions at local chapter meetings or at the Annual Conference. This type of commitment can be discharged within 1 to 6 months depending upon the schedule of the local chapter or Annual Conference.How do I sign up?Potential Mentors and Mentees are asked to complete a questionnaire. This will assist the Mentor Coordinator in making the best match possible. The first priority will be to match members within the same local chapter. Members outside the area of a local chapter will be matched with the next best suitable member.Mentee Applicationhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSO8QbvVCO7qNZe1nv6D_TDZrrexKp5aTNNpY5kBrwDLCgrA/viewform?c=0&w=1Mentor Applicationhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbjx3zSat8Uaw5bqzUxhUoksGzgRNlZv2mb65Xu1QkXdF3kg/viewform?c=0&w=1For more information, visit httpS://vraweb.org/opportunities/mentorship/

Reminder: 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!

VRA Members at EVA Conference in Florence, Italy

Three VRA members, Marcia Focht from SUNY Binghamton, Maureen Burns of Archivision, and Andreas Knab of vrcHost, had papers accepted for the Electronic Visualization in the Arts (EVA) Florence conference in May 2018. Marcia introduced this international audience to some of the work of the VRA’s Data Standards Committee in a presentation entitled, “Maximizing Metadata: Embedded Metadata Tools.” Although Andreas was unable to attend in person, he partnered with Maureen on the following presentation, “Instant Architecture: Hosted Access to the Archivision Research Library with Built-In Image Management and Presentation Tools.” All of the EVA presenters’ papers were published through the Firenze University Press and are available for purchase in hard copy or through an open access downloadable PDF.The EVA Florence conference brought together about 100 speakers and participants to exchange ideas, spotlight initiatives, and share experiences on current trends in international arts computing and cultural heritage sector developments. Sponsored by an impressive array of Italian government, industry, foundation, and university entities--from the Associazione Beni Italiani Patrimonio Mondiale Unesco to Fratelli Alinari Idea to the Universita di Firenze--scholars and professionals came from as far afield as Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Turkey, the UK, and USA, with strong representation from the various regions of Italy. There was quite a mixture of material presented from art historical research to museum trends to commercial products.  Following the conference, Marcia and Maureen connected with Visual Resources Association International Chapter members who also attended EVA--Lavinia Ciuffa from the American Academy in Rome and Spyros Koulouris of I Tatti in Florence--to visit the extensive and historic archives, libraries, and grounds of Bernard Berenson's Tuscan villa (now a Harvard Research Center) and Palazzo Grifoni, housing the Photothek des Kunsthistorischen Instituts in Florenz--Max Planck Institut (over 600,000 photographs). Dr. Ute Dercks provided an in-depth tour of the Photothek and it was fun to see that shelf order still matters for the analog collections. Their online exhibits and digital database are also impressive. It might be hard to find a more beautiful and peaceful corner of the world than Villa I Tatti. Spyros was a gracious host, both in Florence, where we had a traditional Tuscan meal at an osteria together after the conference, and up in the surrounding hills, generously sharing his time and expertise to provide us with an informative tour of the library and photo archive as well as a picture-postcard lunch with a view.

Call for Applications: VRA Foundation Internship Award, 2018-2019

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to invite applications for the sixth VRAF Internship Award in visual resources and image management. This internship is generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.The VRAF Internship Award provides financial support for graduate students and recent graduates preparing for a career in visual resources and image management. The award grants $3,000 to support a period of internship in archives, libraries, museums, visual resources collections in academic institutions, or other appropriate contexts. It also provides $1,000 for professional development, and a one-year complimentary student membership in the Visual Resources Association.Candidates should apply after developing a project with a specific collection and prospective supervisor. Priority will be given to applicants who submit projects that support art historical or related visual cultural heritage research and scholarship. The VRAF Internship Award Committee favors opportunities in which the intern may integrate skills acquired during the course of his or her academic training to manage a project from beginning to end, with the host institution receiving needed help in making valuable but hidden cultural collections visible. Projects that would not occur without funding for an intern may be given special consideration. A complete description of the internship and application instructions are available at: https://vrafoundation.com/internship-award/.Applications are due by August 6, 2018. The award recipient for 2018-2019 will be announced on August 27, 2018.

Apply to Be the Next VRA Bulletin Content Editor

Are you interested in developing leadership skills in digital publishing and open access?

The Executive Board is now accepting applications for the position of Content Editor for the VRA Bulletin.  All members are encouraged to consider this important role for the VRA, especially if you have a background or strong interest in editorial work, writing, open access, and/or electronic publishing.  The Bulletin is published twice per year and the Content Editor is compensated $750 per issue.

The term will officially commence in January 2019, upon completion of Volume 45, by our current VRA Bulletin Content Editor Maureen Burns.  The candidate for Content Editor will have the opportunity to shadow and train with Maureen this fall in preparation for the transition in the new year.  Maureen has done a superb job, leaving a legacy that includes implementing peer-review and laying the groundwork for open access, and the board wishes to express our most sincere gratitude. The Content Editor will also have the advantage of partnering with the VRA Bulletin Production Editor, currently Hannah Marshall, and working closely with peer reviewers and copy editors.

The mission of the VRA Bulletin is to serve the membership of the VRA by providing a professional forum for the discussion and dissemination of ideas and information directly related to the field of visual resources. It is a journal of professional practice documenting the research, ideas, projects, activities, and history of the Visual Resources Association as well as the broader work of information professionals in image management. Articles authored by members of the Association and like-minded information professionals from outside VRA, cover a wide range of topics including: digital imaging and digital projects; cataloging and classification systems; historical collections and archives; digital humanities; data standards; education and professional development; intellectual property rights and copyright; library systems; collection development; digital curation and preservation; visual literacy and instruction; and, professional standards and ethics.

A detailed charge and characteristic duties and responsibilities of the position follow below.  To apply, please send a statement of interest and a short resume, highlighting your relevant education, experience, and any publications to Amy McKenna (info@vraweb.org) and/or Stephen Patton (VRA.Patton@gmail.com).  Queries about the position may also be sent to Stephen or Amy, or directly to Maureen Burns (moaburns@gmail.com).

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, July 18.

Thank you for considering this vital and rewarding position.

Amy McKenna, VRA Public Relations and Communications Officer

Stephen Patton, VRA President

Content Editor, VRA Bulletin

Charge: To solicit and select news articles, professional information, and manuscripts for publication and to manage content uploaded to the electronic journal system. Partners with the Production Editor to plan and supervise the preparation and publication of the VRA Bulletin in electronic form.Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities:The VRA Bulletin Content Editor is appointed by and reports to the VRA Executive Board. The term of appointment is four years and any change in term is subject to Board approval. The term may be renewed or reduced by the Board. The VRA Bulletin Content Editor works in conjunction with the Production Editor.General

• In partnership with the Production Editor, plan and supervise the preparation and publication of the electronic VRA Bulletin.
• Develop and maintain editorial staff, peer reviewers, and occasional guest editors.
• Establish and maintain working relationships with Executive Board, Production Editor, Membership Services Coordinator, and serves as member of the informal Publications Special Interest Group.
• Maintain VRA Bulletin editorial working files related to content.

Editorial

• Define and develop the content of the publication.
• Send out calls for content at least two times a year.
• Solicit and select articles, professional information, and manuscripts for publication.
• Work with editorial staff to review content and ask authors for revisions or copy editing.
• Make final decisions on the content for each issue.
• Oversee the progress of materials for publication, including editing for style, content, and organization.
• Write publication copy as needed.
• Communicate with the Production Editor on content readiness.

Administration 

• Prepare the Mid-Year and Annual reports for the Executive Board with the Production Editor and include any budgetary information and requests.
• Work with the Executive Board to keep the electronic journal current with trends in electronic scholarship.